"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by

Dean Pitchford Dean Pitchford (born July 29, 1951) is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor, and novelist. His work has earned him an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award, as well as nominations for three additional Oscars, two more Golden Globes, eig ...

and

Michael Gore Michael Gore (born March 5, 1951) is an American composer. Gore is the younger brother of singer-songwriter Lesley Gore. Biography A 1969 graduate of the Dwight-Englewood School, Gore received the school's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004. Go ...

. The song was first recorded as "All the Man I Need" by

Linda Clifford Linda Clifford (born 1944) is an American R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", " Bridge over Troubled Water", " Runaway Love" and " Red Light". Career ...

for her album ''I'll Keep on Loving You'' (1982). In 1990, American singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

had a number-one multiple chart hit with this song, recorded as "All the Man That I Need", from her third album, ''

I'm Your Baby Tonight ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' is the third studio album by American singer Whitney Houston released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. The album has been certified quadruple platinum in the US by the RIAA. Background By 1989, Whitney Hou ...

'' (1990). Houston's version was released as the album's second single on December 4, 1990 by

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

. Her version featured production from

Narada Michael Walden Narada Michael Walden ( ; Michael Walden; born April 23, 1952) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He acquired the nickname Narada from Sri Chinmoy. He began his career as a drummer, working primarily in the jazz ...

and the single became a major worldwide hit, received mainly positive reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, and reached number one on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it remains her fourth biggest-hit in that chart.

Background

"All the Man That I Need" was originally written in 1981, by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. They had Linda Clifford in mind when they wrote the song, having written the song "Red Light" from '' Fame'' for her in 1980. Clifford recorded her version of the song, "All the Man I Need," for her 1982 album ''I'll Keep on Loving You.'' She released it as a single, but it failed to chart. Pitchford later stated that although different versions of the song were recorded, no one was scoring a major hit with it: "I figured that it was one of those songs that was going to get cut a number of times and not ever have its day," he said. During a dinner with

' president

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

, the song came up and Davis asked Pitchford to send him a demo. Davis had just finished working with

as the executive producer of her second album, ''

Whitney Whitney may refer to: Film and television * ''Whitney'' (2015 film), a Whitney Houston biopic starring Yaya DaCosta * ''Whitney'' (2018 film), a documentary about Whitney Houston * ''Whitney'' (TV series), an American sitcom that premiered i ...

'' (1987). Although he was impressed by the song, he felt they would be unable to do anything with it at that time as Houston had only just finished recording an album, so it would be some time before she would be returning to the studio. During this period, Pitchford's publishers received several requests from other artists wishing to record the song. Houston eventually recorded it for the album ''

'' (1990).

Composition

"All the Man That I Need" is an R&B song. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing, the song is written in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

with a key change to the key of

F-sharp minor F-sharp minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative major is A major and its parallel major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major). T ...

. The beat is set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

, and moves at a slow tempo of 76 beats per minute. It has the sequence of Bm–Fm–E–E/D–D–Cm₇ as its

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

. Houston's vocals in the song span from the note of C₄ to the note of A₅, while the piano elements range from the note of B₁ to the high note of F₅ . Stephen Holden of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', wrote that the song was an "expression of sexual hero worship." The song also features a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

solo by American recording artist

Kenny G Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...

Critical reception

"All the Man That I Need" garnered mainly positive reviews from music critics.

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

ranked it at number 4 in their list of "Top 20 Best Whitney Houston Songs", noting that it has "a prominent

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

choir in the final chorus." Matthew Hocter from Albumism described it as "a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

bringing some serious drama".

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Ashley S. Battel said that the song is one of "the two high points she does reach on this album 'I'm Your Baby Tonight'', and added "the uplifting tale of another's love being enough to provide happiness in

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it a "shimmering

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

-and gospel-inflected

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

", and stated that it "fully demonstrates Houston's vocal beauty".

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

of ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' was also positive in his review, writing that through the song, Houston was providing "soundtrack to a million love affairs." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' noted the song as a "staggering gospel-tinged ballad with an overwhelming build-up in the chorus." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' commented, "Another sterling performance from Whitney, on a slightly sub-standard song. Nevertheless, a high chart placing seems inevitable." ''The New York Times''

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

was also positive in his review, viewing the song as a "hunk of gargantuan pop bombast swathed in echo and glitzy astral twinkles." ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' described it as "an effective, down-tempo change of pace". James Hunter from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine called it "an outsize ballad about poverty and damaged self-regard, so expertly that the song, with its effective whiff of Spanish guitar, stages undeniable pop drama."

Accolades

"All the Man That I Need" was nominated for "

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

," Houston's fifth nomination for the category, at the

34th Grammy Awards The 34th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 25, 1992, recognizing accomplishments by musicians from the previous year (1991). Natalie Cole won the most awards (three), including Album of the Year. Paul Simon opened the show. Performers ...

on February 26, 1992. The song was also nominated for " Best R&B/Soul Single, Female" at the 6th Soul Train Music Awards on March 10, 1992.

Chart performance

Released in December 1990, "All the Man That I Need" entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Singles chart at number 53, the issue dated December 22, 1990. Ten weeks later, on the issue dated February 23, 1991, it ascended to the top of the chart, becoming Houston's ninth number-one on the chart. It stayed atop the chart for two weeks. It also topped the

Hot 100 Singles Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

and

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout ...

charts, her first song to achieve this feat since "

Where Do Broken Hearts Go "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney (album), Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the fourth Single (music), single from the album on February 25, 1988. The so ...

" in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. It enjoyed a seven week run in the top ten of the chart, which was one week shorter than that of the album's lead single "I'm Your Baby Tonight." The single entered the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (formerly Hot R&B Singles) at number 58, the same week it debuted on the Hot 100. It later peaked at number one on the chart, the issue date of March 2, 1991, making it Houston's fifth R&B number-one hit. When it hit the pole position of the R&B chart, the single spent its second and third week at the top of the Hot 100 and

Hot Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

charts, respectively. As a result, it became her first single topped simultaneously all of three different ''Billboard'' charts — the Hot 100, Hot R&B, and Hot Adult Contemporary — and overall the third triple-crown hit, after 1985's "

Saving All My Love for You "Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. for their album ''Marilyn & Billy'' (1978). American singer Whitney Houston recorded a cover of the song f ...

" and 1986's "

How Will I Know "How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her Whitney Houston (album), self-titled debut studio album. The song was released on November 22, 1985, by Arista Records as the album's third Single (music), single. ...

," reached the top spot on those of three charts in separate weeks. The song maintained the top position of the Adult Contemporary chart for four weeks, her second-longest stay on the chart. It was ranked number 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Year-End chart for 1991. The single was certified Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies or more on March 21, 1991. In Canada, the song debuted at 90 on the ''RPM'' Top 100 Hit Tracks chart. Seven weeks later, it peaked at number one on the chart and stayed there for a week. Internationally, the song experienced some success. It went to number-one in Canada. It entered the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

at number 27, the week ending date of December 22, 1990, and peaked at number 13 on January 19, 1991, in that country. According to

The Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

, the single has sold 120,000 copies in the United Kingdom. It also reached number 16 in Ireland, 11 in Netherlands, 21 in Austria, and 28 in France. The song also peaked at number 37 in Germany, 36 in New Zealand, and 28 in Switzerland.

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "All the Man That I Need" was directed by Peter Israelson. The video begins with Houston, donning a curly hairstyle, and wearing a black

turtleneck A polo neck, roll-neck (United Kingdom, South Africa), turtleneck (United States, Canada), or skivvy (Australia, New Zealand, United States) is a garment—usually a sweater—with a close-fitting collar that folds over and covers the n ...

, with her initials "WH" embroidered on it, standing against a wall in a house. She then moves forward in the room, and sits on a chair, singing her lines looking into the camera. The video then switches into another room in the house with all white furniture, including a bed, wardrobe, and

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, in which Houston sings. She then moves outside on the balcony, where it is raining. After that scene, she is now seen performing, accompanied by a children's choir, on a stage, in front of an audience at some sort of program. The video ends with Houston finishing the performance, with her outline shown online.

Live performances

Houston performed the song on three of her regional and two world tours. She premiered the song in January 1990, during her Feels So Right Japan Tour, before the release of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''. The song was performed in 1991 in the ''

Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston ''Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston'' is the first ever solo televised concert and video by American singer Whitney Houston. Released on May 14, 1991, through Arista Records, the video contains Whitney's HBO concert special ''Welcome Home H ...

'' concert, and is included on the concert film, taped in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, on March 31, 1991. This performance was also included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, '' Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances''. The song was also performed on her third world tour,

I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour The I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour was a concert tour by American pop/ R&B singer Whitney Houston, in support of her multi-platinum album ''I'm Your Baby Tonight''. Prior to Houston performing two dates in Japan early-March, the official tour ...

. Two different performances of the song on this tour were taped in Yokohama,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, on March 15, 1991 and in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, on September 29, 1991. The former was broadcast on Japanese TV channel. The latter was aired on Spanish TV channel, and in the United States, her first hourlong TV special, "Whitney Houston: This Is My Life," on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

TV, dated May 6, 1992. Two years later on

The Bodyguard World Tour The Bodyguard World Tour is the fifth concert tour by American recording artist, Whitney Houston. The tour was in support of her multi-platinum soundtrack album, '' The Bodyguard'', and also of the movie of the same name. Following the success o ...

(1993–94), she performed the song as a final part of "Love Medley," along with "I Love You," "All at Once," "Nobody Love Me Like You Do," "

Didn't We Almost Have It All "Didn't We Almost Have It All" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987). The song was written by Michael Masser and Will Jennings and produced by Masser. Initially, Houston's cover vers ...

," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go." Four different performances of the song were taped and broadcast on each country's TV channel during South American leg of the tour in 1994:

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, on January 16, during

Hollywood Rock Hollywood Rock was a music festival which took place in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, from 1988 to 1996, featuring both Brazilian and international acts. The festival was sponsored and organised by the Souza Cruz tobacco company, owne ...

festival;

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

on April 14;

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

on April 16; and

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

on April 21. Houston also performed the song on two of her regional tours, The Pacific Rim Tour (1997) and The European Tour (1998). Besides her tour performances of the song, she performed the song on various TV shows and the concerts. On December 11, 1990, Houston appeared on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

'' (guest host:

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

) and performed the song to accompaniment of her tour band. She also performed the song at ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

'', and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' on February 23, 1991, which was her first appearance on the show. "All the Man That I Need" was performed as a part of medley by Houston at the 2nd Billboard Music Awards on December 9, 1991. The medley consisted of two

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

's classics―"

Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) "Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" (often called simply "Lover Man") is a 1941 popular song written by Jimmy Davis, Roger ("Ram") Ramirez, and James Sherman. It is particularly associated with Billie Holiday, for whom it was written, and her ...

" and " My Man"―and the song. In 1996, she performed the song at Brunei: The Royal Wedding Celebration, a private gig for the wedding of Princess Rashidah, the eldest daughter of the Sultan of

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...

Hassanal Bolkiah Hassanal Bolkiah ibni Omar Ali Saifuddien III ( Jawi: ; born 15 July 1946) is the 29th and current Sultan and Yang di-Pertuan of Brunei since 1967 and the Prime Minister of Brunei since independence from the United Kingdom in 1984. He is one ...

Covers

In 1982, the American musical group

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge is an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consisted of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. ...

recorded another version of the song as "All the Man I Need" as a duet with the singer David Simmons, on the Sister Sledge album 'The Sisters' (1982). Their version failed to make a large impact on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but reached a moderate peak of number forty-five on the ''Billboards Hot R&B Singles chart. In 1994,

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

(who made the arrangements of the original Linda Clifford version) included his own version, "All the Woman I Need" on his album ''

Songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

''. He performed the song at the 2001 BET Awards, in honor of Houston.

Track listing and formats

*;GER Maxi-Single # "All the Man That I Need" — 4:11 # "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge" — 5:50 # "Greatest Love of All (Live) — 7:30 *;US CD-Single # "All the Man That I Need" — 4:11

Credits and personnel

"All the Man That I Need" *Dean Pitchford –

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

*Michael Gore – writer *

– producer, arranger *

– vocals *

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...

– keyboards,

Moog bass The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...

, drum programming, synthesizer *

Louis Biancaniello Louis John Biancaniello is an American songwriter and record producer. Career Biancaniello's skills were developed while working alongside producer Narada Michael Walden with whom he produced hits for Shanice '' I Love Your Smile'', Whitney ...

– additional keyboards, drum programming, additional programming *

Ren Klyce Ren Klyce is a Japanese-American sound designer and sound mixer. He has been nominated for nine Academy Awards; six for Best Sound and three for Best Sound Editing. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with director David Fincher, ...

– Fairlight synth programming *Chris Camozzi – guitar *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

*Claytoven Richardson – backing vocals *Karen "Kitty Beethoven" Brewington – backing vocals *Skyler Jett – backing vocals *Annie Stockin – backing vocals *Jeanie Tracy – backing vocals *Melisa Kary – backing vocals "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge" *David Lasley – writer *Robbie Long – writer *Whitney Houston – vocals *Narada Michael Walden – producer, arranger *Walter Afanasieff – associate producer, keyboards, Moog bass, drum programming, synthesizer *Louis Biancaniello – additional keyboards, drum programming, additional programming *Ren Klyce – Fairlight synth programming *Chris Camozzi – guitar *Vernon "Ice" Black – guitar *Claytoven Richardson – backing vocals *Karen "Kitty Beethoven" Brewington – backing vocals *Skyler Jett – backing vocals *Annie Stockin – backing vocals *Jeanie Tracy – backing vocals *Melisa Kary – backing vocals

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

References

Bibliography

External links

All the Man That I Need
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:All The Man That I Need 1981 songs 1990s ballads Sister Sledge songs Whitney Houston songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Zimbabwe RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Dean Pitchford Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads Song recordings produced by Narada Michael Walden Songs with music by Michael Gore 1990 singles Arista Records singles Soul ballads