100 ESSENTIAL WHITNEY HOUSTON SONGS. Today: #5-1. This concludes the countdown.

Caffè Lattè presents:

THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL SONGS BY

WHITNEY HOUSTON

It’s 10 years since Whitney Houston passed away. Here are 100 choice tracks from her catalogue that demonstrate why she is still revered as a vocal powerhouse:

Check out the playlist on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0az3MloF4nqCKm6xQuS3Zk?si=caae004db4b34c65

W5H

ONE MOMENT IN TIME

Album: Whitney The Greatest Hits

Albert Hammond, a respected songwriter best remembered for “It Never Rains In Southern California” penned “One Moment In Time” with John Bettis who co-wrote many hits for The Carpenters. Clive Davis had the rights to an album to mark the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. Held that year in Seoul, South Korea, Whitney’s song was featured the TV telecast. Narada Michael Walden produced her inspiring anthem.

In America, the single reached #1 AC, #5 Pop and #22 R&B. The disc also topped the British chart and was a major hit across Europe.

W4H

GREATEST LOVE OF ALL

Album: Whitney Houston

Michael Masser and Linda Creed co-wrote “Greatest Love Of All”. The original version was recorded by George Benson and featured in the 1977 autobiographical film about -and starring- Muhammed Ali entitled ‘The Greatest’.

Masser produced Whitney’s remake. Initially, the track was used as the B-side of “You Give Good Love”. Once issued as an A-side, “Greatest Love Of All” reached the Pop and AC chart summit and climbed to #3 R&B (the latter was the same peak the original achieved). The single topped the Canadian and Australian charts as well as going Top 10 in Britain.

W3H

I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY

(WHO LOVES ME)

Album: Whitney

After the overwhelming success of Whitney’s debut album, Arista President Clive Davis was keen to stick with the formula when planning her follow-up LP. He approached some of the same songwriters to contribute songs for ‘Whitney’. The writers of “How Will I Know”, George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, first offered “Waiting For A Star To Fall”. That song was rejected (although it did become a hit for the writers when they released it as Boy Meets Girl in 1988).

Next, the writers came up with “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”. After producer Narada Michael Walden reshaped its musical style, the track was released as the lead single from ‘Whitney’.

If “How Will I Know” proved Whitney could be a pop crossover success, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” surpassed even that single’s popularity. The hit, one of her signature songs, reached #1 in America, Britain, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

 

W2H

HOW WILL I KNOW

Album: Whitney Houston

“How Will I Know” was first offered to Janet Jackson. In fact, George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam had created the song with her in mind. Meanwhile, tracks were being gathered for Whitney’s debut album. The project needed a pop crossover song and, after some coaxing, Narada Michael Walden agreed to produce the cut. He took time out of working on Aretha Franklin’s ‘Who’s Zoomin’ Who’ LP in order to work on what would become another of Whitney’s smash hits. Cissy Houston contributed background vocals. Walden made some changes to the original lyrics.

The single reached #1 in America and Canada. In the former territory, the disc topped the Pop, Soul and AC charts. It also made the Top 5 in the UK, Australia and Scandinavia.

 

W1H

I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU

Album: The Bodyguard {Soundtrack}

Whitney had already mastered soul, adult contemporary, pop, hip hop, dance and gospel by the time she recorded the song most closely associated with her. Although it had already been a Country Chart smash for its songwriter Dolly Parton and had also been previously featured in another film (‘The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas’), the 1992 cover version transformed the song into a vocal masterwork. Whitney’s rendition became the new yardstick for vocalists wishing to prove their mettle.

The remake was used effectively in the film ‘The Bodyguard’ which starred Whitney in her acting debut. David Foster produced and arranged the cut which won the Record of the Year Grammy Award.

Its 14-week reign atop the US Billboard Hot 100 was record-breaking. The single also reached #1 in Britain, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan and New Zealand.