If by chance that special place... leads you to a lonely place...
April 16, 2020 7:45 PM   Subscribe

1985 was a ridiculously strong year for music releases, and we're far behind with celebrating releases. On Feb 14, 1985, only three weeks after No Jacket Required, The world was introduced to 21-year-old Whitney Houston on her debut album Whitney Houston. The massive global success of the album and her meteoritic rise to international stardom is truly because, at its core, this album [YT playlist] is about Whitney singing. And man, could she ever sing. Side A: You Give Good Love [video], Thinking About You, Someone For Me [video], Saving All My Love For You [video], Nobody Loves me Like You Do (w/ Jermaine Jackson) posted by hippybear (15 comments total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
It's not very easy, living all alone,
all 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...
posted by praemunire at 9:26 PM on April 16, 2020


Her death made me so sad because that beautiful, clear, shimmering voice went silent in an instant. The years beforehand warned of what was coming, but I always hoped she would pull out of that and return to music like she had when she flared onto the pop scene with this album.
posted by wenestvedt at 5:35 AM on April 17, 2020 [2 favorites]


Dude, you're one Huey Lewis and the News post away from really starting to worry me.

But yeah, "How Will I Know" is one of the all-time great songs. Whitney's delivery is so definitive that there's only one other singer I could imagine performing the song. I refer, of course, to myself.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:47 AM on April 17, 2020 [8 favorites]


My first album! Well, first cassette tape. “How Will I Know” was my first favorite song and let’s be real, it’s still up there. Love you, Whitney!
posted by areaperson at 10:30 AM on April 17, 2020


I played this dozens of times on my Walkman when it first came out. Now I have it on my phone. "How Will I Know" is my favorite of these. What a fabulous song that is.

Oh, and I'm looking forward to the Huey Lewis and the News post. I hope there will be one.
posted by ceejaytee at 11:40 AM on April 17, 2020


HL&TN didn't release anything in 1985, but I'll see what I can do.
posted by hippybear at 12:25 PM on April 17, 2020 [2 favorites]


Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and Against All Odds. Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite.
posted by snofoam at 12:54 PM on April 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


Um... wrong thread?
posted by hippybear at 12:59 PM on April 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


Sorry, it was an off-topic response to the overwhelming Patrick Bateman-ness of this post.
posted by snofoam at 1:15 PM on April 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


That's what my Huey Lewis comment was getting at.
posted by kevinbelt at 2:14 PM on April 17, 2020


Ok I had a dream last night where a big group of people I was part of was singing “The Heart of Rock n Roll.” I’m scared now.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:42 PM on April 17, 2020


Thanks, hippybear, for your always excellent and well-curated musical posts. As part of your ongoing retrospective of 1985's musical landscape, I hope you'll someday produce a post on Stevie Wonder's "In Square Circle".
posted by New Frontier at 9:50 PM on April 17, 2020 [2 favorites]


"The Greatest Love of All" is permanently burned into my brain, thanks to many sessions of singing it in elementary school music class in the late 80s. Took me years to appreciate the song for what it is.

Whitney was an amazing singer, though. Glad she finally got her Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction this year.
posted by May Kasahara at 6:33 AM on April 18, 2020


New Frontier: there's a lot coming across the year. And yes, that one is in my sights as the calendar rolls around.
posted by hippybear at 9:37 PM on April 20, 2020


"The Greatest Love of All" is permanently burned into my brain because of the awful rendition at the graduation scene in "Say Anything."
posted by wenestvedt at 7:31 AM on April 22, 2020


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