Whitney is the second studio album by American R&B/pop singer Whitney Houston, released in the United States on June 2, 1987 by Arista Records as the follow-up to her best selling debut album, Whitney Houston. The album catapulted her to international fame. Whitney was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on November 29, 1995.
The album met the expectations of many people and was sensationally popular after its release. With this album, Houston set historic records on the charts. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart the issue of June 27, 1987, becoming the first album by a female artist, and only the fifth album by a solo artist to do so. The album remained at the top for eleven consecutive weeks, creating a record; the most cumulative weeks (25 weeks) at number one on the albums chart by a female artist during the 1980s.
Its first four singles—”I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)”, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” “So Emotional” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”—all peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making her the first female artist to achieve that feat. Along with three straight number one singles from the debut album, they established an unprecedented seven consecutive number one hits by a performer, surpassing the Beatles and the Bee Gees. As well as in United States, the album and the first single, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” were hits worldwide, topping the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and mainland Europe.
At the 30th Grammy Awards of 1988, the album received three nominations including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy, “Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female” for “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).” It has been announced that it will be re-released as a special anniversary edition by Legacy Recordings alongside The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album. The album has sold over 25 million copies worldwideThemify Builder Placeholder
Tracks
1 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) (George Merrill; Shannon Rubicam) 4:53
2 Just The Lonely Talking Again (Sam Dees) 5:34
3 Love Will Save The Day (Toni Colandreo) 5:25
4 Didn’t We Almost Have It All (Michael Masser; Will Jennings) 5:07
5 So Emotional (Billy Steinberg; Tom Kelly) 4:35
6 Where You Are (Dyan Humes; James Calabrese; LeMel Humes) 4:11
7 Love Is A Contact Sport (Preston Glass) 4:18
8 You’re Still My Man (Gerry Goffin; Michael Masser) 4:19
9 For The Love Of You (Chris Jasper; Marvin Isley; O’Kelly Isley; Ronald Isley; Rudolph Isley) 5:32
10 Where Do Broken Hearts Go (Chuck Jackson; Frank Wildhorn) 4:39
Musicians
1 I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
Bass (synthesizer) |
Randy Jackson |
Drums |
Narada Michael Walden |
Guitar |
Corrado Rustici |
Synthesizer |
Sterling Smith |
Synthesizer |
Walter Afanasieff |
Percussion |
Greg Gonaway |
Background Vocals |
Jennifer Hall |
Background Vocals |
Jim Gilstrap |
Background Vocals |
Kevin Dorsey |
Background Vocals |
Kitty Beethoven |
Background Vocals |
Myrna Matthews |
2 Just The Lonely Talking Again
Bass |
Randy Jackson |
Drums |
Narada Michael Walden |
Guitar |
Corrado Rustici |
Synthesizer |
Frank Martin |
Sax |
Kenny G. |
Background Vocals |
Jennifer Hall |
Background Vocals |
Jim Gilstrap |
Background Vocals |
Kitty Beethoven |
Background Vocals |
Nikki Harris |
3 Love Will Save The Day
Drums (programming) |
John Benitez |
Guitar |
Paul Jackson Jr |
Synthesizer |
Fred Zarr |
Synthesizer |
Jack Waldman |
Vibraphone |
Roy Ayers |
Percussion |
Bashiri Johnson |
Percussion |
Paulinho Da Costa |
Percussion |
Sammy Figueroa |
4 Didn’t We Almost Have It All
Bass |
Nathan East |
Drums |
JR Robinson |
Drums |
Narada Michael Walden |
Guitar |
Paul Jackson Jr |
Piano |
Robbie Buchanan |
5 So Emotional
Bass (synthesizer) |
Walter Afanasieff |
Guitar |
Corrado Rustici |
Keyboards |
Walter Afanasieff |
6 Where You Are
Bass |
Marcus Miller |
Drums |
Paul Leim |
Guitar |
Dann Huff |
Guitar |
Ira Siegel |
Guitar |
Paul Pesco |
Keyboards |
Kashif |
Keyboards |
Ralph Schuckett |
Synthesizer |
Kashif |
Synthesizer |
Ralph Schuckett |
Sax |
Vincent Henry |
Background Vocals |
Kashif |
7 Love Is A Contact Sport
Drums |
Narada Michael Walden |
Guitar |
Corrado Rustici |
Keyboards |
Preston Glass |
Synthesizer |
Preston Glass |
Synthesizer |
Walter Afanasieff |
Synthesizer |
Cory Lerios |
Sax |
Kenny G. |
Percussion |
Greg Gonaway |
Background Vocals |
Claytoven Richardson |
Background Vocals |
Jennifer Hall |
Background Vocals |
Jim Gilstrap |
Background Vocals |
Kitty Beethoven |
Background Vocals |
Nikki Harris |
8 You’re Still My Man
Bass |
Nathan East |
Drums |
JR Robinson |
Guitar |
Paul Jackson Jr |
Piano |
Randy Kerber |
Piano |
Robbie Buchanan |
Synthesizer |
Michael Boddicker |
9 For The Love Of You
Drums (programming) |
Narada Michael Walden |
Synthesizer |
Frank Martin |
Synthesizer |
Randy Jackson |
Sax |
Kenny G. |
Percussion |
Raul Rekow |
10 Where Do Broken Hearts Go
Bass (synthesizer) |
Randy Jackson |
Drums |
Narada Michael Walden |
Guitar |
Corrado Rustici |
Piano |
Frank Martin |
Synthesizer |
Frank Martin |
Synthesizer |
Preston Glass |
Percussion |
Greg Gonaway |
Background Vocals |
Jennifer Hall |
Background Vocals |
Jim Gilstrap |
Background Vocals |
Kitty Beethoven |
Background Vocals |
Nikki Harris |
11 I Know Him So Well
Bass |
Randy Jackson |
Drums |
Narada Michael Walden |
Synthesizer |
Preston Glass |
Synthesizer |
Walter Afanasieff |
Vocals |
Cissy Houston |
Liner Notes
Producer – Narada Michael Walden (Tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11)
Producer – John Jellybean Benitez (Track 3)
Producer – Michael Masser (Tracks 4, 8)
Producer – Kashif (Track 6)
Producer (Executive) – Clive Davis
Arranged By – Narada Michael Walden
Arranged By (Vocals) – Whitney Houston
Mixed By – David Frazer (Tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11)
Recorded By – David Frazer (Tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11)
Design – Mark Larson
Photography – Richard Avedon
Phonographic Copyright Arista Records Inc
Copyright Arista Records Inc