"Heaven Knows" is a 1993 song by American singer-songwriter

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 ...

, released as the second single from his eight studio album, '' Never Let Me Go'' (1993). It peaked in the top 30 on both ''

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 ...

''s

Hot R&B 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 ...

and the

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

, and also at thirty-three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart. "Heaven Knows" was nominated for

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...

alongside "

Little Miracles (Happen Every Day) "Little Miracles (Happen Every Day)" is a song by American recording artist Luther Vandross. The single supports his 1993 ''platinum'' album, '' Never Let Me Go''. The song became a top ten hit on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles and reached top 30 on ...

" (also from ''Never Let Me Go'') at the

36th Annual Grammy Awards The 36th Annual Grammy Awards were held on March 1, 1994. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Whitney Houston was the Big Winner winning 3 awards including Record of the Year and Album of the Year while opening t ...

in March 1994, losing to " That's the Way Love Goes" by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Critical reception

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 ''

'' commented, "Familiar-sounding midtempo jam from Vandross' current '' Never Let Me Go'' collection shows the singer in fine form. Lovely melody and a memorable chorus are laid into retro rhythm that will work best with older audiences. Broader acceptance will come via sparkling

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

remixes by

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), better known as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1 ...

and

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...

." In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a music writer and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worked on air ...

stated, "One of the few

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

artists in the traditional sense to still be having UK hits is Luther Vandross." Andy Beevers 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 ...

'' gave it four out of five, naming it "one of the best tracks" of the album. He also complimented the Classic mix, that "is going to sound great on the radio". James Hamilton from the '' RM'' Dance Update described "Heaven Knows" as "creamily flowing".

Music video

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 ...

was produced to promote the single. It features ''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995 to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen ...

'' actress

Khandi Alexander Harriet Rene "Khandi" Alexander (born September 4, 1957) is an American dancer, choreographer, and actress. She began her career as a dancer in the 1980s and was a choreographer for Whitney Houston's world tours from 1988 to 1992. During the 199 ...

appearing as one of the backup dancers. The video was published on

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in September 2010. It has amassed more than a half million views as of September 2021.

Track listing

* UK CD single"Heaven Knows" (UK Maxi-Single)
/ref> #"Heaven Knows" (Single Version) - 4:26 #"Heaven Knows" (Classic 12" Mix) - 8:00 #"I Want the Night to Stay" - 5:26

Charts

References

{{authority control 1993 songs Luther Vandross songs 1993 singles Songs written by Luther Vandross Epic Records singles Songs written by Reed Vertelney