Actors - Whitney Houston

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	Actors - Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston is the self-titled debut album by American R&B singer Whitney Houston, released on February 14, 1985 (see 1985 in music). The album had a slow start, but exploded during 1986 with the help of three number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100. It is Houston's best-selling studio album, and is the best-selling debut album (by a solo artist) of all time.

Chart performance

The album

Whitney Houston debuted on the Billboard 200 the week of March 30, 1985 at #120. It lingered on the charts for a year until finally reaching number one in March 1986, where it remained for fourteen non-consecutive weeks and became the best-selling album of the year. The album exhibited massive staying power, remaining on the Billboard 200 for 162 weeks. It eventually sold over 13 million copies in America, the best-selling female debut album in the country.

The album was also critically successful, often being named Houston's best work. For critical reception, the album won a Grammy Award and was named Rolling Stone's Best Album of 1986.

Internationally, the album became a huge hit due to one single (often "Saving All My Love For You" or "Greatest Love of All") reaching #1 status in Australia, and coming up at #2 in both the United Kingdom and Germany.

The singles

"Someone For Me" was the lead single from the album, released only in the UK, where it failed to chart.
"You Give Good Love" was the first single released in the United States. It went to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the R&B chart, becoming Houston's first major hit. However, it was a minor hit elsewhere.
"Saving All My Love For You" became Houston's first number one single in both the United States and UK but only reached top 20 status in Germany and Australia.
"Thinking About You" was the fourth single, but was barely promoted, only charting on Billboard's R&B chart.
"How Will I Know" was Houston's second United States number one. It was less well received in other areas of the world, managing to crack the top 5 in both the UK and Australia, but still didn't become a hit for Houston in Germany.
"Greatest Love of All" was the final single from the album, and became Houston's 3rd straight number one from the album on the Hot 100, a record for a solo female artist duplicating the feat in Australia. It once again placed in the UK Top 10 but only managed to reach twenty-one in Germany, the same as "How Will I Know".

Track listing

#"You Give Good Love" (La La) - 4:37 #"Thinking About You" (Kashif, LaLa) - 5:26 #"Someone for Me" (Raymond Jones, Freddie Washington) - 5:01 #"Saving All My Love for You" (Gerry Goffin, Michael Masser) - 3:58 #"Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" (James Patrick Dunne, Pamela Phillips-Oland) - 3:49 #"How Will I Know" (George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam) - 4:36 #"All at Once" (Masser, Jeffrey Osborne) - 4:29 #"Take Good Care of My Heart" (Steve Dorff, Pete McCann) - 4:16 #"Greatest Love of All" (Linda Creed, Masser) - 4:51 #"Hold Me" (Creed, Masser) - 6:00

Personnel

Whitney Houston - vocals
John Barnes - clarinet
Robbie Buchanan - keyboard
Mary Canty
Nathan East - bass
Preston Glass
Ed Greene - drums
Cissy Houston - vocals
Dann Huff - guitar
Jermaine Jackson - vocals
Paul Jackson Jr.
Randy "The Emperor" Jackson
Bashiri Johnson - percussion
Randy Kerber - keyboard
Joe Lala
Yogi Lee
J.T. Lewis
Yvonne Lewis - vocals
Richard Marx
Tim May - guitar
Teddy Pendergrass - vocals
Greg Phillinganes
John "J.R." Robinson - drums
Steve Rucker
Corrado Rustici
Tom Scott - saxophone
Louie Shelton
Ira Siegel - guitar
Deborah Thomas
Premik Russell Tubbs
Freddie Washington
Julia Tillman Waters - vocals
Maxine Willard Waters - vocals
Oren Waters - vocals
Ernie Watts - saxophone
David Williams - guitar

Production

Producers: Jermaine Jackson, Kashif, Michael Masser, Narada Michael Walden
Executive producer: Clive Davis
Engineers: Michael Barbiero, Michael Mancini, Michael O'Reilly, Russell Schmitt
Mixing: Michael Barbiero, Michael O'Reilly, Bill Schnee
Arranger: Kashif, Narada Michael Walden
Art direction: Donn Davenport
Stylist: Tiagi Lambert
Hair stylist: Jeffrey Woodly

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