The Greatest Love World Tour is the debut worldwide concert tour 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 ...
, in support of her debut studio album ''
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 ...
''. The four-month tour began in North America on July 26, 1986 at the
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Merriweather Post Pavilion is an outdoor concert venue located within Symphony Woods, a lot of preserved land in the heart of the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. In 2010, Merriweather was named the second best amphitheater in the Unit ...
with an itinerary that included visits in Europe, Japan and Australia.
Background
Houston's debut album was released in early 1985 and she performed at various clubs to promote the album. Following the success of the US #1 R&B hit single "You Give Good Love", Houston became the opening act for singers'
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 ...
and
Jeffrey Osborne
Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970.
Biography Earl ...
on their individual 1985 US tours.
After the next single, "Saving All My Love For You" became Houston's first #1 on the US Hot 100, she began headlining her own shows, playing at various American theaters, festivals, and clubs throughout the summer and fall of 1985. With more #1 hits on the way, and Houston's album at the top of the album charts, she would become a household name. She then embarked on her first worldwide tour, the successful ''The Greatest Love Tour''. The tour started in North America during the summer of 1986, before heading to Europe, Japan, Australia and back to USA for a final show in Hawaii during the fall.
The show
The show consisted of Houston on a fringed round stage in the center of the arena/theater with a 9-piece band playing and four backup vocalists behind her.
There were no costume changes or background dancers. Brother Gary Garland would replace
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 ...
and
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...
on the duets. Comedian Sylvia Treymoore served as the opening act.
While on her first global tour, Houston revealed she was a creative musician; rearranging most of the songs during her shows and sometimes deviating from the album's version. In "You Give Good Love", Houston would slow it down and emphasize the soulful elements of the song, treating it like a gospel number while breaking it down with her background singers.
[Takiff, Jonathon. "Whitney Makes Converts". Philadelphia Daily News. August 28, 1986.] During "Saving All My Love", Houston arranged the song into a bluesy jazz number that recalled
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 ...
. Houston often scatted with sax player Josh Harris during the end of the song.
[ Many critics noted "He/I Believe" and "I Am Changing" as the show's highlights. The former is a song she learned from her mother which joins the gospel songs "He Is" with "I Believe". The latter is a cover of the show ]Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a su ...
's show stopping Dreamgirls song.[ After opening the show with a tease of the anthemic "Greatest Love of All", Houston closed out the show with a slowed down soulful version of the song.
'']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 ...
'' magazine's Carlo Wolff
Carlo Wolff is a prolific freelance journalist and author who has written for publications including ''The Boston Globe'', ''Chicago Sun-Times'', ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', ''The Plain Dealer'' (Cleveland, Ohio), and ''The Christian Science Mo ...
said the following on his column for her show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) is a large amphitheatre located in Saratoga Springs, New York, on the grounds of Saratoga Spa State Park. It presents summer performances of classical music, jazz, pop and rock, country, comedy, dance, opera, ...
on July 28, 1986.
Opening acts
Sylvia Morrison from Washington, DC, is the first black female impressionist/comedian.
*Sylvia Traymore Morrison (USA—Leg)
*Mark McCollum (comedian) (USA—Leg)
*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 ...
(USA—Leg, select dates)
Setlist
# "Instrumental Intro" (contains elements of "Also sprach Zarathustra
', Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883–1885 novel ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''.[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 ...]
")
# "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson recorded for his sixth studio album '' Thriller'' (1982). It is the opening track of the album and was released as its fourth single on May 8, 1983, by Epic Records. It was ...
"
# " Eternal Love"
# "You Give Good Love
"You Give Good Love" is the debut solo single by American singer Whitney Houston for her 1985 eponymous debut studio album. It was written by La Forrest 'La La' Cope and produced by Kashif. When La La sent Kashif a copy of the song, originally o ...
"
# " Hold Me" (duet with Gary Houston)
# "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. ...
"
# "Take Good Care of My Heart" (duet with Gary Houston)
# "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do
"Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" is a song written by James Dunne anPamela Phillips-Oland and originally performed on the CBS soap opera ''As the World Turns'' by Dunne himself with series regular Tonya Pinkins. It was later recorded by Jermaine Jack ...
" (duet with Gary Houston)
# "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 ...
"
# "Someone for Me"
# "I Am Changing
"I Am Changing" is a song from the second act of the long-running Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls''. Written by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen, the song was performed by the character Effie White, originally portrayed on Broadway by Jennifer Holliday ...
"
# " Heart to Heart"
# " All at Once"
# "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 ...
"
# "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 2, 1987, by Arista Records. It was produ ...
"
# "He, I Believe"
# "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 ...
"
Notes
;Additional notes
*July, August: for select dates, Whitney performed "Memories
Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
" , " A Brand New Day" and a duet with her mother, singer Cissy Houston
Emily "Cissy" Houston ( ''née'' Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Roy Hamilton, Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, Houston embar ...
.
*Houston also added Kenny Loggins
Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
's US pop hit "Heart to Heart" and "I Am Changing" from the musical ''Dreamgirls
''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others,Gro ...
'' as part of her set list for the tour.
*August 4: at the Garden State Arts Center show, Whitney performed " When I First Saw You" with her mother Cissy and brother Gary.
*September 13: for the concert in Mountain View, Houston brought out a cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to her father, John Houston.
*Houston was also working on her second album and included two new songs in her set, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on May 2, 1987, by Arista Records. It was produ ...
" and "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 ...
".
Shows
;Cancellations and rescheduled shows
Personnel
Houston and John Simmons were friends from their church in New Jersey. While Houston was trying to get a recording contract, she would perform sets as part of her mother's nightclub act in New York City. Simmons was her musical director. Houston asked Simmons to put together a band that would back her during her nightclub act and record label showcases.[Charles, Nat. "Conducting Electricity, and Idolatry". ''New York Times''. January 14, 2007.] The tour manager was Tony Bulluck, who remained her tour manager on several of her tours later, including the Nothing but Love Tour. Rickey Minor and Whitney's brother Gary Houston remained band members throughout her touring career.
;Band
* Music Director / Piano – John Simmons
* Bass guitar / Bass synthesizer – Ricky Minor
* Guitar – Curtis Taylor Neishloss
* Keyboards – Willard Meeks
* Saxophone – Josh Harris
* Drums – Brian Brake
* Percussion – Kevin Jones
* Background vocalists – Gary Houston
Gary Joseph Houston (né Garland; born October 12, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season with the Nuggets ( 1979–80). Gary is the half ...
, Felicia Moss, Voneva Simms, Billy Baker
;Tour Management
*Manager – Tony Bulluck
Broadcast and recordings
* The show at Osaka-jō Hall on November 5 was broadcast live on Asahi Hōsō Radio in Japan. There were no official recordings released to the public.
Ticket price score data
External links
the greatest love tour - whitneyhouston
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Love World Tour
1986 concert tours
Whitney Houston concert tours