4 Early Whitney Houston Hits That Prove She Is One of the Best Artists of All Time

Whitney Houston released her debut single, “Hold Me”, in 1984. A duet with Teddy Pendergrass, the song was not a big hit at first, but it didn’t take long for her to start dominating the charts. Houston, also a talented actress, gained worldwide fame with her performance of the Dolly Parton classic, “I Will Always Love You“. Used in the film The Bodyguard, starring Houston and Kevin Costner, the 1992 single became the biggest hit of Houston’s career.

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But long before that song, she was already hinting that she was meant to be a superstar, which is evident in these four early hits.

“You Give Good Love”

“You Give Good Love” is Houston’s second single, and first Top 10 hit. Written by La Forrest ‘La La’ Cope, “You Give Good Love” appears on Houston’s eponymous freshman album.

The song, out in 1985, says, “You give good love to me / Baby, it’s so good / Take this heart of mine into your hands / You give good love to me / It’s never too much / Baby, you give good love.”

At the time, Houston received some criticism that the song was too explicit, not that she cared.

“I think that, as far as children are concerned, parents should have control over what they listen to,” Houston says (via Songfacts). “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.”

“Saving All My Love”

Also on Whitney Houston is “Saving All My Love”. Written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, the song is Houston’s first No. 1 single. It also gave her her first Grammy Award, for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female.

A song about a woman in love with a married man, “Saving All My Love” says, “It’s not very easy living all alone / My friends try and tell me find a man of my own / But each time I try, I just break down and cry / ‘Cause I’d rather be home feeling blue / So I’m saving all my love for you.“

“One Moment In Time”

If Houston had a shining moment in her career, it’s with “One Moment In Time”. The empowering anthem is part of the record 1988 Summer Olympics Album: One Moment in Time.

Written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis, “One Moment In Time” says, “I want one moment in time / When I’m more than I thought I could be / When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away / And the answers are all up to me.”

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

On her sophomore Whitney record is “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)“. The biggest-selling song of her career at the time, the 1987 single was written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam.

“I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” says, “Oh, I wanna dance with somebody / I wanna feel the heat with somebody / Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody / With somebody who loves me / Oh, I wanna dance with somebody / I wanna feel the heat with somebody / Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody / With somebody who loves me.”

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