Nirvana released “In Bloom”

In Bloom Nirvana

Writer(s): Kurt Cobain (see lyrics here) Released: November 30, 1992 First Charted: December 12, 1992 Peak: 5 AR, 28 UK, 73 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.) Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK, 0.2 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.131 radio, 135.8 video, -- streaming

Awards (Nirvana): Awards (Sturgill Simpson):

About the Song: Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain wrote “In Bloom” after their debut album, Bleach, was released on Sub Pop. The song was an attack on those outside the underground music community who started showing up at Nirvana’s shows, but didn’t understand the band’s message. WK Cobain said the song was an attack on “rednecks, macho men, and abusive people.” SF He told Melody Maker magazine, “I didn’t like the cheerleader type of girl or want to hang out with the jock boys. I chose to live the life of a recluse. I didn’t hang out with anyone else because I couldn’t handle their stupidity.” SF The band first recorded the song in April 1990 for what was then intended as their second album for Sub Pop. They even recorded a video for the song. When Nirvana signed to DGC Records, they started work on Nevermind in May 1991 and “In Bloom” was one of the first songs they revisited. It ended up as the fourth single from Nevermind, released over a year after the album first dropped. A new video for the song was shot which parodied variety shows from the 1960s, like The Ed Sullivan Show. The host introduces the band as “thoroughly all right and decent fellas” and mispronounces their name. A crowd of teenagers screams throughout the song and the band destroys the set and their instruments by the song’s conclusion. Two different versions were shot, one in which the band performed in dresses and another where they play in Beach Boys-style outfits. A third version combined elements of both videos and won Best Alternative Video at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. It was also named top music video by critics in Village Voice. WK Sturgill Simpson, a country artist, recorded the song for his 2016 A Sailor’s Guide to Earth album. A “swirl of strings and horns” SF made the song “completely unrecognizable.” SF Simpson said he was in seventh or eight grade when the album ame out and it “was like a bomb went off.” SF He explained that “In Bloom” “summed up what it means to be a teenager, and I think it tells a young boy that he can be sensitive and compassionate – he doesn’t have to be tough or cold to be a man. So I wanted to make a very beautiful and pure homage to Kurt.” SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Nirvana DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Sturgill Simpson SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 5/7/2020; last updated 9/22/2022.

Whitney Houston hit #1 with "I Will Always Love You"

I Will Always Love You Dolly Parton

Writer(s): Dolly Parton (see lyrics here) Released: March 11, 1974 First Charted: April 6, 1974 Peak: 53 BB, 12 CW, 8 CN, 72 AU, 7 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.2 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 10.0 radio, 56.38 video, 123.23 streaming

I Will Always Love You Whitney Houston

Released: November 3, 1992 First Charted: November 13, 1992 Peak: 114 US, 114 CB, 17 GR, 17 RR, 1511 RB, 110 UK, 18 CN, 110 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 10.0 US, 2.0 UK, 24.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 10.0 radio, 2030.25 video, 684.43 streaming

Awards (Parton’s version): Awards (Houston’s version):

About the Song: “If anyone was born a songwriter, it was Dolly Parton.” CL Her “God-given gifts were never better displayed than when she wrote ‘I Will Always Love You,’” CL her most successful song. She wrote it for Porter Wagoner, her mentor and professional partner. It “was a thank you for the break Wagoner had given her. It was also her good-bye” CL as she knew she had to move on by herself. It became a #1 country song in 1974 and 1982. The latter was a re-recorded version for the film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Dolly even hit the country charts with it a third time when a 1995 duet version with Vince Gill went to #15. However, it was Whitney’s version that exploded. Considering that this song has topped six different U.S. charts for a combined total of 55 weeks, it could be declared the most successful chart single of all time. Author Rod Couch certainly thought so, ranking it the #1 song of the rock era in his 2015 book. RC On the U.S. pop charts, Elvis Presley’s double-sided single “Don’t Be Cruel”/“Hound Dog” held the record for most weeks (11) atop the Billboard Hot 100 for 36 years before Boyz II Men grabbed the pinnacle for 13 weeks with “End of the Road.” However, the Boyz didn’t hang on to the record quite as long as The King. A mere two weeks after “Road” finished its reign, the song that would dethrone it slid into the #1 spot. Whitney’s version was featured in the movie The Bodyguard. It had to illustrate Kevin Costner’s character’s background when it plays on a jukebox at a blue-collar bar and show Houston’s glamorous, superstar singer lifestyle when she sings it to him later as a tribute. FB The original plan to record Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted” was scuttled when the movie Fried Green Tomatoes got first dibs. Costner brought a 1975 Linda Ronstadt version of “Love You” to Houston, who re-arranged it as a soul ballad. WK It was also Costner who suggested the a cappella opening for her version. SS Not everyone was enamored with Houston’s vocal acrobatics. Jeff Tweedy of Weezer said he hated the song, albeit he confessed that “Maybe because, as a singer, I’m not very good at it...People tend to diminish or dismiss stuff they’re bad at.” JT However, the vast majority of listeners loved the song, making it 1992’s biggest pop hit CPM and the first triple-platinum-selling single by a woman. BB It propelled The Bodyguard soundtrack to 17 million sales. It is also a hit at funerals, being the most requested record for those solemn occasions. KL Resources: BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100” CL Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Pages 231-3. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 1-3. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 89. KL Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh (2005). 1000 UK Number One Hits: The Stories Behind Every Number One Single Since 1952. London, Great Britain: Omnibus Press. Page 382. SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 338. JT Jeff Tweedy (11/7/2023). World Within a Song. Dutton/Penguin Random House. Pages 143-5. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 123. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 11/28/2011; last updated 4/30/2024.