Principal Marcus Gause/Photo Courtesy of ABC News
T. Wingate Andrews High School in High Point, North Carolina, had its annual graduation ceremony last week, with dozens of students receiving honors and preparing to move on to their next stage in life. Making sure that the former high schools students remember that they’re loved by himself and the rest of the staff, principal Marcus Gause broke out into song while taking the ceremony’s stage, singing his own rendition of Whitney Houston’s popularized hit song “I Will Always Love You.”
Gause is shown in the video, standing at a podium and serenading a stadium filled with graduating seniors. Students cheered on as the North Carolina principal sang the loving tune, which features the lyrics: “If I should stay / I would only be in your way / So I’ll go, but I know / I’ll think of you every step of the way,” making it a surprisingly relatable song for graduates leaving high school and the emotional bond created between students and staff.
“I Will Always Love You” was originally written and performed by legendary country artist Dolly Parton for her 1974 album Jolene. Decades later, the song became a smash hit song when Whitney Houston covered it, adding it to her 1992 romance film The Bodyguard.
Houston’s version went on to snag the #1 spot on the Billboard charts that year, staying in the Hot 100 for nearly 30 weeks. In 1993, the song won Houston two Grammys for the award ceremony’s Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female categories.
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According to the News & Observer, the video was uploaded by Guilford County Board of Education member Winston McGregor, who referred to the North Carolina principal’s rendition as “pure gold” and appropriately tagged America’s Got Talent on Facebook.
Watch Gause’s emotional graduation performance and tell us your thoughts in the comment section.