Written by Dolly Parton... sent stratospheric by Whitney Houston; I Will Always Love You is a song that has a worldwide fanbase reflected by the diverse memories shared here: Nagham Kewifati tells how her mother, Mayada Bseliss, had a huge hit in Syria with an Arabic version. It was produced by Nagham's father, Mayada's husband, Samir. Dr. Marie Thompson of the Open University, who co-wrote a short course entirely about Dolly Parton, reveals the unlikely story behind the song and why Elvis Presley was refused permission to record his own version. Member of Parliament, Jim Shannon, explains why he introduced an unusual Early Day Motion in the House of Commons to celebrate the song's 50th anniversary in 2023. Ben Rimalower, host of Giants in the Sky on the Broadway Podcast Network, describes how obsessed he became with Whitney Houston's performances of this track when he was recovering from alcohol and drug addiction. Vocal Coach, CeCe Sammy Lightfoot, describes how difficult Whitney Houston's version is to sing and the technique required to perform this vocal high-wire act. And Marcus Grimmie, brother of singer Christina Grimmie, remembers his sister's beautiful voice and rise to stardom before she was tragically murdered. He set up the Christina Grimmie Foundation in her memory to create a community and provide financial support for families affected by gun violence. Producer: Karen Gregor
I'm Rory Stewart, and I want to talk about ignorance.
I will die without having read everything that was written in classical Latin, because ignorance isn't simply the opposite of knowledge.
It's part of what it means to be human.
Just about every game I can think of involves ignorance.
There's no adventure without ignorance.
There's no narrative.
The long history of ignorance from Confucius to QAnon.
With me, Rory Stewart.
Listen on BBC Sounds, BBC sounds music radio podcasts.
These are the lyrics my dad wrote, or I will always love you arabic version.
It gives me goosebumps, to be honest.
Lahek Rafil Fakirfik, bikil khatwa.
My name is Nagam kwefati.
My parents happen to be the syrian musicians Mayada Seliz and Samir Kwefati.
I'm gonna refer to my mom as Mayeda.
She started off by singing hymens and religious music in the church.
That's where she first met Samir, my father.
They fell in love through music.
Maiada started her own career when they got married and eventually released over 14 albums.
She was a very big, big star.