Originally Posted by Neapolitan

Sorry, Dolly Parton wrote "I Will Always Love You," it came from her mind and it will always be her song.

A lot of female singer have very good voices, not only Whitney. You think she is the all time best, I don't see the point arguing that. (I think Karen Carpenter had a more of an aesthetic sound to her voice and she seem to conveyed more real emotion.)
Whitney may have been influential, but was it for better or worse? Ever since she became popular it became more about style over substance. After she set the bench and since every other singer wanted out do the next - hit the highest note or bend a note up and down the scale to the point of ad nauseum. Just because a singer has the pipes doesn't make the song any much better.