Whitney Houston was born on August the 9th, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey.
She was the daughter of Cissy Houston, a critically-acclaimed but
commercially less successful gospel singer. She was also the cousin of
Dionne Warwick. Whitney began singing at age 11 with the gospel group
New Hope Baptist Junior Choir. As a teen, she worked as a backup singer
for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. She then began a modelling career in
1981, posing on the front cover of Seventeen and in Glamor magazine.
Her big break came in a few years when Clive Davis of Arista records
discovered her and "saw the gift of stardom in her eyes". Soon she
began a singing career and became a valuable asset for Arista. In fact,
during the Bodyguard's peak success, she sold a million a week and got a
6 million certification in only 2 months. Arista held the monopoly of
record sales with just a single album. In her contract, a clause was
included, even, saying that if Clive should leave Arista, Whitney would
be coming with him. Soon, Whitney began recording material Clive had
carefully chosen for the debut album. Songs included two duets with
Jermaine Jackson and one with Teddy Pendergrass. But it wasn't those
tracks that highlighted the release of the album. "Whitney Houston" was
an album composed mostly of ballads. These ballads showcased the power
of Whitney's voice, a pure flawless soprano. "Whitney Houston" featured
tracks like "Saving All My Love For You", "Greatest Love Of All" and
"All At Once", which all brought
out the best in her. Out of ten tracks, only two dance tracks were
included. "Someone For Me" and "How Will I Know" were overshadowed by
the beauty of her ballads. The first single "Someone For Me" was not
particularly successful in Europe where it was released but the first
release in the US, "You Give Good Love" was released to "establish
Whitney in the black community". "You Give Good Love", an R&B;
influenced track, produced by Kashif and written by Lala, soon became a
crossover pop-R&B; hit. It also reached sales of over half a
million, becoming a gold single. Soon enough, she reached no. 1 on the
R&B; charts and no. 3 on the pop charts. But it was the second
single, "Saving All My Love For You" that established Whitney as a major
force in the music industry. "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of
All" reached number one as well as "Saving All My Love For You" and
brought the album up to number one for 14 weeks, selling 12 million
copies in the US alone and 20 million worldwide. The album also managed
to outsell Madonna's True Blue in the US, her major competitor at that
time. Madonna's album racked up 7 million sales, unable to match the 9
million sales of its predecessor, "Like A Virgin". Whitney's debut
album held the title of the biggest selling debut album by a female
artist for over a decade until Alanis Morrissette surpassed "Whitney
Houston" with "Jagged Little Pill", which has racked up 14 million sales
so far in the US alone.
Whitney's second album, Whitney, was the first ever album by a female
artist to enter at number one. It also produced 4 number one hits, the
most from a single album at that time. These included the dance-pop
single of 1987, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", the ballads "Didn't We
Almost Have It All" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and another dance
hit, "So Emotional", a gold record for her. This record was beaten a
year later by Michael Jackson who managed to get 5 #1 hits from his
"Bad" album. "Whitney" was pure pop at its best. "I Wanna Dance With
Somebody" is one of those songs that stays in your head for ages and
won't get out. It was the only platinum single in 1987 and it easily
topped the pop, AC, airplay and sales charts. It also peaked at number 2
on the R&B; charts. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"'s cute ending
and wonderful video is one of those classics. Other tracks on the album
included the romantic ballads "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and
"You're Still My Man", both written and produced by
Michael Masser, who produced most of the ballads on "Whitney Houston".
Narada Michael Walden produced seven of the eleven tracks on "Whitney"
including "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "So Emotional" and "Love Is A
Contact Sport". These songs quickly became popular dance hits and
classics. Other wonderful tracks include the magical duet with her
mother, "I Know Him So Well", taken from a Broadway production and
remade to give a magical ending to the album. "For The Love Of You" was
an R&B; ballad which even managed to get nominated even without
single release. "Whitney" remains one of Houston's most beautiful album
to date, wound together perfectly. It also became a huge success, making
9 million sales in the USA. Whitney also got best pop female vocal
performance grammy for "I Wanna Dance With somebody". Earlier, she also
got one for "Saving All My Love For You". "Love Will Save The Day",
the fifth single from "Whitney" did not match the success of her first 4
hits, peaking at number 9.
Whitney took a long break from album-making. She did however have small
projects to continue her dominance in America. Her next single, "One
Moment In Time" reached no. 1 in the UK and no. 5 in the US, providing
inspiration to many athletes during the 1988 Summer Olympics. Other
projects between 1988 and 1990, included contributions to "Heaven", an
album by Bebe and Cece Winans, her good friends. She also contributed a
christmas song, "Do You Hear What I hear" and a duet with Aretha
Franklin, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" peaking at no.
41 on the pop chart.
Whitney's third album, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" was disappointing to her
fans, after about 3 years after the release of "Whitney". The new album
was R&B; flavored and included many dance numbers. This type of
music was highlighted by hip-hop influenced dance tracks like "I'm Your
Baby Tonight" and "My Name Is Not Susan" as well as the Whitney-produced
track "I'm Knockin'". She also tried more R&B; ballads like "I
Belong To You" and "Lover For Life". This album was full of variety,
including other songs that were reminiscent of her old ballads like "All
The Man That I Need" and "Miracle". Coming into the nineties, Whitney
was willing to change and settle for less "pop" material. "I'm Your
Baby Tonight" and "All The Man That I Need" reached no. 1 on the singles
charts, but the album reached only number 3, selling 4 million copies.
This seemed disappointing after the success of "Whitney Houston" and
"Whitney". The album was overshadowed by newcomer Mariah Carey's 8
million selling self-title debut smash. It seemed like Whitney was
fading away. But she proved her fans wrong.
"The Bodyguard" was Whitney's first major acting role and for a rookie,
she did a great job. The film grossed over 400 million dollars
worldwide and was a box-office smash. Whitney's acting was superb with
Kevin Costner as the leading man. Whitney's movie making success
established her as an actress as well as a singer, making her one of the
most powerful women in show-biz. To match the success of the hit
movie, the soundtrack created another peak in her career. The first
release, "I Will Always Love You" went to number one in only 2 weeks of
its release to stay at the top for 14 weeks in the US and 10 in the UK.
In the US, it sold 4.6 million copies, the single alone. It has become
the biggest selling commercial single in the US of all time. It also
sold 8 million worldwide, 1.7 million in the UK. The album sales were
just as phenomenal. Around the world, it sold 33 million copies and in
one week in the US, it sold 1 million copies. The singles, "I Have
Nothing" and "I'm Every Woman" also went gol
d and "Run To You" and "Queen of the Night" were big hits overseas.
"The Bodyguard" showcased Whitney's balladeering power once again. "I
Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing" and "Run To You" showcase
Whitney's voice, from a soft whispering sound to a loud earth-shattering
note she holds for many seconds. "I Have Nothing" was another David
Foster produced single. The production itself was as wonderful as the
singing and together, it made #1 for 6 weeks on the airplay charts in
the US. "I'm Every Woman" was a remake of Chaka Khan's original hit.
In fact, Chaka Khan wouldn't let anyone do a cover version of her #23
hit, but in Whitney's case, she said "I'll let you Whitney because
you're every woman." It was a wise choice as the song promptly went to
number 2 on the airplay charts. "Queen of the Night" was a different
kind of song and Whitney's first shot at songwriting that ended up on an
album. It was co-written by her "I'm Your Baby Tonight" collaborators
L.A. Reid and Babyface. "Queen of the Night" had a tough sound and was
very different from her other songs. Perhaps the most underrated track
in "Bodyguard" would be "Jesus Loves Me" her gospel song which was
really beautiful and Whitney made it really special. Soon after,
Whitney took a break, giving birth to a baby girl, Bobbi Kristina after
marrying Bobby Brown earlier.
"Waiting To Exhale" became Whitney's second movie and it was not as
successful as the Bodyguard but it was a beautiful story nonetheless.
Forrest Whitaker directed the movie. It was about four women trying to
find love and career success. Whitney once again proved her acting
skills. The soundtrack established Whitney as an R&B; singer more
and more. "Exhale", "Count On Me" and "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" were
Whitney's 3 contributions to the Soundtrack and it sold 8 million copies
in the US. "Exhale" made number 1 on the R&B; for 8 weeks. "Count
On Me" was a beautiful duet with Cece Winans, her good friend, and it
went gold. "Why Does It Hurt So Bad"'s performance in the MTV Movie
Awards was included in the maxi-single of the track. It included
remixes of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Junior Vasquez. The song
peaked at #26. The soundtrack was not supposed to include Whitney
singing in it as she didn't want the commercial success of the album to
overshadow the movie success. But in the end, she was convinced by
Forrest Whitaker and Babyface to sing three tracks. The other tracks
were sung by various female singers including Mary J. Blige, Brandy,
Faith Hill, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan. The album became a smash,
hitting #1 in the midst of competition.
"The Preacher's Wife" has gone on to become one of the most beautiful
albums ever made by Whitney. It steps away from all the "pop" that's
highlighted her career to go back to her roots, in gospel where she sang
as a kid. "I Believe In You And Me" hit number 4 in the US charts and
became her fourth platinum single. "The Preacher's Wife" may not be as
commercially successful but it is certainly a beautiful part of
Whitney's career, where she sings gospel, a daring move for Whitney. In
fact, the album is fast approaching 3 million copies in the US.
"Step By Step" became Whitney's 16th gold single, being a big sales
hit, but received minimal airplay. "My Heart Is Calling" will accompany
the release of "The Preacher's Wife" on video. The song, produced by
Babyface, is R&B; influenced. Other tracks like "You Were Loved"
and "Somebody Bigger Than You And I" are pop-R&B; tracks that prove
to be powerful in their own right. However, gospel tracks like "Who
Would Imagine A King", "Joy" and "I Go To The Rock" are pure gospel and
sung by Whitney in a beautiful fashion.
The Producers
Whitney has worked with many producers over the years including Narada
Michael Walden who produced hits like "How Will I Know", "So Emotional",
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and "I'm Every Woman". Narada Michael
Walden's style is very unique and his strength lies in producing upbeat
dance music for our diva. Walden was mainly responsible for the
best-selling "Whitney" album where he also managed to produce great
ballad hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "For The Love of You".
Whitney has worked with Michael Masser known for producing most of
Whitney's hits in the past. Whitney says "she can hear the mountains
and the valleys" when she works with Masser. Masser has produced hits
like "Greatest Love of All", "Saving All My Love For You", "Didn't We
Almost Have It All" and "All At Once". He has since stopped producing
for Whitney after one production in the "I'm Your Baby Tonight" album,
"After We Make Love" which was overshadowed by many more powerful
tracks.
Whitney has also worked with Babyface recently since her 1990 album
"I'm Your Baby Tonight". Babyface's R&B; style is reflective over
such numbers as "Exhale", "Miracle", "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" and "You
Were Loved". Babyface also produces a few of Whitney's dance numbers
including the highly upbeat "Queen of The Night" and the R&B;
influenced dance grooves "My Name Is Not Susan" and "I'm Your Baby
Tonight". Babyface is like a brother to Whitney, she states. She
states how their chemistry works and how Babyface can say something on
the phone and she can get it quickly. In fact, the "Exhale" chorus of
"shoop shoop" came about when Babyface (Kenny Edmonds) ran out of words!
David Foster is another producer who has worked with Whitney for a
long time. He is best known for his productions in the 16 times
platinum "Bodyguard" soundtrack including the hit ballads "I Will Always
Love You", Houston's biggest hit, "I Have Nothing", her second biggest
airplay hit of her career and recently, the beautiful ballad "I Believe
In You And Me", the single version. Foster hits the drums and gives her
ballads a powerful sound to it. His wonderful productions were present
in 3 Whitney Houston tracks on the "Bodyguard", all became hit singles.
Her big break came in a few years when Clive Davis of Arista records
discovered her and "saw the gift of stardom in her eyes". Soon she
began a singing career and became a valuable asset for Arista. In fact,
during the Bodyguard's peak success, she sold a million a week and got a
6 million certification in only 2 months. Arista held the monopoly of
record sales with just a single album. In her contract, a clause was
included, even, saying that if Clive should leave Arista, Whitney would
be coming with him. Soon, Whitney began recording material Clive had
carefully chosen for the debut album. Songs included two duets with
Jermaine Jackson and one with Teddy Pendergrass. But it wasn't those
tracks that highlighted the release of the album. "Whitney Houston" was
an album composed mostly of ballads. These ballads showcased the power
of Whitney's voice, a pure flawless soprano. "Whitney Houston" featured
tracks like "Saving All My Love For You", "Greatest Love Of All" and
"All At Once", which all brought 
Whitney's second album, Whitney, was the first ever album by a female
artist to enter at number one. It also produced 4 number one hits, the
most from a single album at that time. These included the dance-pop
single of 1987, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", the ballads "Didn't We
Almost Have It All" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and another dance
hit, "So Emotional", a gold record for her. This record was beaten a
year later by Michael Jackson who managed to get 5 #1 hits from his
"Bad" album. "Whitney" was pure pop at its best. "I Wanna Dance With
Somebody" is one of those songs that stays in your head for ages and
won't get out. It was the only platinum single in 1987 and it easily
topped the pop, AC, airplay and sales charts. It also peaked at number 2
on the R&B; charts. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"'s cute ending
and wonderful video is one of those classics. Other tracks on the album
included the romantic ballads "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and
"You're Still My Man", both written and produced by 
Whitney took a long break from album-making. She did however have small
projects to continue her dominance in America. Her next single, "One
Moment In Time" reached no. 1 in the UK and no. 5 in the US, providing
inspiration to many athletes during the 1988 Summer Olympics. Other
projects between 1988 and 1990, included contributions to "Heaven", an
album by Bebe and Cece Winans, her good friends. She also contributed a
christmas song, "Do You Hear What I hear" and a duet with Aretha
Franklin, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be" peaking at no.
41 on the pop chart.
"The Bodyguard" was Whitney's first major acting role and for a rookie,
she did a great job. The film grossed over 400 million dollars
worldwide and was a box-office smash. Whitney's acting was superb with
Kevin Costner as the leading man. Whitney's movie making success
established her as an actress as well as a singer, making her one of the
most powerful women in show-biz. To match the success of the hit
movie, the soundtrack created another peak in her career. The first
release, "I Will Always Love You" went to number one in only 2 weeks of
its release to stay at the top for 14 weeks in the US and 10 in the UK.
In the US, it sold 4.6 million copies, the single alone. It has become
the biggest selling commercial single in the US of all time. It also
sold 8 million worldwide, 1.7 million in the UK. The album sales were
just as phenomenal. Around the world, it sold 33 million copies and in
one week in the US, it sold 1 million copies. The singles, "I Have
Nothing" and "I'm Every Woman" also went gol
"Waiting To Exhale" became Whitney's second movie and it was not as
successful as the Bodyguard but it was a beautiful story nonetheless.
Forrest Whitaker directed the movie. It was about four women trying to
find love and career success. Whitney once again proved her acting
skills. The soundtrack established Whitney as an R&B; singer more
and more. "Exhale", "Count On Me" and "Why Does It Hurt So Bad" were
Whitney's 3 contributions to the Soundtrack and it sold 8 million copies
in the US. "Exhale" made number 1 on the R&B; for 8 weeks. "Count
On Me" was a beautiful duet with Cece Winans, her good friend, and it
went gold. "Why Does It Hurt So Bad"'s performance in the MTV Movie
Awards was included in the maxi-single of the track. It included
remixes of "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" by Junior Vasquez. The song
peaked at #26. The soundtrack was not supposed to include Whitney
singing in it as she didn't want the commercial success of the album to
overshadow the movie success. But in the end, she was convinced by
Forrest Whitaker and Babyface to sing three tracks. The other tracks
were sung by various female singers including Mary J. Blige, Brandy,
Faith Hill, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan. The album became a smash,
hitting #1 in the midst of competition.
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