You Give Good Love
Encyclopedia
"You Give Good Love" is a song by American recording artist Whitney Houston
, released as the lead single from her self-titled debut album
, entitled Whitney Houston in the United States in February 1985 by Arista Records
, and the second single from the album in the United Kingdom. The song was written by LaLa
and produced by Kashif
. When LaLa sent Kashif a copy of the song, originally offered to Roberta Flack
, he thought it would be a better fit for Houston and told Arista he would be interested in recording with Houston. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, but brought Houston a bit of notoriety when it turned up among several songs cited by advice columnist Ann Landers as having suggestive titles.
The release of "You Give Good Love" was designed to give Houston a noticeable position and standing within the black music market first, which topped the Billboard Hot Black Singles
chart, but it also made an unexpected crossover pop hit, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
chart, being in their first Top 10 chart. It was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). The single was released officially in some countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and United Kingdom, but failed to make the top 40 in the countries except Canada, reached the top ten. The song won Favorite Soul/R&B Single at The 13th American Music Awards
, and was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 28th Grammy Awards in 1986.
The music video for the song directed by Karen Bellone, shows Houston performing at a club and a photographer focusing his camera on her. Houston performed the song on various TV shows and awards ceremonies such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, The 1985 R&B Countdown and The 1st Soul Train Music Awards
of 1987, as well as on her first three tours and select dates of The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–94) and My Love Is Your Love World Tour
(1999). "You Give Good Love" is also featured on three of Houston's compilation albums, Whitney: The Greatest Hits
(2000), Love, Whitney (2001) and The Essential Whitney Houston (2011).
accepted Arista
president Clive Davis
' invitation to see a New York club performance by a young singer named Whitney Houston
that he'd just signed to the label, he was disappointed. Her act was a lounge act and didn't appeal to Kashif. Davis continued to court Kashif sending him a videotape of Houston's performance on The Merv Griffin Show
. LaLa
, a writer signed to Kashif's music publishing company, sent him a demo of a ballad she had written titled "You Give Good Love." She'd sent it to her idol Roberta Flack
first but she was rebuffed by her assistant with an angry "don't call us, we'll call you" retort. When Kashif heard the song, a light bulb came out in his mind that flashed "hit! hit!" Then he called Gerry Griffith, an Arista A&R man, and said that "I think I have a song for you." So Griffith and Houston drove to the New Jersey studio where Kashif was working to check it out. Griffith recalled that there was a demo of the song but LaLa wanted to sing it live with her piano playing. After LaLa finished the song, Griffith said "that's the song - that's what I've been looking for." It was the kind of tune that had the emotion that she could get into and sing her heart out. The release of "You Give Good Love" was designed to give Houston a noticeable position and standing within the black music charts over there. Clive Davis later explained the thinking behind releasing the song as the debut single from the album:
, "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure
, "Ready, Willing and Able" by Lita Ford
, "You Shook Me All Night Long
" and "Love at First Feel
" by AC/DC
, "Tease Me" by Junie Morrison
, and "Fire Down Below" by Bob Seger
. Houston, in an interview with Chicago Tribune
, gave some answers to Lander's comments, saying "She chose a few songs out of the Top 40 that she thought had suggestive titles as far as she was concerned, and it was one of them. I don't think that the title is suggestive at all. It didn't say anything but 'you give good love', and it didn't say anything in the song that was sexual or outrageous. I think that Miss Landers just looked at the title and didn't view the song itself." Houston, who described herself as a religious person, said that she hasn't given much thought to the controversy over questionable lyrics:
, listing the song as the first of "Top 5 Whitney Houston songs of the '80s," praised Houston's vocal ability on the song highly, writing "One of Whitney Houston's signature gifts in the '80s was undoubtedly her ability to blend small amounts of soul into her slick adult contemporary pop ballads, just enough to make sure the music would appeal to urban audiences as well as mainstream pop fans. This song[You Give Good Love] is a great example of this, as Houston delivers a sufficiently soulful, passionate performance that rides in on a modest R&B groove perfect for after-dark encounters with the one you love, or at least somebody you kinda like. Though not a songwriter herself, Houston immediately displayed here an uncanny gift for selecting permanent pop melodies to which to apply her vocal precision." Billboard
, in its review of the single, called Houston's vocal on the song as "a voice of exceptional clarity and control." Adam White, a performance reviewer of Billboard, in his writing of Houston's performance to promote her debut album at the Sweetwater's in New York, described the song as "the mellifluous, midtempo item." Other critic of Billboard, Brian Chin commented that "the ecstatic single which may possibly be the classiest make-out song since 'Fire and Desire'." While reviewing Houston's I Look to You
album, Rashod D. Ollison from TheGrio.com
stated that "You Give Good Love" is "effortlessly sexy."
, where Houston garnered a total of six nominations in Pop/Rock and Soul/R&B categories, on January 27, 1986. The song received two Grammy nominations―Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female―but lost to "Freeway of Love
" written by Jeffrey Cohen and Narada Michael Walden
, performed by Aretha Franklin
in both categories, at the 28th Grammy Awards, held on February 25, 1986.
in February 1985. The single entered the Billboard Hot Black Singes
chart (later Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) at number eighty-nine on March 9 issue, and on ninth week of its release, reached the top ten of the chart, the issue dated May 4, 1985. Eventually, it hit the pole position of the chart, the issue date of May 25, 1985, and stayed atop for one week, becoming Houston's first R&B number-one single. The song debuted at number sixty-seven and number forty on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles and Hot Adult Contemporary charts, respectively, on the May 11 issue. Eight weeks later the single reached the top ten on the Hot 100 chart, and in the following three weeks peaked at number three of the chart, the issue dated July 27, 1985, spending a total of twenty-one weeks on the chart. On the Adult Contemporary chart, it reached a peak of number four in the July 20, 1985 issue. It was ranked number forty-seven and number two on the Billboard year-end Top Pop Singles
and Top Black Singles charts, respectively. The single was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States alone by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) on December 6, 1995. In Canada, the song debuted at number ninety-five on the RPM 100 Singles
chart on the May 18 issue, and fourteen weeks later peaked at number nine on the chart, the issue date of August 24, 1985. It placed at number seventy-six on the RPM year-end Top 100 Singles chart of 1985.
Worldwide, "You Give Good Love" was not released as the official single except some countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Moreover, unlike in North America, the song failed to get enough attention to establish itself as a hit song in even their markets at the time of its release, because another songs from Houston's debut album―"All at Once" or "Saving All My Love for You
"―got a better reaction than the song from the public and the media, particularly in Europe, and the early promotion for the album was also stratagemically focused on those of songs. After all, the single didn't even make the Top 40 on the singles charts, peaking at number fifty-eight in Australia, forty-four in New Zealand, and ninety-three in the UK.
and produced by Karen Bellone, featured an off-duty cameraman entering a club that's being refurbished. Houston is on the stage rehearsing for a performance. Taken aback by her impressive singing, the man begins filming Houston as she performs. TIME
commented that the video "tells the story of a romance with a cameraman ― and, more tellingly, with his adoring camera." Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail
, in an interview with Houston, called it "the blatantly erotic video" and added "Houston and a photographer have a suggestive encounter (the photographer with his zoom lens, the singer with her microphone)."
for music critics to see Houston perform, at Sweetwater's club in New York, the place where Cissy Houston
had been bringing Whitney along, on February 12–16, 1985. She also performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
on April 5, 1985, which was her first National TV appearance since The Merv Griffin Show
in 1983. Houston lip-synced to the album version of the song on the syndicated TV special "The 1985 R&B Countdown" which aired on December 31, 1985. She delivered a performance of "You Give Good Love" on the 1st Soul Train Music Awards
, where Houston was nominated for two categories, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
on March 23, 1987. The performance is found in bonus DVD featured on Whitney Houston: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition, remastered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its original release.
In addition to her numerous performances for the song in TV shows as well as award ceremonies, the song was included in setlist on Houston's first three tours, Greatest Love Tour
(1986), Moment of Truth World Tour
(1987–88) and Feels So Right Japan Tour
(1990). Additionally, the song was performed on select dates of her The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–94) and My Love Is Your Love World Tour
(1999). Among her tour performances of the song, the Yokohama Arena
live footage on January 7, 1990, was taped and later broadcast on Japanese TV channel.
, Terry Ellis
and Kenny Lattimore
at The 12th Soul Train Music Awards
held on February 27, 1998. Jennifer Hudson
covered the song as one of the setlist during her first US tour with Robin Thicke
in April - May, 2009. Karen Rodriguez
, one of Top 13 finalists on the tenth season of American Idol
, auditioned on MySpace
first and then in front of the judges in Los Angeles, California
with the song in 2010.
.
List of Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, released as the lead single from her self-titled debut album
Whitney Houston (album)
Whitney Houston is the debut album of American R&B and pop singer Whitney Houston, released March 14, 1985 on Arista Records. The album initially had a slow commercial response but began getting more popular since the summer of 1985...
, entitled Whitney Houston in the United States in February 1985 by Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
, and the second single from the album in the United Kingdom. The song was written by LaLa
LaLa (songwriter)
La Forrest Cope, professionally known as La La, is an American songwriter and performer raised in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York, U.S.A....
and produced by Kashif
Kashif (musician)
Kashif Saleem is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer.-Career:Kashif became well-known from playing keyboards in the renowned funk band B.T. Express. He played synthesizer bass using the miniMoog while touring with the group...
. When LaLa sent Kashif a copy of the song, originally offered to Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
, he thought it would be a better fit for Houston and told Arista he would be interested in recording with Houston. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, but brought Houston a bit of notoriety when it turned up among several songs cited by advice columnist Ann Landers as having suggestive titles.
The release of "You Give Good Love" was designed to give Houston a noticeable position and standing within the black music market first, which topped the Billboard Hot Black Singles
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart, but it also made an unexpected crossover pop hit, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, being in their first Top 10 chart. It was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). The single was released officially in some countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and United Kingdom, but failed to make the top 40 in the countries except Canada, reached the top ten. The song won Favorite Soul/R&B Single at The 13th American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 1986
The 13th Annual American Music Awards were held on January 27, 1986.-Pop/Rock Category:-Soul/R&B Category:-Country Category:...
, and was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female at the 28th Grammy Awards in 1986.
The music video for the song directed by Karen Bellone, shows Houston performing at a club and a photographer focusing his camera on her. Houston performed the song on various TV shows and awards ceremonies such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
, The 1985 R&B Countdown and The 1st Soul Train Music Awards
1987 Soul Train Music Awards
The 1987 Soul Train Music Awards aired live on March 23, 1987 , honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year...
of 1987, as well as on her first three tours and select dates of The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–94) and My Love Is Your Love World Tour
My Love Is Your Love World Tour
-Additional notes:*During opening night, June 22nd in Chicago, IL; after Houston performed "I Will Always Love You" she closed the show with two encore's, "My Love Is Your Love" and "Step by Step"...
(1999). "You Give Good Love" is also featured on three of Houston's compilation albums, Whitney: The Greatest Hits
Whitney: The Greatest Hits
-International edition:-Whitney: The Unreleased Mixes:Whitney: The Unreleased Mixes is a limited-edition four-record vinyl set, containing eight full club versions of selected remixes found on the American release...
(2000), Love, Whitney (2001) and The Essential Whitney Houston (2011).
Background
When songwriter/producer KashifKashif (musician)
Kashif Saleem is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and record producer.-Career:Kashif became well-known from playing keyboards in the renowned funk band B.T. Express. He played synthesizer bass using the miniMoog while touring with the group...
accepted Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
president Clive Davis
Clive Davis
Clive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
' invitation to see a New York club performance by a young singer named Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
that he'd just signed to the label, he was disappointed. Her act was a lounge act and didn't appeal to Kashif. Davis continued to court Kashif sending him a videotape of Houston's performance on The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
. LaLa
LaLa (songwriter)
La Forrest Cope, professionally known as La La, is an American songwriter and performer raised in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York, U.S.A....
, a writer signed to Kashif's music publishing company, sent him a demo of a ballad she had written titled "You Give Good Love." She'd sent it to her idol Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
first but she was rebuffed by her assistant with an angry "don't call us, we'll call you" retort. When Kashif heard the song, a light bulb came out in his mind that flashed "hit! hit!" Then he called Gerry Griffith, an Arista A&R man, and said that "I think I have a song for you." So Griffith and Houston drove to the New Jersey studio where Kashif was working to check it out. Griffith recalled that there was a demo of the song but LaLa wanted to sing it live with her piano playing. After LaLa finished the song, Griffith said "that's the song - that's what I've been looking for." It was the kind of tune that had the emotion that she could get into and sing her heart out. The release of "You Give Good Love" was designed to give Houston a noticeable position and standing within the black music charts over there. Clive Davis later explained the thinking behind releasing the song as the debut single from the album:
"We wanted to establish her in the black marketplace first, otherwise you can fall between cracks, where Top 40 won't play you and R&B won't consider you their own. We felt that 'You Give Good Love' would be, at the very least, a major black hit, though we didn't think that it would cross over as strongly as it did. When it did cross over with such velocity that gave us great encouragement."
Lyrics controversy
"You Give Good Love" brought Houston a bit of notoriety when it turned up among several songs cited by advice columnist Ann Landers as having suggestive titles. Landers, in her column for a reader who worried about the bad influence of song's lyrics on children, wrote that "Some of the lyrics are sexually provocative. The titles tell the story," and called those of songs are "pretty trashy stuff[s]," citing the song's title as an instance along with "Hot Love" by Cheap TrickCheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, "Let's Go to Bed" by The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, "Ready, Willing and Able" by Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
, "You Shook Me All Night Long
You Shook Me All Night Long
"You Shook Me All Night Long" is one of AC/DC's signature songs from their most successful album, Back in Black. The song also reappeared on their later album Who Made Who. It is one of the band's top 40 singles, reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in 1980...
" and "Love at First Feel
Love At First Feel
"Love at First Feel" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the second track of the international version of their album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in November 1976 , and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott...
" by AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, "Tease Me" by Junie Morrison
Walter Morrison
Walter "Junie" Morrison is a musician and producer born in Dayton, Ohio. Morrison was a producer, writer, keyboardist and vocalist for the funk band the Ohio Players in the early 70s, where he wrote and produced their first major hit, "Funky Worm"...
, and "Fire Down Below" by Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
. Houston, in an interview with Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, gave some answers to Lander's comments, saying "She chose a few songs out of the Top 40 that she thought had suggestive titles as far as she was concerned, and it was one of them. I don't think that the title is suggestive at all. It didn't say anything but 'you give good love', and it didn't say anything in the song that was sexual or outrageous. I think that Miss Landers just looked at the title and didn't view the song itself." Houston, who described herself as a religious person, said that she hasn't given much thought to the controversy over questionable lyrics:
"The songs that I sing don't fall into that category, so I don't think about it at all. But I believe that music does influence people. It's a universal thing. Everybody listens to music and knows about it. I think that the lyrics can have a lot to do with influencing whoever you're singing to. I think that as far as children are concerned, parents should have control over what they listen to. If they don't want them to listen to records that are very sexual or explicit or outrageous, they should have control over that situation. As for adults, they're going to buy whatever kind of music they want to hear, so if they buy music with explicit lyrics, they must like it."
Critical reception
Steve Peake of About.comAbout.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
, listing the song as the first of "Top 5 Whitney Houston songs of the '80s," praised Houston's vocal ability on the song highly, writing "One of Whitney Houston's signature gifts in the '80s was undoubtedly her ability to blend small amounts of soul into her slick adult contemporary pop ballads, just enough to make sure the music would appeal to urban audiences as well as mainstream pop fans. This song[You Give Good Love] is a great example of this, as Houston delivers a sufficiently soulful, passionate performance that rides in on a modest R&B groove perfect for after-dark encounters with the one you love, or at least somebody you kinda like. Though not a songwriter herself, Houston immediately displayed here an uncanny gift for selecting permanent pop melodies to which to apply her vocal precision." Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, in its review of the single, called Houston's vocal on the song as "a voice of exceptional clarity and control." Adam White, a performance reviewer of Billboard, in his writing of Houston's performance to promote her debut album at the Sweetwater's in New York, described the song as "the mellifluous, midtempo item." Other critic of Billboard, Brian Chin commented that "the ecstatic single which may possibly be the classiest make-out song since 'Fire and Desire'." While reviewing Houston's I Look to You
I Look to You
I Look to You is the seventh studio album by American R&B-pop singer Whitney Houston. It was first released on August 28, 2009 through Sony Music in Europe, then August 31, 2009 with Arista Records in the United States before being released by RCA Records in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2009...
album, Rashod D. Ollison from TheGrio.com
The Grio
TheGrio.com is a black and African-American video news site that focuses on underrepresented stories in existing national news that are important to the African-American community....
stated that "You Give Good Love" is "effortlessly sexy."
Awards and nominations
The song received a number of awards and nominations following its release. "You Give Good Love" won Favorite Soul/R&B Singles at the 13th annual American Music AwardsAmerican Music Awards of 1986
The 13th Annual American Music Awards were held on January 27, 1986.-Pop/Rock Category:-Soul/R&B Category:-Country Category:...
, where Houston garnered a total of six nominations in Pop/Rock and Soul/R&B categories, on January 27, 1986. The song received two Grammy nominations―Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female―but lost to "Freeway of Love
Freeway of Love
"Freeway of Love" is a Grammy Award-winning song released as the first single from Aretha Franklin's 1985 album Who's Zoomin' Who?. It was very successful in the United States, peaking at the #3 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and topping the Hot R&B Singles chart for five weeks . It went...
" written by Jeffrey Cohen and Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden
Narada Michael Walden is an American producer, drummer, singer, and songwriter. He was given the name Narada by guru Sri Chinmoy in the early 1970s and his musical career spans three decades, in which he was awarded several gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards...
, performed by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
in both categories, at the 28th Grammy Awards, held on February 25, 1986.
Chart performance
"You Give Good Love" was released as the first single off Houston's debut album Whitney HoustonWhitney Houston (album)
Whitney Houston is the debut album of American R&B and pop singer Whitney Houston, released March 14, 1985 on Arista Records. The album initially had a slow commercial response but began getting more popular since the summer of 1985...
in February 1985. The single entered the Billboard Hot Black Singes
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart (later Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs) at number eighty-nine on March 9 issue, and on ninth week of its release, reached the top ten of the chart, the issue dated May 4, 1985. Eventually, it hit the pole position of the chart, the issue date of May 25, 1985, and stayed atop for one week, becoming Houston's first R&B number-one single. The song debuted at number sixty-seven and number forty on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles and Hot Adult Contemporary charts, respectively, on the May 11 issue. Eight weeks later the single reached the top ten on the Hot 100 chart, and in the following three weeks peaked at number three of the chart, the issue dated July 27, 1985, spending a total of twenty-one weeks on the chart. On the Adult Contemporary chart, it reached a peak of number four in the July 20, 1985 issue. It was ranked number forty-seven and number two on the Billboard year-end Top Pop Singles
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1985
Billboard magazine each year releases a Year-End chart of the most popular songs across all genres called the Hot 100 songs of the year.This is the Year-End Hot 100 songs of 1985.-See also:*1985 in music*List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985...
and Top Black Singles charts, respectively. The single was certified Gold for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States alone by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) on December 6, 1995. In Canada, the song debuted at number ninety-five on the RPM 100 Singles
RPM (magazine)
RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
chart on the May 18 issue, and fourteen weeks later peaked at number nine on the chart, the issue date of August 24, 1985. It placed at number seventy-six on the RPM year-end Top 100 Singles chart of 1985.
Worldwide, "You Give Good Love" was not released as the official single except some countries such as Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Moreover, unlike in North America, the song failed to get enough attention to establish itself as a hit song in even their markets at the time of its release, because another songs from Houston's debut album―"All at Once" or "Saving All My Love for You
Saving All My Love for You
"Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin with arrangement by Gene Page. It was originally a minor hit for Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. in 1978 on their album Marilyn & Billy...
"―got a better reaction than the song from the public and the media, particularly in Europe, and the early promotion for the album was also stratagemically focused on those of songs. After all, the single didn't even make the Top 40 on the singles charts, peaking at number fifty-eight in Australia, forty-four in New Zealand, and ninety-three in the UK.
Music video
The music video for "You Give Good Love" was directed by Michael Lindsay-HoggMichael Lindsay-Hogg
Sir Michael Edward Lindsay-Hogg, 5th Baronet is a British television and stage director and an occasional writer and actor.-Background and early work:...
and produced by Karen Bellone, featured an off-duty cameraman entering a club that's being refurbished. Houston is on the stage rehearsing for a performance. Taken aback by her impressive singing, the man begins filming Houston as she performs. TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
commented that the video "tells the story of a romance with a cameraman ― and, more tellingly, with his adoring camera." Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, in an interview with Houston, called it "the blatantly erotic video" and added "Houston and a photographer have a suggestive encounter (the photographer with his zoom lens, the singer with her microphone)."
Live performances
As a solo artist, Houston first promoted "You Give Good Love" alongside other tunes from her debut album Whitney Houston in the shows, arranged by Clive DavisClive Davis
Clive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
for music critics to see Houston perform, at Sweetwater's club in New York, the place where Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a very successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley, Mahalia Jackson, Wishbone Ash and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist...
had been bringing Whitney along, on February 12–16, 1985. She also performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
on April 5, 1985, which was her first National TV appearance since The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to September 26, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in...
in 1983. Houston lip-synced to the album version of the song on the syndicated TV special "The 1985 R&B Countdown" which aired on December 31, 1985. She delivered a performance of "You Give Good Love" on the 1st Soul Train Music Awards
1987 Soul Train Music Awards
The 1987 Soul Train Music Awards aired live on March 23, 1987 , honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year...
, where Houston was nominated for two categories, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multipurpose convention center in Santa Monica, California owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket....
on March 23, 1987. The performance is found in bonus DVD featured on Whitney Houston: The Deluxe Anniversary Edition, remastered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its original release.
In addition to her numerous performances for the song in TV shows as well as award ceremonies, the song was included in setlist on Houston's first three tours, Greatest Love Tour
Greatest Love Tour
The Greatest Love World Tour was Whitney Houston's first headlining worldwide tour in support of her multi-platinum debut album, Whitney Houston. The tour started at the Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 26, 1986 and was a 4-month venture...
(1986), Moment of Truth World Tour
Moment of Truth World Tour
The Moment of Truth World Tour was the second worldwide tour by American R&B/Pop singer, Whitney Houston. The tour started in North America during the summer of 1987, following the release of her second album Whitney...
(1987–88) and Feels So Right Japan Tour
Feels So Right Tour
The Feels So Right Tour was the tour in Japan only by singer Whitney Houston. The tour started on January 1, 1990 and ended on January 24, 1990 before the release of her third album I'm Your Baby Tonight.-History:...
(1990). Additionally, the song was performed on select dates of her The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–94) and My Love Is Your Love World Tour
My Love Is Your Love World Tour
-Additional notes:*During opening night, June 22nd in Chicago, IL; after Houston performed "I Will Always Love You" she closed the show with two encore's, "My Love Is Your Love" and "Step by Step"...
(1999). Among her tour performances of the song, the Yokohama Arena
Yokohama Arena
is an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five minute walk from the closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama...
live footage on January 7, 1990, was taped and later broadcast on Japanese TV channel.
Live cover versions
Monica performed "You Give Good Love" as part of a tribute to Houston, the recipient of the Quincy Jones Award in that year, along with Ronald IsleyRonald Isley
Ronald Isley is an American singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers.-Career:...
, Terry Ellis
Terry Ellis
Terry Lynn Ellis is an African-American R&B singer best known for her work with the quartet En Vogue.-Biography:...
and Kenny Lattimore
Kenny Lattimore
Kenny Lattimore is an American R&B singer. Among his most popular hits were "Never Too Busy" and "For You".- Early career :...
at The 12th Soul Train Music Awards
1998 Soul Train Music Awards
The 12th Annual Soul Train Music Awards were held on February 27, 1998 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. Puff Daddy was the top nominee with five nominations, other top nominess included Janet Jackson, Aaliyah and Maxwell....
held on February 27, 1998. Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
covered the song as one of the setlist during her first US tour with Robin Thicke
Robin Thicke
Robin Charles Thicke is an Award-winning American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and actor. Thicke's albums, which he previously released under the moniker Thicke, are noted for their feature of a predominantly R&B sound. Robin Thicke has penned hits for popular artists such as...
in April - May, 2009. Karen Rodriguez
Karen Rodriguez
Karen Rodriguez is an American singer from New York City, New York. Rodriguez placed twelfth on the tenth season of American Idol.-Early life:...
, one of Top 13 finalists on the tenth season of American Idol
American Idol (season 10)
The tenth season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2011 and concluded on May 25, 2011, on Fox. The show underwent a number of changes from season nine, including the reduction of the judging panel to its original number of just three judges , a returning executive producer, a new music...
, auditioned on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
first and then in front of the judges in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
with the song in 2010.
Track listing and formats
- AUS 12" Maxi-Vinyl / UK 12" Maxi-Vinyl Single
- A "You Give Good Love" (Extended Version)
- B1 "Someone for Me"
- B2 "Thinking About You"
- AUS 7" Vinyl / JPN 7" Vinyl Single
- A "You Give Good Love" – 4:33
- B "Greatest Love of All" – 4:55
- UK 7" Vinyl Single
- A "You Give Good Love"
- B "Thinking About You"
- US 7" Vinyl Single
- A "You Give Good Love" – 3:58
- B "Greatest Love of All" – 4:55
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the album Whitney Houston liner notesLiner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
.
- Kashif ― producer and arranger
- LaLa ― songwriter
- The players ― Bashiri Johnson, Kashif, LaLa, Yogi Lee, J.T. Lewis, Ira Siegal, Roy WootenFuture ManRoy Wilfred Wooten , also known as "RoyEl", best known by his stage name Future Man , is an inventor, musician, and composer...
- Michael O'Reilly ― engineer and mixer
- Whitney Houston ― vocals
Weekly chart positions
| Country (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... ) |
58 |
| Canada (The Record The Record (magazine) The Record was a Canadian music industry magazine that featured record charts, trade news and opinions. David Farrell launched the publication in mid-1981, continuing its printed version until August 1999 when The Record continued as a website-based publication... ) |
17 |
| Canada (RPM RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... ) |
9 |
Year-end charts
| End of year chart (1985) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top 100 Singles | 76 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Pop Singles Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1985 Billboard magazine each year releases a Year-End chart of the most popular songs across all genres called the Hot 100 songs of the year.This is the Year-End Hot 100 songs of 1985.-See also:*1985 in music*List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1985... |
47 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Black Singles | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Adult Contemporary Singles | 27 |
Certifications
| Region (Provider) | Certification(s) |
|---|---|
| United States (RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... ) |
Gold |
See also
List of Billboard number one R&B singles of 1985 (U.S.)List of Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to female recording artists for quality R&B songs...
Further reading
- "Whitney Houston" article in Ashyia Henderson Contemporary Black Biography, Volume 28, Gale Group 2001 reproduced on Biography Resource Center Thomson Gale 2005
- "Whitney Houston" article in Contemporary Newsmakers 1986, Gale Research 1987 published on Biography Resource Center Thomson Gale 2005
External links
- "You Give Good Love" music video at MTV.comMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
- "You Give Good Love" lyrics at Rhapsody.comRhapsody (online music service)Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...