The US Tour was the debut promotional tour of American singer Whitney Houston, designed to promote her debut album Whitney Houston, released on February 14, 1985. The tour took place in multiple theaters, festivals, and clubs around the United States throughout the summer and fall between June 27 and December 1, 1985. Initially, the opening act for established singer Jeffrey Osborne and following selected spots on Luther Vandross' tour that year, Houston eventually headlined her own shows, including two landmark performances at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Background Houston released her self-titled debut album in February 1985 and first began promoting the album through performing at nightclubs all across the country, starting at one of her old haunts, Manhattan's Sweetwater's jazz club, one of many venues her mother Cissy regularly performed at and at which Houston was discovered by her label head and mentor Clive Davis, who signed her to his label Arista roughly two years prior.
After Sweetwater's, Houston performed at other nightclubs, including Los Angeles' Roxy Theatre in May while also promoting her album on national TV shows in both her native United States and in Europe. That month, her first leading single, "You Give Good Love", peaked at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart. Not too long afterwards, it was announced that Houston would open for American singer Jeffrey Osborne on his national US tour at the end of June. Houston had recorded Osborne's composition, "All at Once", on her debut. Not too long after joining Osborne's tour, Houston started getting rave reviews for her performances.
Around August, just as her second single, "Saving All My Love for You", was being promoted by her label, Houston joined longtime friend Luther Vandross' The Night I Fell In Love Tour on a few selected dates. By the end of August, as her debut album hit the top ten of the Billboard 200, it was decided by Houston's management, which was led by Gene Harvey, that Houston would begin headlining her own shows since her fame was starting to outgrow that of Osborne and Vandross.
Houston's first headlining show was at Humphrey's in San Diego for two shows on August 28. On October 28, two days after "Saving All My Love for You" topped the Billboard Hot 100, Houston gave the first of two sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall before heading back to London where she filmed the music video for "How Will I Know" in early November before returning to the States where she eventually finished her tour at the Universal Amphitheater in California on December 1.
Set list "Greatest Love of All" "Love Will Find a Way" "How Will I Know" "Saving All My Love for You" "Someone for Me" "Hold Me" "Take Good Care of My Heart" "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" "Send It" "All at Once" "Thinking About You" "I Am Changing" "Tomorrow" "You Give Good Love"
Notes August 28: in San Diego, Houston's opening act was comedian Roseanne Barr.Infusino, Divina (August 30, 1985). Savvy Whitney Houston Gives A Stunning Show . San Diego Union Times October 26: Houston performed at Disney World's 'On Stage' event at the Skyleidsocope,Defendorf, Richard (October 20, 1985). Whitney Houston Takes Fame In Stride. Orlando Sentinel on October 28: at Carnegie Hall, she performed a showstopping rendition of "I Am Changing" from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. November 20: at Carnegie Hall, Houston performed "I Am Changing", and her mother Cissy Houston mounted the stage to sing a cover of the classic "You Are My Dream".
Shows + List of 1985 concertsNorth America:DateCityCountryVenueJune 27, 1985New York CityUnited StatesPier 84June 29, 1985ColumbiaMerriweather Post PavilionJune 30, 1985PittsburghSyria Mosque TheaterJuly 1, 1985New York CityPier 84July 2, 1985Boston Boston CommonJuly 12, 1985Highland HeightsFront Row TheaterJuly 13, 1985July 14, 1985July 15, 1985July 24, 1985MilwaukeeRiverside TheaterJuly 25, 1985Hoffman EstatesPoplar Creek Music TheaterJuly 26, 1985St. LouisFox TheatreJuly 30, 1985DevonValley Forge Music FairJuly 31, 1985August 1, 1985August 2, 1985WestburyTheatre at WestburyAugust 3, 1985August 8, 1985Des MoinesVeterans Memorial AuditoriumAugust 9, 1985MerrillvilleHoliday Star TheatreAugust 10, 1985August 11, 1985ClarkstonPine Knob Music TheatreAugust 16, 1985HoustonThe SummitAugust 17, 1985DallasReunion ArenaAugust 18, 1985Oklahoma CityMyriad Convention CenterAugust 19, 1985DallasReunion ArenaAugust 22, 1985New OrleansUNO Lakefront ArenaAugust 24, 1985JacksonMississippi ColiseumAugust 25, 1985MemphisMid-South ColiseumAugust 28, 1985San DiegoHumphrey's Concerts by the BayAugust 29, 1985ConcordConcord PavilionAugust 30, 1985Los AngelesGreek TheatreAugust 31, 1985September 1, 1985Costa MesaPacific AmphitheatreSeptember 20, 1985Highland HeightsFront Row TheaterSeptember 21, 1985AustellSix Flags Over GeorgiaSeptember 22, 1985WilliamsburgBusch Gardens Theater September 27, 1985Washington, D.C.DAR Constitution HallSeptember 28, 1985HartfordBushnell Memorial HallSeptember 29, 1985BostonBerklee Performance CenterOctober 2, 1985ChicagoPark WestOctober 4, 1985Sterling HeightsPremier CenterOctober 5, 1985October 6, 1985Grand RapidsDeVos HallOctober 11, 1985BaltimoreLyric Opera HouseOctober 12, 1985Baton RougeRiverside CentroplexOctober 13, 1985San MarcosStrahan ArenaOctober 18, 1985St. LouisFox TheatreOctober 19, 1985IndianapolisClowes Memorial HallOctober 20, 1985RichmondThe MosqueOctober 26, 1985Lake Buena VistaEpcot SkyleidoscopeOctober 28, 1985New York CityCarnegie HallNovember 15, 1985Upper DarbyTower TheaterNovember 17, 1985New HavenWoolsey HallNovember 20, 1985New York CityCarnegie HallNovember 23, 1985DallasDallas Convention Center ArenaNovember 24, 1985HoustonHouston Music HallNovember 29, 1985PhoenixCelebrity TheatreNovember 30, 1985San DiegoGolden HallDecember 1, 1985Los AngelesUniversal Amphitheatre
Personnel Band Music director / piano – John Simmons Keyboards – Willard Meeks Saxophone – Josh Harris Guitar – Curtis Taylor Neishloss Bass - Rickey Minor Drums – Brian Brake Percussion – Kevin Jones Background vocalists – Gary Houston, Felicia Moss, Voneva Simms
References