Whitney Houston is the debut studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released on February 14, 1985, by Arista Records. Whitney Houston initially had a slow commercial response, but began getting more popular in mid-1985. It eventually topped the Billboard 200 for fourteen weeks in 1986, generating three number-one singles—"Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All"—on the Billboard Hot 100, which made it both the first debut album and the first album by a solo female artist to produce three number-one singles in the United States.
The album topped the albums charts in many countries, including Canada, Australia, Norway, and Sweden, while peaking at number 2 in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland. The album was certified Diamond for sales of ten million units or more on January 25, 1994, and later 14× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on January 27, 2023. The album is the best-selling debut album by a solo artist, best-selling R&B album by a woman, and is also one of the best selling albums of all time, with sales of over 25 million copies worldwide.
In 1986, at the 28th Grammy Awards, Whitney Houston received four nominations, including Album of the Year, and won one, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, for "Saving All My Love for You". For the 29th Grammy Awards of 1987, the album earned one nomination for Record of the Year for "Greatest Love of All". Whitney Houston was the first album by a female artist to be top the Billboard Year End Albums Charts of 1986. The album has also been ranked on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in all three editions. Whitney Houston has had a lasting impact on popular culture.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, the album was reissued as Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition on January 26, 2010, an expanded edition with five bonus tracks including the a cappella version of "How Will I Know" and the original 12-inch remixes of songs from the album, a booklet on the history of the original album, along with a DVD of live performances and interviews by Whitney Houston and Clive Davis. On June 30, 2020, after the 35th anniversary celebration in February 2020, the album re-issued as a double vinyl including the singles from Whitney Dancin' Special. Also, they released a box set including the 40-page hard cover photo and lyric book.
Background
By 1983, Whitney Houston was an aspiring singer who had spent six years in the music industry, first starting as a background singer for her mother Cissy Houston's band during Cissy's performances at exclusive Manhattan jazz nightclubs, and then as a teenage session vocalist for artists such as her mother, the Michael Zager Band, Lou Rawls, Chaka Khan, the Neville Brothers and Herbie Mann among others. In between sessions, Houston ventured into a career as a teen fashion model after being spotted by a photographer who worked for Click Models, working with the agency before being reassigned to Wilhelmina Models. In late 1981, Houston became just the second black model to land the cover of Seventeen. During this period, Houston recorded a trio of gospel demo recordings that further helped develop her vocal abilities, then being trained by her mother. Houston's vocal talent made her sought after for recording deals, but were turned down by her mother, who insisted that Houston finish high school.
After graduating from Mount Saint Dominic Academy in 1981, Houston signed a production deal with Tara Productions, led by Gene Harvey, who subsequently became her manager, with Harvey's partners Daniel Gittleman and Seymour Flics also getting involved. In 1982, Houston auditioned for both Elektra Records and CBS Records, which led to the artist recording songs for both labels. She was a featured vocalist on the Elektra act Material's One Down, singing lead on a rendition of "Memories", released in May 1982. In early 1983, Houston was featured on CBS recording act Paul Jabara's collaborative effort Paul Jabara & Friends, on the quiet storm ballad "Eternal Love". Both efforts were critically praised in music circles, with Robert Christgau, then a journalist for The Village Voice, citing "Memories" as "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard". Houston continued to perform with her mother during this period, performing at venues such as Reno Sweeney, Mikell's and Sweetwaters. It would be at another jazz club, Seventh Avenue South, around the late winter of 1983 that Gerry Griffith, then-A&R for Arista Records, spotted Houston performing at the club two and a half years after first viewing a performance of hers at another jazz club. Impressed by her performance, the next day he alerted label head Clive Davis to view her performance at Sweetwaters. After seeing her perform the songs "Home" and "The Greatest Love of All", Davis offered her a contract, to which Houston, just 19, signed on April 10, 1983.
Work on the album didn't begin right away, however, as Davis wanted to make sure no other label pursued her and that he had the right material for an album. Houston made her national debut on television in June 1983 on The Merv Griffin Show as Davis' "special guest", where she sang the song "Home", from the Broadway musical The Wiz. At first, Davis struggled to find material and producers for Houston despite elaborate showcases in both New York and Los Angeles; producers turned the offer down due to prior commitments. Houston's management team continued to work with her during this era. In early 1984, she auditioned for — and nearly won the role of — Denise Huxtable in comedian Bill Cosby's then-upcoming family sitcom The Cosby Show, but pulled out due to her emerging musical career. Houston accepted a brief cameo role in another sitcom, Gimme a Break!, and appeared in a commercial for Canada Dry. After producer Michael Masser saw her performing in New York, Masser was granted permission to have Houston record a duet with American soul artist Teddy Pendergrass, recording a rendition of the quiet storm ballad, "Hold Me", which would be first issued on Pendergrass' Asylum Records release Love Language in May 1984. The song would give Houston her first taste of commercial success on the Billboard charts, reaching the top ten on both the R&B and adult contemporary charts, and reaching the US top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Around the same time, Jermaine Jackson, who had recently signed to Arista after years recording for Motown, offered to record with her, first on his self-titled album, where they recorded the duet "Take Good Care of My Heart". Another song recorded for the album, "Don't Look Any Further", ended up being discarded after Arista learned the song had been recorded and released by Motown artist Dennis Edwards and singer Siedah Garrett as a duet in April 1984.
Recording
Work on Houston's album, however, wouldn't pick up until American record producer Kashif called Griffith about wanting to give Houston a song he had worked on with songwriter La Forrest Cope titled "You Give Good Love", which had originally been written with soul singer Roberta Flack in mind though Flack's agent turned the offer down. After arriving at Kashif's studios in New Jersey and hearing the song, Houston agreed to record the mid-tempo quiet storm song, doing so in just a single take, according to Griffith. Impressed by her vocal talent, Kashif produced another song, the funk-inflected "Thinking About You", to which he provided background vocals in the chorus to accompany Houston. Houston would end up recording background vocals on Kashif's album Send Me Your Love, most prominently on another quiet storm ballad, "Are You the Woman", to which later Houston received a duet credit. The song peaked at number 25 on the Black Singles chart.
At the same time, Houston reunited with Jermaine Jackson to record more duets, including a rendition of the country ballad "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do", originally recorded and released by Canadian singer Anne Murray in a duet with American singer Dave Loggins. The song was a hit on the Hot Country Songs and adult contemporary charts in its original release, going to number ten on the latter and topping the former. Later in July 1984, Houston and Jackson performed the song, along with "Take Good Care of My Heart", on a two-part episode of the American soap opera As the World Turns. In addition, Jackson produced a light funk song, "Someone for Me". Around August 1984, Masser offered Davis the ballad "Saving All My Love for You", originally written by Masser and lyricist Gerry Goffin for former 5th Dimension vocalist Marilyn McCoo and featured on McCoo and her singing partner husband Billy Davis Jr.'s third album, Marilyn & Billy (1978). Initially, Cissy Houston was against her daughter recording the song due to the song's theme of infidelity and adultery. However, Houston eventually recorded it, allegedly inspired by the fallout of a relationship with a married man, later rumoured to be Jermaine Jackson. The memorable saxophone riffs that accompany the song were played by jazz musician Tom Scott, a former member of the Blues Brothers.
Noting the lack of what he perceived to be crossover pop singles, Davis sought to find a song for Houston to connect with younger audiences. Gerry Griffith got in touch with Brenda Andrews of Almo-Irving Music, who offered him the song "How Will I Know", written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam. Merrill and Rubicam had originally offered the song to pop artist Janet Jackson; Jackson's management team, which included A&M Records executive John McClain, rejected the song for Jackson to record.. Griffith and Davis approved of the song and then hired Narada Michael Walden, then working on Aretha Franklin's Who's Zoomin' Who album, to produce the session. Initially unimpressed with the song, he asked to rewrite it, which after some time debating back and forth, was allowed. Houston recorded the funk-inflected dance number in October 1984. Both Masser and Houston persuaded Davis to let her record her rendition of "Greatest Love of All", which eventually was done in December. Davis initially didn't want Houston to record it due to the album including multiple love ballads and, after recording it, placed the song as the next-to-last track on the record due to him feeling it wasn't strong enough to be released as a single. "Greatest Love of All" ended up being the final song recorded for the album; Davis decided to add "Hold Me" and "Take Good Care of My Heart" to complete the album. Initially starting on a $200,000 budget, by the time of the album's completion, it had almost doubled to $400,000.
Critical reception
Whitney Houston received critical acclaim upon release. In a positive review for The New York Times, Stephen Holden wrote, "along with an appealing romantic innocence, [Houston] projects the commanding dignity and elegance of someone far more mature." Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail said the "arrangements frequently border on formulaic but such ballads as "Saving All My Love for You", "Greatest Love of All," and "Hold Me" are some of the loveliest pop singing on vinyl since the glory days of Dionne Warwick." Lacey added, "Houston has a silky, rich, vibrant voice that moves between steely edges, or curls sensuously around the notes." Los Angeles Times complimented Houston on her excellent vocal ability, writing, "neither the frequently listless arrangements nor the sometimes mediocre material of this debut LP hides the fact that Houston is a singer with enormous power and potential."