The Bodyguard
Whitney's first film, The Bodyguard, in which she costarred with Kevin Costner in 1992 not only broke box office records but was ultimately responsible for the biggest selling motion picture soundtrack album of all time. Featuring six Whitney Houston songs, The Bodyguard has sold more than 33 million copies around the world. "I Will Always Love You," the first single from the album, became the largest selling commercial single in history, while three other singles from the album "I'm Every Woman," "I Have Nothing," and "Run To You," have been major international hits for Whitney.
Waiting to Exhale
Whitney's next movie, Waiting to Exhale, was released in December 1995. This critically acclaimed film, in which she starred with Angela Basset, Loretta Devine and Lela Rochon, went on to gross over 70 million dollars at the box office. The soundtrack for Waiting to Exhale was CO-produced by Houston and featured three new tracks from Whitney: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)": "Count On Me" (a duet with CeCe Winans), CO-written by Whitney and Babyface: and "Why Does It Hurt So Bad." It quickly became a #1 album which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date.
The Preacher's Wife
Whitney's lifelong dream of creating a pop/gospel album was realized in November 1996, when Arista released the original motion picture soundtrack album for The Preacher's Wife, the biggest-selling gospel album in Billboard chart history. Nurtured by her mother, R&B/gospel star Cissy Houston (an original member of the Sweet Inspiration) and her legendary cousin Dionne Warwick, Whitney's passion for gospel music has been there since birth. Her collaboration with an extraordinary roster of producers and artists resulted in one of the most unique albums to date. Whitney sang lead vocals on 14 of the album's 15 tracks, including the beautiful first single "I Believe In You And Me," "Step By Step" (written by Annie Lennox). And two songs produced by Grammy winner Babyface. In addition Cissy Houston sang solo on a special track, "The Lord Is My Shepherd," in which she turned the 23rd Psalm into a spiritually touching song by adding music to the standard prayer. The gospel-driven tracks on the album were CO-produced by Whitney and Grammy/Dove award winner Mervyn Warren (Sister Act 1 and Sister Act 2). Other luminaries on the album include Shirley Caeser and the Georgia Mass Choir.
The motion picture The Preacher's Wife starring Whitney Houston, Denzel Washington and Courtney B. Vance, was released in the U.S. by Buena Vista on December 13, 1996. The Preacher's Wife, directed by Penny Marshall, is based on The Bishop's Wife, which starred Cary Grant and Loretta Young.
Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella
"The Wonderful World of Disney" production of the musical "Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella," which originally aired on November 2, 1997, added the medium of made-for-television movies to Whitney's long list of accomplishments. The ABC network special featured Whitney as The Fairy Godmother, Brandy as Cinderella and Whoopi Goldberg as The Queen, along with an all-star multicultural cast. The program attracted an U.S. audience of more than 60 million viewers, and gave the network its best Sunday night rating in over a decade. Whitney and her company, BrownHouse Production, served as Executive Producers on the project, which went on to garner seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy. The special won an Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special. The home video version shattered previous records to become the best-selling video ever of a made-for-television movie.
Whitney on Record
Whitney Houston
Whitney was signed to Arista Records by Clive Davis in 1985. Her self-titled debut album, "Whitney Houston," released that year, yielded a string of hits including "You Give Good Love" and three consecutive #1 singles, "Saving All My Love For You," "How Will I Know," and the song that has become a veritable anthem, "The Greatest Love Of All." Not only did the album establish her as in important new recording artist, but it went on to sell over 13 million copies in the U.S. plus several million additional sales abroad. This LP set the record as the biggest selling debut album by a solo artist.
Whitney
With the highly anticipated release of her second album Whitney in 1987, she made history as the first female artist to enter the Billboard album charts at #1. Whitney featured a new stream of #1 chart-toppers, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" - this established Whitney as the only artist ever to have seven consecutive #1 hits, surpassing a record previously set by The Beatles and The Bee Gees.
I'm Your Baby Tonight
Whitney's third powerhouse solo album I'm Your Baby Tonight, released in 1990, displayed her versatility on a new collection of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. With back-to-back #1 hits for the title tune and "All The Man That I Need", followed by "Miracle" and "My Name Is Not Susan", sales records were set once again. The album became an international multi-Platinum best seller, to the tune of 8 million copies worldwide.
The Soundtracks
