| "The Greatest Love of All" | ||||||||
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| Single by Whitney Houston | ||||||||
| from the album Whitney Houston | ||||||||
| Released | March 14, 1986 | |||||||
| Format | CD single, Cassette single, 7" single, 12" single | |||||||
| Recorded | December 1984 | |||||||
| Genre | R&B, soul | |||||||
| Length | 4:52 | |||||||
| Label | Arista | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Michael Masser, Linda Creed | |||||||
| Producer | Michael Masser | |||||||
| Whitney Houston singles chronology | ||||||||
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"The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed and originally recorded by George Benson for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest. The song was later popularized by Whitney Houston. Creed wrote the lyrics in the midst of her struggle with breast cancer. The words describe her feelings about coping with great challenges that one must face in life, being strong during those challenges whether you succeed or fail, and passing that strength on to children to carry with them into their adult lives. Creed eventually succumbed to the disease in April 1986 at the age of 36; at the time her song was an international hit by Whitney Houston.
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Clive Davis, founder of Houston's label Arista Records, was initially against Houston recording the song for her debut studio album, Whitney Houston, but he eventually gave in after persuasion from Houston and Masser. It was released as the B-side to the single "You Give Good Love", a previous Top 5 hit by Houston. The song was eventually released as a single in its own right. The song, released in April 1986, was the seventh release from Houston's debut album, and spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May of that year.[1]
Houston's album version features a piano intro, while the single version begins with a keyboard intro. After the single became a success, it replaced the original album version on subsequent pressings of the album. However, the original version was restored for the 2010 Deluxe Anniversary Edition reissue of the album.
Houston's music video was filmed at Harlem's Apollo Theater in New York City. In the video, she is a successful singer who is about to perform in front of an audience. She reminisces about the time when she was a child performing in a talent competition and receiving encouragement from her mother. The video features Houston's mother Cissy Houston playing herself, supporting a young Whitney.
Many critics called the single the centerpiece of Houston's debut album. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that "Houston sings it with a forceful directness that gives its message of self-worth an astounding resonance and conviction" and called the song a compelling assertion of spiritual devotion, black pride, and family loyalty, all at once.[2] Don Shewey of Rolling Stone wrote that as the song builds, Houston "slowly pours on the soul, slips in some churchy phrasing, holds notes a little longer and shows off her glorious voice."[3]
Benson's 1977 version was an R&B hit, reaching #2 on the R&B chart. It was a moderate pop hit, making the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] Houston's version reached number one on the Hot 100 chart for three weeks in 1986. The single was the fourth hit (and third #1) from her debut album. To date, this song was her second longest stay atop this chart, behind 1992's "I Will Always Love You." The song also reached number one on both component charts, the Hot 100 Singles Sales and the Hot 100 Airplay, her second consecutive release to do so, and stayed for fourteen weeks inside the top forty. On other Billboard charts, Houston also performed well, reaching number three on the R&B chart. The song topped the adult contemporary chart for five weeks, Houston's longest stay at the top of that chart at the time.[4] The song ranked #11 on Billboard's year end pop singles chart.[5] Houston's single fared well globally as well, reaching #8 in the United Kingdom and the top ten or #1 in several other European countries. It became her first #1 single in Australia.
Houston won the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Video, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and a Soul Train Music Award for Single of the Year.
In the film Coming to America, Randy Watson (portrayed by Eddie Murphy) performs a terrible rendition of the song at the "Miss Black Awareness Pageant." An unenthusiastic audience prompts him to walk offstage in a huff.
In It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dennis and Dee sing this song with their biological father at the Juvenile Lupus Association in the episode "Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad".
In Bret Easton Ellis' novel American Psycho, yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman gives a long critique of Whitney Houston's career and mentions the song heavily. In the 2000 film adaptation starring Christian Bale, Bateman gives an abridged version of the critique to two women making out on his couch, shortly before he has sex with them and murders them. Since the filmmakers were not able to obtain the rights tho the song, an instrumental, easy-listening version plays in the background during the scene.
Chart positions
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Year-end charts
Certifications
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| Preceded by "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" by Samantha Fox |
Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart number-one single July 14, 1986 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" by Samantha Fox |
| Preceded by Overjoyed by Stevie Wonder |
Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles number-one single April 26, 1986 (5 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Live to Tell" by Madonna |
| Preceded by West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 17, 1986 - May 31, 1986 |
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| Preceded by "Live to Tell" by Madonna |
Canadian RPM number-one single June 7, 1986 |
Succeeded by "A Different Corner" by George Michael |
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