There was a time that few singers dared touch “I Will Always Love You” — that time, of course, began the moment that the world heard Whitney Houston’s cover of the Dolly Parton-penned song. Recorded for The Bodyguard soundtrack, “I Will Always Love You” spent a then-record 14 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the tune’s definitive take.

But in the days since Houston passed away, several famous names have paid tribute to the superstar by singing her most famous song, including Houston’s godmother Aretha Franklin, former backup singer Shanice, rocker Chris Cornell, and most memorably, Jennifer Hudson, who performed “I Will Always Love You” at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards a week ago today.

Last Sunday evening, with the world still in shock over the news that Houston had died the evening before, Hudson took the stage of the Staples Center and delivered a passionate, heartfelt rendition that struck all the right notes. It’s a pitch-perfect performance from the 3o-year-old singer who, even as her own star deservedly rose, continued to idolize Houston:

I’m sure you either caught Hudson’s performance live or in the coverage that came afterward, but her stunning live cover of “I Will Always Love You” from that night is now available on iTunes. All proceeds from each sale of the track, video, or bundle benefit GRAMMY-affiliated charity MusiCares.

One interesting bit of information about Whitney Houston and “I Will Always Love You” that I don’t recall having heard until this past week is that she patterned her cover after Linda Rondstadt’s version of the song, not Dolly Parton’s original recording. According to Houston’s close friend and former personal assistant Robyn Crawford, “The music supervisor [for The Bodyguard] brought her Linda Ronstadt’s version of “I Will Always Love You” way before Kevin Costner brought Dolly Parton’s version — and she always knew what she could do with it.”

As songwriter Diane Warren, who penned several songs of Houston’s songs, put it so succinctly this morning via Twitter:

Whitney U r home now. Rest in peace. U were the best friend a song could ever have.

— Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) February 19, 2012

Purchase Jennifer Hudson – “I Will Always Love You” (Live at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards) via iTunes.