"Greatest Love of All" is a song performed by American singer Whitney Houston. It is a version of a song originally written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed and first recorded by George Benson. The song was first released as the B-side of Houston's debut hit, "You Give Good Love," in February 1985. Later, Houston's record label, Arista Records, released it as the sixth single from her self-titled debut album on March 18, 1986.

The song became very popular quickly after it was released. In the United States, it reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart for three weeks in a row, becoming Houston's third number-one single from the same album. This made her the first female artist to achieve this milestone. In Canada, it became Houston's second number-one single. It also reached the top in Ireland, Panama, and Australia, and it charted in the top ten in the United Kingdom and the top twenty in five other countries. The song earned Houston a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards in 1987, which was her first nomination in that category.

The song has appeared on three of Houston's compilation albums since its release. These include Whitney: The Greatest Hits (in both its original and dance remix versions), The Ultimate Collection, and I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston. A live version of the song from Houston's 1990 performance at the Arista 15th anniversary concert in Radio City Music Hall was included in the 25th anniversary deluxe edition of Whitney Houston and in the 2014 release Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances.

The song, which became Houston's first signature song, and its music video, which was the first by a Black female artist to be shown heavily on MTV, helped establish her as a global superstar.

Background

In 1977, 14-year-old Whitney Houston participated in the Garden State Competition in New Jersey, her home state. She became one of the top competitors, singing against another young female singer. Houston performed the song "Evergreen," written by Barbra Streisand, which her mother, Cissy Houston, gave to her. She lost the competition because she sang above the allowed limit. The winner performed the song "The Greatest Love of All," which Houston later liked and included in her performances while singing with her mother's band.

By early 1983, Houston regularly performed "The Greatest Love of All" in her short set, along with other songs like "Home" and "Tomorrow." That year, Arista Records A&R man Gerry Griffith saw her perform at the Manhattan jazz club Seventh Avenue South. Griffith had previously seen Houston perform at another club in Manhattan two years earlier and was impressed. The next day, he asked Arista CEO Clive Davis to watch Houston perform. Davis attended a show with Whitney and her mother at Sweetwater's jazz club. After hearing Houston sing "The Greatest Love of All," Davis decided to sign the 19-year-old singer.

After signing with Arista in April 1983, Houston and Davis held showcases in nightclubs to find producers, but this effort was not successful at first. Davis then invited producer Michael Masser to New York to see Houston perform "The Greatest Love of All," a song Masser co-wrote with Linda Creed for George Benson in 1977 for the Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest.

At the time, Arista, founded by Davis in late 1974, had the rights to produce the soundtrack for The Greatest. Masser, who had previously written songs for Diana Ross, was asked by Davis to help write the film's theme song with Creed. Benson's version of the song became popular, reaching number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1977 and becoming Arista's first top ten R&B hit, peaking at number two on the Hot Soul Singles chart.

Masser entered the club while Houston was performing "The Greatest Love of All." Moved by her singing, Masser convinced Davis to let Houston be the duet performer on Teddy Pendergrass's ballad "Hold Me." Davis agreed, but only if Masser produced Houston's debut album, which Masser accepted.

Recording

Young people should hear this song and understand that it is about learning to love oneself. If someone can accept themselves, including their mistakes and weaknesses, that is the most important kind of love.

According to the label, creating Houston's first album took more than a year. The project was originally planned to cost $200,000, but the expenses grew to nearly $400,000. Houston wanted to record a ballad because she believed music should share positive messages with listeners. However, Davis disagreed, saying there were already too many ballads being recorded.

Michael Masser, who had recently helped produce songs like "Saving All My Love for You" and "All at Once" for Houston's debut album, supported the idea of recording the ballad. He had first heard Houston perform live and wanted to include the song. Gene Page, the arranger, explained that Davis initially refused to let Masser record the song because Benson's version of it had only moderate success on pop charts.

Page noted that Davis had mixed feelings about the four songs Masser recorded. He liked "Hold Me" and "All at Once" but disliked "Greatest Love of All" and "Saving All My Love for You." Eventually, Davis agreed to include the two songs Masser disliked after Masser refused to continue working on the album if they were not included. Davis later told Masser and Houston that the songs would not be released as singles.

Houston, who was known for recording songs in one take, said Masser recorded 60 versions of the song during a December 1984 session. This made Houston tired, and she called Davis to ask him to stop the session.

When Houston released her debut album in February 1985, Linda Creed, the songwriter who wrote the lyrics two weeks after her 1977 mastectomy (following a breast cancer diagnosis in 1975), was dying from the disease. She became bedridden by the end of 1985.

Creed passed away on April 10, 1986, the same time Houston's version of the song reached the top 40 on the US pop charts.

According to sheet music notes from Warner Bros. Publications, Houston's version of the song has a slow tempo with 68 beats per minute. The song begins and mostly stays in the key of A-major, but shifts to D-major during the second part of the choruses. Houston's vocal range spans from the low note of A3 to the high note of E5. Near the end of the song, she holds a high note on the word "love" for 12 seconds.

Critical reception

Many critics considered the song the most important track on Houston's first album. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that Houston sings it with a strong and clear way that makes the message of self-worth feel powerful and convincing. He described the song as a strong expression of spiritual devotion, pride in being Black, and loyalty to family.

Don Shewey of Rolling Stone noted that as the song progresses, Houston adds more emotion gradually, uses sounds similar to church music, holds notes slightly longer, and shows her amazing voice.

In his March 7, 1985 review of Houston's debut album, Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail praised the ballad, along with "Saving All My Love for You" and "Hold Me," as some of the most beautiful pop singing on records since the time of Dionne Warwick.

In their March 22, 1986 issue, Cashbox magazine called the song a positive and hopeful song that would connect with Houston's many fans.

In his later review of the song, Tom Breihan of Stereogum wrote that it remains a lasting example of Houston's skill in singing ballads.

Alex Hopper of American Songwriter commended Houston for avoiding complicated singing techniques and instead using a simple arrangement that still has a strong impact, similar to her other ballads like "Saving All My Love for You" and "I Will Always Love You."

Release

The song was first released as a B-side to "You Give Good Love" in February 1985. After being played on many radio stations, it became the sixth official release from the album on March 18, 1986. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 on March 29, 1986, at number 54 as a new entry. The next week, on April 5, it reached the top 40. It became Whitney Houston's fourth top ten single on May 3, 1986. Two weeks later, on May 17, it reached number one on the Hot 100, making it Houston's third consecutive number one single after "Saving All My Love for You" and "How Will I Know." It replaced the Pet Shop Boys' "West End Girls" at the top and stayed there for three weeks. This was Houston's longest-running number one song at the time. The song was also the fourth number one composition by Masser on the Billboard Hot 100 and Creed's first and only number one, even though he helped write top ten hits for other artists like the Stylistics and the Spinners.

In the same week the song reached number one, Houston's album Whitney Houston returned to number one on the Billboard 200, replacing Van Halen's 5150. This made Houston the first female artist to achieve this since Kim Carnes did so in 1981. The song also reached number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart on April 26, 1986, and stayed there for five weeks. It peaked at number three on the Hot Black Singles chart on May 24, 1986, becoming Houston's sixth consecutive top ten R&B hit. This made her the first solo artist to achieve this with her first six singles, a record not matched for 15 years since the Jackson 5.

The song's success made Houston the first female solo artist to have three number one singles from the same album on the Billboard Hot 100. Only four other albums had achieved this before: the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the Bee Gees' Spirits Having Flown, and Wham!'s Make It Big.

During its first run on the charts, the song spent 14 weeks in the top 40, including seven weeks in the top ten, and remained on the charts for 18 weeks total. In 2012, after Houston's death, the song re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 49 on February 27 and reached number 36 the next week. This made it one of Houston's three posthumous top 40 singles, along with "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "I Will Always Love You." The song spent a total of 20 weeks on the charts.

In Canada, the song reached number one on June 7, 1986, replacing Madonna's "Live to Tell" at the top. It was Houston's second number one single in the country after "How Will I Know" and her fourth consecutive top ten hit there.

In Panama, the song reached number one, becoming Houston's first number one hit in the country.

In Europe, the song was successful. In the United Kingdom, it entered the singles chart on April 12, 1986, at number 46. It peaked at number eight on May 17, becoming Houston's third top ten single there. The song spent three weeks in the top ten and 11 weeks in the top 75 during its first run. It briefly re-entered the chart at number 88 on July 5, 1986.

In Ireland, the song was Houston's second chart-topping hit. It also reached the top ten in Iceland and Luxembourg. It reached the top 20 in Italy, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Switzerland and the top 30 in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Belgium. Due to its success, the song peaked at number 11 on the European singles chart.

After Houston's death, the song re-entered the charts in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, peaking at numbers 28, 55, and 58, respectively. In the United Kingdom, its re-entry set a record for a female artist, breaking a previous record held by Amy Winehouse and earning a Guinness World Record.

The song also entered the charts in France and Spain for the first time after its initial release. It peaked at number 70 in France and number 39 in Spain.

In Oceania, the song reached number 12 in New Zealand and topped the Australian Kent Music Report singles chart on July 14, 1986. In Australia, it helped Houston's debut album reach number one, making her the first Black female artist to achieve this.

After Houston's death, the song re-entered the ARIA Singles Chart at number 56, joining five other Houston songs that re-entered the chart.

In Asia, the song became a posthumous top 40 hit in Japan and South Korea, reaching number 34 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and number 26 on South Korea's Circle international singles chart.

The song is one of Houston's best-selling and most successful singles. In the United States, it is her third biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, after "I Will Always Love You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)."

In December 1995, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 copies. In March 2019, it was certified platinum for 1 million sales-equivalent units, and in January 2023, it was certified double platinum for 2 million copies.

In Canada, the song was certified platinum for selling over 80,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, it was certified gold for selling over 400,000 copies and is one of 13 gold singles Houston had there. In New Zealand, it was certified gold for selling over 15,000 copies.

Copyright infringement lawsuit and settlement

In April 1987, Gordon Lightfoot filed a legal case against Michael Masser, claiming that Masser's song "The Greatest Love of All" used 24 bars from Lightfoot's 1970 song "If You Could Read My Mind."

According to Maclean's, Lightfoot said, "It made me feel upset. I do not want today's generation to believe I stole my song from him."

Lightfoot mentioned that he stopped the lawsuit when he realized it was hurting Houston, as the case was about Masser, not her.

The matter was resolved through a private agreement, and Masser publicly apologized.

Music video

Houston's music video for "Greatest Love of All" was filmed at Harlem's Apollo Theater in New York City. In the video, she is shown as a successful singer preparing to perform for an audience. She thinks back to when she was a child performing in a talent competition and receiving support from her mother.

As a child, Houston saw her mother, Cissy Houston, perform at the theater when her group, The Sweet Inspirations, was active.

The video includes Cissy playing herself, supporting a young version of Houston (played by Keara Hailey Gordon) and hugging the adult Houston at the end of the video.

The video was directed by Peter Israelson. James Contner was the director of photography, and Robin Buerki operated the Steadicam while filming on 35mm film. Israelson later directed Houston for two more music videos: "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "All the Man That I Need."

At this time in her career, Houston had become well-known on MTV through the music videos for "Saving All My Love for You" and "How Will I Know." The latter video was one of the most played videos in 1986 and earned Houston an MTV Video Music Award.

During the video's production, Houston was interviewed by MTV about the music video. She also filmed a commercial promoting the channel while on set.

This was her first music video to receive a world premiere from MTV. It debuted on heavy rotation during the week of March 26, 1986, making it the first music video by a Black female artist to be shown this way.

MTV credited the video with helping to establish the style of classic Whitney Houston videos.

In February 2020, the music video was restored in 4K and uploaded to Houston's YouTube channel. The video has received over 400 million views on YouTube.

In June 2020, during Black Music Month, Houston's estate released an official lyric video for the song. It included vintage clips of Black American families and footage of Houston performing the song.

Accolades

In 1987, Houston won the American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Video Single for her music video. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year but lost to Steve Winwood's version of "Higher Love" at the 1987 ceremony. This was Houston's first nomination for a Record of the Year Grammy.

"Greatest Love of All" was also nominated for the Soul Train Music Award for Best Female Single of the Year at the first 1987 Soul Train Music Awards. It lost to Anita Baker's "Sweet Love."

Billboard listed the song as the 11th best-selling single of 1986. Cashbox ranked it as the 13th biggest single of 1986 on its year-end list.

Live performances

Houston often said this ballad was her favorite song to perform. She included it in all of her regional and world tours. During the US Summer Tour (1985) and the Greatest Love World Tour (1986), she performed the song’s bridge to open each show and ended it with a slowed-down gospel-influenced version.

In May 1987, Houston performed the song at the Linda Creed Memorial Scholarship Fund Concert in Philadelphia to honor the late songwriter. During the Moment of Truth World Tour (1987–88), the song was the second-to-last performance before she returned to stage for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)." She repeated this pattern on the Feels So Right tour in 1990. It was the final song of her I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour (1991), though she occasionally performed encores. For her The Bodyguard soundtrack world tour, she opened shows with the first verse and chorus, appearing as a silhouette. During the South African leg of the tour, the song was performed in full as part of a three-song encore.

Houston mostly excluded the song from her My Love Is Your Love World Tour in 1999. She later told MTV correspondent John Norris that it was omitted due to the tour’s length and the popularity of her later hit "I Will Always Love You." However, she performed the song during a 1999 concert at Sportpaleis in Antwerp. Later tours, such as the Soul Divas Tour (2004) and the Nothing but Love World Tour (2009–2010), included the ballad as part of a medley of her classic love songs.

Houston performed the song live on television for the first time on the Dutch show Show van de maand on April 19, 1985. On July 4, 1986, she performed a powerful version at the Americana music concert during Liberty Weekend. In September 1986, she sang the song along with "How Will I Know" at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards. Marie Claire described her ballad performance as "chills-inducing." Her performance was later named one of the greatest in VMA history.

At the 29th Annual Grammy Awards, Houston performed the song in her second consecutive appearance. Rolling Stone listed the performance among her ten greatest, noting it helped transform her "from rising talent to a full-fledged superstar." A performance at London’s Wembley Arena in May 1988 was first shown on an Italian TV documentary on Rai Uno.

Houston ended her set at the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at London’s Wembley Stadium on June 11, 1988, in front of over 72,000 fans to support the anti-apartheid movement. A January 7, 1990, performance at Yokohama Arena in Japan was recorded and broadcast on Japanese television.

At the That's What Friends Are For: Arista's 15th Anniversary Concert on March 17, 1990, Houston performed the song and received a standing ovation. She returned to Japan in March 1991, and a March 15 performance at Yokohama Arena was also recorded and broadcast.

Houston performed the song on her HBO special Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston, surrounded by children of American troops returning from the Persian Gulf War on March 31, 1991. In May 1991, she sent a live recording of the song from Oakland Arena to The Simple Truth: A Concert for Kurdish Refugees.

In February 1992, Houston performed the song in tribute to Muhammad Ali during his 50th birthday celebration, earning a standing ovation and prompting Ali to embrace her. On her TV special This Is My Life (May 6, 1992), she was seen rehearsing the song.

In February 1994, Houston performed the song for Clive Davis at the American Cinema Awards before presenting him with the Gloria Swanson Humanitarian Award. During the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals, she performed the song in a 30-minute halftime show at the Rose Bowl, joining five other classics in front of over 92,000 fans.

In October 1994, Houston performed the song at the White House state dinner for South African President Nelson Mandela, which was broadcast on C-SPAN. She also performed the ballad on her HBO specials Whitney: The Concert for a New South Africa (1994) and Classic Whitney (1997).

In August 1996, Houston performed the song for the Whitney: Brunei The Royal Wedding Celebration special in Brunei. Her final televised performance of the song was on The Oprah Winfrey Show in June 1999.

Covers and usage in media

Other artists have performed their own versions of Houston's version of the song, including Shirley Bassey, Oleta Adams, Alexandra Burke, Deborah Cox, Lea Salonga, Tim Seelig, Portrait, Kevin Rowland, Mindless Self Indulgence, and Rahsaan Patterson during his time with Kids Incorporated. According to the database website WhoSampled, Houston's version has been performed 54 times, which is twice as many as the covers for the original version by Benson.

Singer Katy Perry, a fan of Houston, has performed Houston's version at several public events, including during her Play residency in Las Vegas in January 2022, where she combined the song with her own hit, "Firework." During Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign in Pittsburgh, Perry performed the full version of the song.

At the 2012 NAACP Image Awards, Kirk Franklin and The Family began their tribute to Houston by performing "Greatest Love of All."

During the Recording Academy tribute to Houston, titled We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston, the song was performed by Celine Dion, a longtime admirer of Houston. Dion had also performed the same song on Canadian television as a teenager more than 25 years earlier.

Houston's version of the song was featured in the first season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where contestants Akashia and Shannel performed it during a "lipsync for your life" competition.

The song was also parodied in the 1988 film Coming to America, starring Eddie Murphy, who played singer Randy Watson in a performance clip with his band Sexual Chocolate. The performance received little attention except from one person.

In the Houston-estate approved biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022), the song is performed during a scene where Houston, played by Naomi Ackie, is asked by her mother, Cissy (played by Tamara Tunie), to sing the song after her mother sees Clive Davis (played by Stanley Tucci) in the audience at Sweetwater's. This scene reenacts Davis's real-life discovery of Houston performing the song, which led to her signing with Arista.

The song was remixed at least three times: first in 2000 by Junior Vasquez for the Houston compilation Whitney: The Greatest Hits, by Peter Rauhofer under the name Club 69 the same year, and in 2022 by Jax Jones for the official soundtrack to Houston's biopic.

Legacy and influence

Writing for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Justin Kantor wrote in an article about Whitney Houston after her death that the song "Greatest Love of All" helped make her a very important part of pop culture and the lives of millions of people. He said the song became the music people played during graduations and celebrations of achievements everywhere.

Tom Breihan of Stereogum said that many generations of R&B singers learned how to sing by listening to Houston perform songs like "Greatest Love of All."

The song was important in the career of American singer Monica. In 1991, she performed the song and was discovered by record producer Dallas Austin. He signed her to his label, Rowdy Records, and her career began a few years later.

The song and its music video also helped shape the career of Kelly Rowland, a future member of Destiny's Child. In a 2006 article in Ebony magazine, Rowland said she wanted to be a singer after seeing Houston perform "Greatest Love of All" on TV. She said she wanted to sing like Houston in that red dress and never forgot the song. She learned it in every way and said the video still gives her chills.

Fellow R&B singer Brandy said she wanted to be a singer after watching the music video when she was seven. She told her mother, "I’m going to be just like Whitney Houston when I grow up." Brandy wrote that watching Houston sing made her realize she was born to sing and make people feel the same way Houston made her feel.

In 1993, Paul Gettelmen of the Orlando Sentinel compared Mariah Carey’s song "Hero" to "Greatest Love of All" and said "Hero" was a copy of Houston’s song. Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone also noted that "Hero" was inspired by Houston’s song.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said "Greatest Love of All" was the model for many divas over the years.

After Michael Masser died in 2015, The Telegraph ranked "Greatest Love of All" as his third best song after "Saving All My Love for You" and "Touch Me in the Morning."

Forbes placed the song third among the 20 greatest Whitney Houston songs of all time.

MTV listed the song as one of the ten best Houston songs, with correspondent Kelley L. Carter calling it "her musical calling card."

BET ranked the song as the second best Whitney Houston song out of 40 recordings, calling it Houston’s "superstar-making moment." They said the song was one of her greatest early successes, combining uplifting and emotional elements.

Billboard ranked the song number nine in their list of 25 best Whitney Houston songs. The same magazine ranked it the 41st best love song of all time in 2025.

The Guardian ranked the song as Houston’s ninth greatest song, saying Houston’s version was more powerful than the original by Benson.

Smooth Radio ranked it the ninth best Whitney Houston song in their list.

About.com ranked it the second best Whitney Houston song of all time.

In 2012, Rolling Stone readers voted "Greatest Love of All" as the greatest Whitney Houston song, calling it "an expression of monumental self-belief in the face of great adversity."