Record of the Year stands as one of the “Big 4” Grammy Awards, a prestigious honor that’s a goal for musicians of all genres. At the 1987 Grammy Awards, the competition for that title proved quite robust.
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In the end, Steve Winwood’s “Higher Love” took home the award. But is it the record that should have won? We’re taking a look back and making a retrospective decision about it.
“Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel had gained a reputation as a somewhat dour art rocker, even though there was always a strain of humor running through his work. “Sledgehammer” brought that to the fore with its tongue-in-cheek lyrical take on braggadocious blues lyrics. The recording, meanwhile, melded a relentless soul groove, replete with muscular horns, to some surprising sonic elements, such as the synth flute part that flutters through the proceedings.
“Greatest Love Of All” by Whitney Houston
“Greatest Love Of All” was lingering for almost a decade before Houston unleashed her pipes on the song. It was originally composed for a movie called The Greatest, where Muhammad Ali acted as himself. As a song, it lays the sentiment on a bit thick, although Houston had a way of rescuing material like that. The recording is a bit old-fashioned for 1985, which is when it was first laid down for Houston’s debut album.
“That’s What Friends Are For” by Dionne Warwick & Friends
Here again is a somewhat forgotten soundtrack song that made a surprising resurgence in a new version. Rod Stewart first took on the track, written by Carole Bayer Sager and Burt Bacharach for the 1982 comedy Night Shift. Dionne Warwick, working again with Bacharach, her trusted 60s collaborator, invited Elton John, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder aboard for the new version. With all that star power, there was no stopping the freshened-up take on the song.
“Addicted To Love” by Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer worked with the Duran Duran offshoot The Power Station for a single album. He borrowed several of the principals from that project, most notably Tony Thompson and his cavernous drums, to recreate that band’s sound on “Addicted To Love”. As a result, what could have been a lighthearted R&B romp gets elevated by a menacing groove and Palmer’s bruising vocal approach.
“Higher Love” by Steve Winwood
Winwood decided to put himself in the spotlight, both from a marketing and musical standpoint, on the Back In The High Life album in a way that he hadn’t previously felt comfortable doing. “Higher Love” represented an ideal way to reintroduce him to the public in this manner. Nile Rodgers’ guitar and JR Robinson’s drums provide the rhythmic thrust, offset beautifully by Winwood’s high-arching lead vocals.
The Verdict
Remember that Record of the Year takes into account not just the song but the production. For that reason, “Greatest Love Of All” and “That’s What Friends Are For”, both somewhat on the soppy side, can be eliminated. “Addicted To Love” sounds great, but its simplistic melody hurts its re-listening value.
“Higher Love” certainly benefits from Winwood’s potent vocals and the exotic rhythmic base. But “Sledgehammer” is one of those songs and productions that stays potent even after a million listens. For that reason, we believe that Peter Gabriel had the most legitimate claim to Record of the Year at that year’s Grammys.
Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
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