Best Sellers From The ’80s: Whitney Houston’s Debut Album
Whitney Houston (Arista, 1985)
(Note: Whitney Houston died Saturday, Feb. 11 at age 48.)
Though she brought inimitable talent, strong pedigree and the enthusiasm of Clive Davis to her first recording sessions, Whitney Houston initially wasn’t of interest to a lot of A-list producers. But Davis and Houston forged on and created the biggest-selling debut album in history for a female artist at the time.
It was well-known producer Kashif who finally got the ball rolling when he laid down a demo of the hit “You Give Good Love.” From there, other notable knob twiddlers like Michael Masser, Jermaine Jackson and Michael Narada Walden signed on and the album — an expensive $250,000 production — started to come together.
The slow gestation of Whitney Houston paid off: “You Give Good Love” hit #3, three other cuts wet to #1 and the album won or was nominated for more awards that can be listed here.
To date, Whitney Houston’s debut has sold 13 million copies in the US alone.
(Haa)
I found out what I've been missin'
Always on the run
I've been lookin' for someone
What was hot a quarter-of-a-century ago? Find out with more Best Sellers from the ’80s here…
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