The Oral History of Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On"

Twenty years ago, the movie Titanic hit theaters, and suddenly the love anthem "My Heart Will Go On" was the most requested song at radio stations. That explains why I don't like it, as you can only take so many of those calls, and I didn't see the movie until years later. But you may be surprised that Celine Dion didn't care for the song much, either. Titanic director James Cameron didn't want to use it. The thought of it made Kate Winslet want to throw up. Even the song's co-producer thought it was dreary. But everyone else loved it.

“My Heart Will Go On” didn’t just take off -- it became synonymous with Cameron’s ­blockbuster movie, and a signature for Dion. Written by ­composer James Horner (who died in a 2015 plane crash at age 61) and lyricist Will Jennings, “My Heart Will Go On” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 28, 1998, buoying the Titanic soundtrack’s 16-week run atop the Billboard 200. The song also appeared on Dion’s late-1997 disc Let’s Talk About Love, and together, the two albums sold more than 60 million copies, according to Sony Music.

How did that song get so big? Or even get into the movie? Billboard presents an oral history of "My Heart Will Go On" featuring the recollections of Celine Dion, co-producer Simon Franglen, and various people from the Titanic production. -via Digg