"Didn't We Almost Have It All" is a song recorded by 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 ...

for her second studio 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). The song was written by

Michael Masser Michael William Masser (March 24, 1941 – July 9, 2015) was an American songwriter, composer and producer of popular music. Early life Born to a Jewish family in Chicago to Ester Huff and William Masser, he attended the University of Illinois ...

and

Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs "Tears in Heaven" and "My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has won s ...

and produced by Masser. Initially, Houston's cover version of

the Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

' "

For the Love of You "For the Love of You" (sometimes titled "For the Love of You (Part 1 & 2)") is a song recorded by the Isley Brothers, who released the song as the second single off their 1975 album, '' The Heat Is On''. The record showcased the two sides of the ...

" was intended to be released as the second single from the album. However, the record label decided to release "Didn't We Almost Have It All" instead as all of Houston's singles had to be original material at this point of her career. The song was released in July 1987 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 ...

. "Didn't We Almost Have It All" received positive reviews from the

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 ...

, who praised it lyrics, production, and Houston's vocal performance. It became Houston's fifth consecutive chart topper on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, staying there for two weeks and also reached the top 10 in various countries. A live performance from her September 2, 1987 concert in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

was used as the official video and played on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, VH1, and

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

. The recorded performance was also televised along with her performance of "

I Wanna Dance with Somebody "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by 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 ...

" at the

1987 MTV Video Music Awards The 1987 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 11, 1987, from the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Hosted by MTV VJs Downtown Julie Brown, Carolyne Heldman, Kevin Seal, Michael Tomioka, and Dweezil Zappa, the show honored the best m ...

on September 11. At the

30th Annual Grammy Awards The 30th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 2, 1988, at Radio City Music Hall, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Album of the Year went to U2 for ''The Joshua Tree'', and Song of the Year went ...

, it received a nomination for the Song of the Year.

Composition

Jennings recalls that the songwriting process for "Didn't We Almost Have It All" required several years. "It seems like Michael Masser and I worked off and on for years on that song. I don't know how many times I rewrote bits and pieces of the tune ... I remember distinctly that we ran (up) over two hundred dollars worth of phone calls from a hotel in Nashville ... of course, it was well worth it in the end."

Critical reception

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ranked the song number 7 in their list of "Top 20 Best Whitney Houston Songs". Editor Bill Lamb deemed it "a big, emotional production that pulls out all of the stops vocally". Rob Wynn of

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 ...

highlighted the song in his review of the ''

'' album. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' editor Robert Hilburn wrote, "Houston's stardom will be boosted most by "Didn't We Almost Have It All", a sweeping Masser-

ballad with the kind of big, emotional finish that will make Liza and hundreds of other singers wish they had been given first crack at the song. I'll save my champagne for pop singers who don't add that overblown song to their repertoire." Pop Rescue noted it as "an 80s

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 ...

", adding that Houston's "vocals take centre stage" on the song. ''

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 ...

''s Vince Alleti wrote, "Masser reprises the show-tune schmaltz of "

Greatest Love of All "The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser, who composed the music, and Linda Creed, who wrote the lyrics. It was originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson, who made the song a substantial hit, peaking at number two on the ...

" in his even cornier "Didn't We Almost Have It All". According to Whitney fanpage, "But there is a cut on the album whose title inadvertently sums up Houston at this stage of her development -- "Didn't We Almost Have It All". ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' editors Eric Snider and Annelise Wamsley described "Didn't We Almost Have It All" as "an overblown tune co-written by Michael Masser (...) that finds Houston stripped of subtlety - with her wire-to-wire belting, you can just see the fetching songstress looking skyward, arms outstretched." Following Houston's death in 2012, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' published a list of her 25 best songs and ranked "Didn't We Almost Have it All" number 16.

Chart performance

"Didn't We Almost Have It All" debuted at number fifty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of August 22, 1987, and six weeks later reached number one for two weeks, from September 26 to October 3, 1987, becoming her fifth consecutive number one. The song also topped both component charts, 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 ...

, Houston's fourth song (and fourth consecutive release) to do so. The single stayed in the Top 40 for 13 weeks, and topped the

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, quie ...

chart for three weeks. It was her fifth song to peaked at number 1 on the chart and also fifth consecutive release to do so. It also reached number two on the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart for one week (October 10, 1987), behind " (You're Puttin') A Rush on Me" by

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

. Internationally, the song hit the top ten in several markets, and reached the top 20 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(#14);

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

(#18); and

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

(#20). "Didn't We Almost Have It All" was ranked 22nd on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 year-end charts (1987), and remained in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for 17 weeks. It was her fifth number one single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, her fourth on the

chart, her fourth on the

, and her fifth on the

chart.

Track listings and formats

*US 7"Vinyl Single #"Didn't We Almost Have It All" – 4:56 #"Shock Me" (Duet with

Jermaine Jackson Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and bassist. He is best known for being a member of the Jackson family. From 1964 to 1975, Jermaine was second vocalist after his brother Michael of The Jackson ...

) – 5:05 ^A *UK 7"Vinyl Single #"Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Edit Remix) – 4:20 #"For the Love of You" – 4:32 *UK CD Maxi-Single #"Didn't We Almost Have It All" – 5:05 #"I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (a cappella Mix) – 6:28 #"Shock Me" (Collector's Bonus Cut) – 5:03 ^A *Australia, New Zealand 7"Vinyl Single #"Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Edit Remix) – 3:59 #"Shock Me" – 5:05 *Spain 12"Vinyl Maxi-Single #"Didn't We Almost Have It All" – 5:05 #"I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (a cappella Mix) – 5:18 #"Shock Me" (Collector's Bonus Cut) – 5:03 ^A ^A "Shock Me" - Written by Andrew Goldmark and Bruce Roberts. Produced by

Michael Omartian Michael Omartian (born November 26, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, keyboardist, and music producer. He produced number-one records in three consecutive decades. He has earned 11 Grammy Awards nominations and won three. He sp ...

Personnel

*Whitney Houston – vocals * John Robinson – drums *

Paul Jackson, Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...

– guitar *

Nathan East Nathan Harrell East (born December 8, 1955) is an American jazz, R&B, and rock bass player and vocalist. With more than 2,000 recordings, East is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of music. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degr ...

– bass *Robbie Buchanan –

Rhodes piano The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, t ...

, acoustic piano, rhythm arrangement *

Lee Holdridge Lee Elwood Holdridge (born March 3, 1944) is a Haitian-born American composer, conductor, and orchestrator. A 18-time Emmy Award nominee, he has won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two News & Documentary Emmy Awards, and one S ...

– string arrangement *Producer – Michael Masser *Engineers – Michael DeLugg, Dean Burt, Jim Boyer, Mike Mancini, Russ Terrana, Fred Law *Assistant engineers – Fernando Kral, Tony Maserati *Mix engineer – Russ Terrana *Production coordinator – Alicia Winfield

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Lyrics of this songDidn't We Almost Have It All
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:Didn't We Almost Have It All Whitney Houston songs 1980s ballads 1987 singles 1987 songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Songs written by Michael Masser Songs with lyrics by Will Jennings Arista Records singles Quiet storm songs