Every time I hear a song by Whitney Houston – which unfortunately is not often enough nowadays – it reminds me of how powerful and penetrating her voice sounded at a live performance. I had the good fortune to cover two of her concerts back in 1991 during her “I’m Your Baby Tonight” tour. One took place indoors at the Civic Center in Providence, RI and the other outdoors at Great Woods, the amphitheater in Mansfield, MA, just a few days short of her 28th birthday.
Those shows had many highlights, but the one that resonates most clearly over 30 years later is “Greatest Love of All” at the Mansfield show. That was her closing encore, and it drew a stark contrast to the rest of the evening.
The “I’m Your Baby Tonight” tour seemed as much about spectacle as singing. The planners “placed more emphasis on visual spectacle than Whitney’s previous tours, and included state-of-the-art lighting and an elaborate stage.” Two enormous video boards flanked the stage and tried to convey a larger-than-life effect. In practice, that meant more improvisation and more movement, which I referred to as “the illusion of spontaneity” in one of my reviews.
Did Whitney Houston need all that? Nope.
Her rendition of “Greatest Love of All” offered all the proof. Shimmering at center stage in an elegant black dress, she immersed the audience in her amazing voice without the razzle dazzle. I hung on every word, rode the vocal waves, and waited for her final plea to “find your strength in love.”
Judging from the crowd's responses throughout the evening, they had expected to experience Whitney sing rather than watch the Whitney Show. That amazing encore was the reward for their patience.
1991 was a career turning point
You could make the argument that every year of her early career had some kind of turning point, either as a milestone or a stepping stone. Her publicity headshot from the year projects a sense of joy and a care-free attitude, at least to me.
But 1991 may have marked a true change in trajectory. By then, Houston had already enjoyed a record-breaking career and become a cultural phenomenon. Between 1985 and 1988 she set a record with seven consecutive #1 hits on the Billboard singles chart, shattering a mark previously held by the Beatles. That record stands to this day.
She had still not reached her peak, though. In hindsight, a few landmark events in 1991 set the stage for the next phases of her career.
The National Anthem: The highlights from 1991 started with her "Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, considered to be one of the best and most uplifting renditions of all time. It came during the Persian Gulf war and an economic recession in the US.
Marriage proposal: In September her boyfriend Bobby Brown proposed to her, and they married in 1992.
Production of “The Bodyguard”: In November she began production on the movie which helped catapult her to peak superstardom: “The Bodyguard” with Kevin Costner. In 1992, her version of the Dolly Parton song “I Will Always Love You” became a huge international hit, would eventually win two Grammy awards, and remained number one on the Billboard singles chart in the US for 14 weeks.
She also had a brief scare regarding her voice in the summer of 1991. A few days after the show in Mansfield, Houston cancelled a couple weeks’ worth of shows to rest. One report said that doctors ordered her to rest her voice “as quickly as possible in order to avoid permanent throat damage.” Whatever ailment she apparently had resolved itself quickly, however, because she resumed her tour shortly thereafter.
The story behind the song
George Benson recorded the first version of “The Greatest Love of All” in 1977, when the song anchored the soundtrack for “The Greatest,” a movie about the life of Muhammed Ali. Linda Creed, who wrote many R&B hits for “Philly Sound” artists in the 1970s, wrote the lyrics.
Houston took the song to an entirely new level. “Greatest Love of All” from her debut album achieved double-platinum status and earned a Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. The single came out on March 18, 1986, less than one month before Creed sadly lost her battle to cancer and passed away at the age of 37.
Houston herself would pass away in 2012 at the age of 48.
Frank Luby is co-founder and CEO of BluesBackroadsBaseball LLC and the author of the book Blues Flashbacks: The Legends In Their Own Words.
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