Whitney Houston -- How Will I Know

 

So far, in the Reminiscings of Youth file, I've only put up one Whitney Houston article and that was for the fabulous "Saving All My Love for You". She was one of the great love song balladeers.

But of course, Houston could do the upbeat stuff, too. And this one, her November 1985 single "How Will I Know" was one long-lasting hit on the airwaves as well as the video ones. I think it was pretty much fait accompli that I would see the music video for "How Will I Know" weekly for months on end. My impression of the video was that Whitney and her dancers were going through a labyrinth designed jointly by United Colors of Benetton and the makers of fruit-bottom yogurt. The song was a synthpop-funk treat that was created by George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam and Narada Michael Walden, and I couldn't quite believe that it had been first offered to Janet Jackson but was passed over to Houston.

In Canada, "How Will I Know" reached No. 1 while in America, the song was also a No. 1 hit. It also hit the top spot in Iceland. At the time, everything Houston touched turned to gold. So, what else was hitting the charts over in Japan on November 25th 1985, a few days after "How Will I Know" had been released?

1. Akiko Kobayashi -- Koi ni Ochite (恋におちて）

2. Checkers -- Kamisama Help!（神様ヘルプ！）

3. Kiyotaka Sugiyama & Omega Tribe -- Garasu no Palm Tree（ガラスのPALM TREE）

Whitney Houston -- Saving All My Love for You

 

On this week's Reminiscings of Youth entry, I believe it's about time to bring in the wonderful Whitney Houston. Yup, my days at University of Toronto were filled on the radio with her music and that amazing voice of hers. I heard her first single "You Give Good Love" back in 1985, but it didn't particularly hit me all that hard.

But then a few months later, I saw the above music video for her August single "Saving All My Love for You", and I was absolutely smitten. I was surprised to find out that the Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin creation had actually been recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. for their 1978 album "Marilyn and Billy", so Houston's rendition was actually a cover but I'm pretty certain that her version is the definitive one. Although at the time, I had never heard of the genre term Quiet Storm, it has become one of my favourite genres in music and "Saving All My Love for You" is one of my favourites within this genre. Houston's voice along with all of those perfectly fit instruments made the song her first No. 1 hit. It also broke the Top 10 in Canada by landing at No. 8.

As I've mentioned many times before on the blog, it was all about the melody over the lyrics for me, so I completely missed out on the theme of adultery that was taking place in the song and in the video. It's not the happiest ending for Whitney's character in the video, but I'll always be in love with the arrangement. By the way, the above video is for the McCoo original which is also great, but as I've just intimated, I'll always prefer the Houston version. Hard to believe that it's been over a decade since we lost her.

In Japan, "Saving All My Love for You" was released under the title "Subete wo Anata ni"（すべてをあなたに...All for You）. In a way, the ballad was perfect for Japanese ears since adultery and affairs had been part and parcel of lyrical themes in kayo kyoku for years.

So, what was in the Top 10 on Oricon in August 1985? Today I'll go with Nos. 6, 7 and 8.

6. Onyanko Club -- Sailor Fuku wo Nugasanaide （セーラー服を脱がさないで）

7. Toshi & Naoko -- Natsu Zakari Honoji Gumi （夏ざかりほの字組）

8. Akina Nakamori -- Sand Beige - Sabaku e　(砂漠へ)