Embedded Files
December 01, 1985
Los Angeles, CA
Universal Amphitheatre
Attendance: ≈6,000
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
November 30, 1985
San Diego, CA
Golden Hall
Attendance: ≈3,000
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
Whitney Houston has three things that money can’t buy a performer: a sensational voice, captivating poise and uncommonly good looks.
With all that going for her, it’s no surprise that the public has been quick to declare her a star. Her debut album—which has spun off two Top 10 singles—has sold more than 2 million copies since its release last spring.
And Houston—still in her early 20s—is just as big a hit live. The audience at Golden Hall here Saturday night gave her one of the most enthusiastic standing ovations I’ve seen in ages.
In fact, the audience seemed drained. The show lasted about 75 minutes, but Houston used her voice so dramatically—moving in quick spurts from one intensity level to another—that it sometimes was breathtaking.
She didn’t even need time to warm up. On the opening number, the daughter of singer Cissy Houston stretched the word “children” into all sorts of tuneful shapes.
Part of the impact is the suddenness of these vocal moves. Houston will start a line routinely, even start the word rather conventionally, then break away, increasing the volume threefold and holding a syllable for several seconds. So, children becomes chi-ILLLLLLLLLLLL-ILLLL-DDReeeen—or something like that.
It’s called control, and Houston—who was also scheduled to appear Sunday night at the Universal Amphitheatre—has so much of it she can give you chills.
So should all other female pop vocalists simply chuck it in and give all the Grammys and Top 10 singles for the rest of the ‘80s to this newcomer?
Not yet. There’s another quality that money can’t buy for a singer and this one may be the most important of all: character. Or, if you prefer, soul.
It’s hard to define character, but it has something to do with convincing the audience that you’ve lived the words you’re singing. Think of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner and Judy Garland—four singers who display enormous character in different ways.
Houston demonstrated painfully little character Saturday. Once you got past the dazzle of her vocal ability, you realized there was a gap. You didn’t feel at the end of the evening that you learned anything about her—or yourself.
The best singers touch you in a way that invites you to relate your own experiences to theirs. Houston sings about all the familiar things—the absence of love, the searching for love, the disappointments of love. But it’s colorless. There’s little revelation or testimony.
Are we expecting too much? After all, she’s still young. Doesn’t it take time to develop character?
Not always. While some singers do gain authority over the years, most of the great ones seem to have an instinctive ability to convey their deepest emotions in a moving and meaningful way.
The biggest danger with someone like Houston is that she’ll simply let the adulation and natural talent be ends in themselves.
One handicap is her material. Except for the recent hit, the seductive “Saving All My Love for You,” the songs on her debut album are conventional tales that don’t exactly inspire a singer to reach inside herself.
On the plus side Saturday, she put infinitely more punch into her live renditions than she displayed on the album. But, again, that was more a victory for technique than emotion.
The key is in finding better, more meaningful songs—and then convincing us she cares about them. There’s a million stories out there, Whitney. Which ones really matter to you?
(Los Angeles Times)
November 29, 1985
Phoenix, AZ
Celebrity Theatre
Attendance: ≈2,650
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review #1:
If the swimsuit pose on Whitney Houston’s album gave anyone the idea they were in for a rerun of the Mary Jane Girls, they were quickly shown otherwise. Except for the size of the audience, Houston’s show had the elegance and intimacy of a classy nightclub. Houston’s turquoise dress looked cocktail-ready, and the band members appeared very prim in dark suits and bow ties.
It was an ambiance well suited to Houston’s blend of balladry and lightly accented rhythm and blues. If the swimsuit photo served to highlight a young and attractive woman, the music revealed maturity well beyond her years. Still in her early 20s and still making her mark as a celebrity, Houston nonetheless showed unusual confidence and sophistication. She was natural in her manner and, with experience, will surely find the skill to project her personality with a force more accurate to her material.
As it was, there was just a hint of caution in the opening numbers, as if she were not yet completely comfortable with her stage persona. This left her vocal technique and ability as the mainstays of the performance. Her range and phrasing were clean and precise in a way that brought to mind Angela Bofill or even Houston’s aunt, Dionne Warwick.
To no one’s great surprise, the playlist was drawn from her debut album on Arista. It had much the same balance of upbeat numbers, which illustrated her range and power, and ballads, where phrasing and expression came more into play. Her mother, singer Cissy Houston, may have been absent, but Whitney’s brother Gary was there to sing backup and also duet with her on a couple of numbers: “Hold Me” (on which Teddy Pendergrass is featured on the album) and “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do” (recorded with Jermaine Jackson). The latter song became melodramatic but nonetheless earned Whitney even more roses from admirers in the audience.
If Houston was poised and polished, Angel Salazar brought balance to the bill with a racy routine. The comedian scored laughs with various hackneyed ethnic jokes, then peeled off his clothing and tried some imitations of Tina Turner, Boy George, Rod Stewart, and others. Needless to say, the audience loved it.
(The Arizona Republic)
Concert Review #2:
Whitney Houston is destined to become one of the world’s most adored female singers. She has all the tools for the job: an incredible voice with looks to match, and a vulnerable stage presence that brings her audience to a near-worship pitch. At her Celebrity Theatre concert last week, Miss Houston did nothing less than convert a sold-out house to the Church of Whitney Houston.
She accomplished this with a simple style, a simple dress, and the most powerful and focused set of pipes to emerge in the past two years. Her talents are a record company’s dream. At 22, she is Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick (her cousin), and Gladys Knight all rolled into one. There is no mistaking her vocal abilities, or the fact that she may be the most beautiful new singer in show business. From the moment she stepped onto the stage, she had the crowd enthralled.
Throughout the show, fans showered her with applause and long-stem roses. In fact, it became annoying when every three minutes another admirer would approach the stage and stand there until Miss Houston came over to accept the rose. By the end of the evening, her music director’s piano was covered with them. At one point, she and her brother Gary Garland were singing Teddy Pendergrass’s "Hold Me" and had to momentarily interrupt the song to relieve a persistent fan of his rose, which was reportedly his fourth or fifth trip to the stage. It was very distracting.
The strength and volume in Miss Houston’s voice are nothing less than astounding. However, someone has decided that the best way to impress an audience is to have her endlessly flex that voice in scatty, disjointed arrangements. What was missing from the set list was a simple ballad without all the fireworks. Sooner or later, people will want to hear the velvet voice minus the clutter.
In the past year, Miss Houston has been recognized by nearly everyone in the music business as a true comer. She has one self-titled album of her own and has appeared on several others by Chaka Khan, Paul Jabara, and Lou Rawls. Artists such as Teddy Pendergrass and Jermaine Jackson, among others, are lining up to work with her and write for her.
As a young, beautiful singer with a golden voice, it will be interesting to see how Miss Houston handles her career. At last week’s show, it was apparent that, if managed correctly, she will become a superstar on the scale of Diana Ross, or perhaps Barbra Streisand. She certainly possesses everything it takes, and then some.
(The Arizona Republic)
November 24, 1985
Houston, TX
Houston Music Hall
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
Record buyers have latched on to Whitney Houston as a relief from the battering beat that dominates the radio, her fans seemingly seeking her out rather than being forced to accept her. Those fans have good reason to be optimistic about her future, as shown by Houston’s performance Sunday at the Music Hall. It was her first concert in Houston (no relation), and it capped a long and successful year by placing her voice in a setting where it could be heard without hindrance.
Her songs themselves do not make exceptional demands on her, but she makes demands on them. When the material is up to her talent—as on “Saving All My Love for You”—she almost justifies adult-oriented radio. She has only one album behind her, and she performs it in its entirety.
Her voice is such that she takes conventional material and slices it like a birthday cake. With each piece, she makes sure everyone in the audience gets an extra helping of vocal frosting. Her band members wear formal attire, and she appears onstage in a not-shocking pink vinyl dress. She begins with a sung credo, in which the conviction she gives to words like “children” and “dignity” is enough to make sense of the ordinary sentiments in the lyrics.
“You Give Good Love” is about as suggestive as she gets, and “Someone for Me” is her approximation of a brightly colored dance tune. She gets her oldest brother to take the parts originally sung by Teddy Pendergrass and Jermaine Jackson on “Hold Me,” “Take Good Care of My Heart,” and “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do.”
If she plays it safe with her material and stage presence, she does not hold back on individual numbers, which can turn in a single lyric line from low-down Patti LaBelle notes to the tiptoe stylings of a Joni Mitchell or Rickie Lee Jones. Houston can go just about anywhere from here, because she’s only 21 years old.
For once, a singer just out of her teens seems to attract an audience older than herself. That audience may want to pressure her into the Las Vegas mode that ultimately caught Diana Ross. That way lies decadence. Wish her good songwriters and the courage to follow her inclinations.
You can’t really give her any more in terms of vocal prowess.
(The Houston Chronicle)
November 23, 1985
Dallas, TX
Dallas Convention Center
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
November 22, 1985
New Orleans, LA
Saenger Theatre
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
November 20, 1985
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
Attendance: ≈2,800
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
Whitney Houston's sold-out Carnegie Hall performances last month attracted Eddie Murphy, Daryl Hannah, comic Howie Mandel, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson, among others. Even New York Mayor Ed Koch showed up to see what all the fuss was about.
For her mid-November concert at Carnegie Hall, her six-piece group is dressed in black tuxedos. Except for the synthesizers and other elaborate musical gadgetry, they look more like a society band than a pop-soul group. Whitney is clad in an eye-popping low-cut number. "Let's make a deal," she tells her audience, "you give me some of yourselves, and I'll give you all of me." More than a few young men melt into their seats.
Her 90-minute set is a mix of pop, soul, gospel and romantic ballads in which she engages in vocal sparring matches with Gary. A high point of the evening occurs when Cissy mounts the stage and sings "You Are My Dream" to her little girl. Another is Whitney's cover of "I Am Changing," from the show Dreamgirls. Halfway through the tune Whitney pauses for a dramatic few moments, back arched, face uplifted, eyes tightly closed. She gathers her full force for a gospel-inspired progression of notes that pulls her 2,800 admirers to their feet. "Sing it, Whitney, honey," screams one ecstatic fan. "Sing us the truth."
(People Weekly)
November 17, 1985 (9:30 pm start)
New Haven, CT
Woolsey Hall
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
November 17, 1985 (7:00 pm start)
New Haven, CT
Woolsey Hall
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
November 15, 1985
Upper Darby, PA
Tower Theatre
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
Whitney Houston, who performed last night at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, spearheads the most interesting revival in popular music today: the renewed popularity of rhythm-and-blues–based ballad singing. Houston, whose debut album Whitney Houston (Arista Records) has sold more than two million copies, is only the most visible representative of this trend; others include crooners Freddie Jackson, Kashif, and Paul Laurence. You’ll notice that Houston is the only woman on that list—and she’s the youngest member of the club as well. At a mere 21, Houston possesses a beguiling maturity that serves her well in the delivery of smoldering torch songs.
Thus far, Houston’s string of Top 10 hit singles includes “Saving All My Love for You” and “You Give Good Love,” both the sort of sexy, world-weary songs that usually only older, more experienced performers can pull off convincingly. At the Tower last night, she demonstrated that she can take command of an audience as well as make a love song sound heartfelt.
Houston took the stage dressed in a demure pink suit—strictly dress-for-success, understated sexiness. As a former model, Houston knows how to present her elegant good looks to best advantage. But pop music is full of pretty faces; more to the point is the fact that, as the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of Dionne Warwick, Houston knows how to frame a song for maximum dramatic impact.
Thus it was that most of her ballads began in a low, conversational voice that very gradually built in emotional intensity. Almost every song climaxed with screams and cheers from the audience, as Houston released the tension at the very moment when the composition seemed ready to explode.
Houston has two major flaws. The first can be remedied: her material tends to veer into sappy sentimentality and gooey romanticism. The second is trickier: her dramatic style occasionally becomes merely melodramatic—a carefully wrought formula designed to elicit appreciation for her technical skill.
This is the sort of thing a great pop singer never calls attention to. But of course, Houston’s career is just beginning; there’s plenty of time to bring this tendency under control. In the meantime, she certainly has a way with a good song.
(The Philadelphia Inquirer)
October 28, 1985
New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
Attendance: ≈2,800
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
Concert Review:
The essence of Whitney Houston, the dazzlingly talented 22-year-old pop-soul singer whose first album has sold double platinum (two million copies), might be summed up in two lines from one of her signature songs, ''The Greatest Love of All'': ''No matter what they take from me, they can't take away my dignity.''
''The Greatest Love of All,'' which Miss Houston used to open her show last night, set the tone of a concert in which the singer, who looks and acts considerably more mature than her years, offered a potent yet refined mixture of pop, soul, and funk, accompanied by a five-piece band and three backup vocalists.
The daughter of the pop-gospel singer Cissy Houston and the first cousin of Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston has a voice that is smaller, clearer and higher than those of her distinguished relatives. Where the timbres of most soul singers contain strong earth tones, Miss Houston's voice is ringing and bell-like most of the time. But behind the delicacy and reserve lurks a ferocious power that she can unleash with a sudden, almost blinding force.
At last night's concert, Miss Houston's moment of truth came late in the evening, with a searing, incandescent rendition of ''I Am Changing'' from the musical ''Dreamgirls'' that drew a standing ovation from an audience that included Eddie Murphy, Mayor Koch, Melba Moore, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson. For the first two-thirds of the show, Miss Houston had revealed herself to be a superb, though somewhat shy pop-soul technician in the sweetly glamorous mode of Diana Ross. By the end of the concert, Miss Houston demonstrated the potential for greatness.
(The New York Times)
October 26, 1985
Lake Buena Vista, FL
Walt Disney World
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 20, 1985
Richmond, VA
The Mosque
Attendance: ≈2,400
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
Last night at the Mosque, a 22-year-old singer mesmerized an audience of 2,400 with her astounding voice and graceful style, which has been compared to that of Lena Horne. Comparing Whitney Houston to Ms. Horne may be debatable in some circles, but there is no doubting her abilities. She can sing. Ms. Houston can also dance a little and possesses the rare ability to capture the heart and soul of an audience with her awesome vocal talent.
She opened with a George Benson tune, “The Greatest Love of All,” and a Lionel Richie song, “Love Will Find a Way.” With only two hit songs to her credit on the charts this year, Ms. Houston got rid of one right away by singing the No. 1 song in the country, “Saving All My Love for You.” Some, like me, wondered what she would do next—but she was just warming up and began to strut her stuff.
Joined by her brother, Gary Garland, the two performed “Hold Me,” which she sings with Teddy Pendergrass on her album, and “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” recorded with Jermaine Jackson. The cousin of Dionne Warwick and the daughter of singer Cissy Houston would have made her relatives proud when she performed “I Am Changing,” from the Broadway show Dreamgirls. With electricity and excitement running from heart to heart in the auditorium, Ms. Houston projected a powerful yet soothing voice. She took an old song, dusted it off, repackaged it, and made it her own. She stood motionless at the end, her head tossed back.
The audience cried out for her to end the anticipation by singing just one more note. She did—and the crowd responded with a standing ovation. She ended the show with her hit song “You Give Good Love.”
Also appearing were Ray, Goodman & Brown, the street-corner crooners who gave a solid performance. Their music centers on love songs, and they brought back memories with “Ooh Baby Baby,” “Happy Anniversary,” and “You Must Be a Special Lady.”
Perhaps if you are one of those who doubted whether Ms. Houston could be a headline attraction with so little music to her credit, you were in for a big surprise. The statuesque beauty has enormous potential. As one person in the audience put it, “She’s bad.”
(Richmond Times-Dispatch)
October 19, 1985 (10:30 pm start)
Indianapolis, IN
Clowes Memorial Hall
Attendance: ≈2,000
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 19, 1985 (7:30 pm start)
Indianapolis, IN
Clowes Memorial Hall
Attendance: 2,182
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
October 18, 1985
St. Louis, MO
The Fabulous Fox Theatre
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 13, 1985
San Marcos, TX
Strahan Coliseum
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 12, 1985
Baton Rouge, LA
Riverside Centroplex
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 11, 1985
Baltimore, MD
Lyric Opera House
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 06, 1985
Grand Rapids, MI
DeVos Performance Hall
Attendance: ≈2,500
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
October 05, 1985 (10:30 pm start)
Sterling Heights, MI
Premier Center
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 05, 1985 (7:30 pm start)
Sterling Heights, MI
Premier Center
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 04, 1985 (10:30 pm start)
Sterling Heights, MI
Premier Center
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 04, 1985 (7:30 pm start)
Sterling Heights, MI
Premier Center
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 02, 1985 (10:30 pm start)
Chicago, IL
Park West
Attendance: ≈1,000
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
October 02, 1985 (7:30 pm start)
Chicago, IL
Park West
Attendance: ≈1,000
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Setlist:
If there's one thing you can say about Whitney Houston, it's this—she gives good song.
However, if you don't listen to the radio much, you may never have heard of her. You may wonder how an artist barely out of her teens can pack 'em in for two SRO shows at Park West. Well, wonder no longer—if you had been there last night, you'd be a believer right now.
The 21-year-old sinewy ex-model—whose current hit is "You Give Good Love," is being whistled, hummed and sung by everyone from bank presidents to the busboys at Billy Goat's—certainly comes by her talent naturally. Her mother is soul session singer Cissy Houston and her first cousin is none other than the legendary Dionne Warwick. But before you wince, consider this: This Houston is no ingenue, no copycat, no fly-by-night sensation. She's a dynamo, pure and simple.
From the beginning of her performance, when the diminutive Houston tiptoed onto stage, it was evident that she was not a "slick" stylist. Her stage presence is a bit tattered around the edges, and she seems tentative and unassuming. You knew immediately that all she wanted you to do is listen to her. And once you had (after you'd picked yourself up off the floor, that is), you were as good as hooked.
Houston began her set quietly with "The Greatest Love of All," a song that only hinted at her astounding vocal capabilities. After a few selections that seemed to drift maddeningly into one another (the only common element being Houston's voice, slamming the rafters and then plummeting into a gutsy lower register), she eased into "Saving All My Love for You," another current release.
Houston then joined her brother, former DePaul Blue Demon guard Gary Garland, in two duets, "Take Good Care of My Heart" and "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do." Of course, the crowd was amazed to realize that Garland really can sing. Considering Houston's already illustrious family background, it should have come as no surprise.
By the time Houston performed her latest single, "Thinking About You," it was evident that she had lost control. That wallop of voice persisted in getting away from her, welling up from her toes and bounding around the room with happy abandon, bouncing off walls, causing jaws to drop and melting the ice in drinks.
Although Houston's technique at times seemed stilted and stiff, she has allowed a bit more emotion to creep into her songs. During a Chicago appearance in May, she came off like a precise freshman at a voice recital. And a lack of depth in Houston's repertoire will no doubt be erased with experience.
Houston closed her set with a devastating one-two punch. Her rendition of "I Am Changing," from the play Dreamgirls, was reminiscent of Aretha Franklin at her strongest. And Houston followed with "You Give Good Love"—leaving us secure in the knowledge that she had given everything she had.
(Chicago Sun-Times)
September 29, 1985 (10:00 pm start)
Boston, MA
Berklee Performance Center
Attendance: ≈1,000
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
September 29, 1985 (7:00 pm start)
Boston, MA
Berklee Performance Center
Attendance: ≈1,215
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Setlist:
Whitney Houston has almost everything it takes to be a star. She’s got the right voice—a rich, flexible soprano—the right look (she’s a part-time fashion model), and the right connections (her mother is gospel star Cissy Houston of the Sweet Inspirations, and her first cousin is Dionne Warwick).
She also has the audience. She had a No. 1 soul hit this year with “You Give Good Love,” and she attracted two large crowds (one full, one nearly full) to Berklee this week. Not bad for a 21-year-old whose first album just came out this summer. The one thing Houston seems to lack is a strong personality.
Her Berklee show was often dazzling as she wrapped her voice around a dozen love ballads and soft-funk numbers. Onstage, she’s a model of cool elegance: she never talks or moves too much and never gets too close to the audience. But one hopes for a bit of passion behind the elegance—a glimpse of fire with the ice—and Houston didn’t always deliver. She gave her voice a workout but held back on warmth.
The problems came when she didn’t pay attention to the lyrics. When she sang “I Am Changing” (from the musical), she pulled every vocal trick she could muster and built to a long, showy finale. Her technique was impressive, but she sang everything at full force, ignoring the lyric’s shifts between confidence and self-doubt.
Far better were “Love Will Find a Way” (a sunny Lionel Richie tune) and “Saving All My Love for You,” where Houston finally showed some emotion, playing the “other woman” in a love triangle.
The other rough spot was a set of three duets. On her album, Houston sings love songs with Teddy Pendergrass and Jermaine Jackson—“Hold Me,” “Nobody Loves Me Like You Do,” and “Take Good Care of My Heart.” Neither star was in town last weekend, so Houston sang all three tunes with her brother, Gary Garland.
(The Boston Globe)
September 28, 1985
Festival of Stars
Bushnell Memorial Hall / Hartford, CT
Attendance: ≈2,800
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
September 27, 1985 (11:30 pm start)
Washington, DC
D.A.R. Constitution Hall
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
September 27, 1985 (8:00 pm start)
Washington, DC
D.A.R. Constitution Hall
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
September 22, 1985 (6:00 pm start)
Williamsburg, VA
Royal Palace Theatre at Busch Gardens
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
September 22, 1985 (3:00 pm start)
Williamsburg, VA
Royal Palace Theatre at Busch Gardens
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review #1:
This 21-year-old performs with an ease and confidence that belie her age and her brief stint in the ranks of fame. Her strong vocals produce a resonant sound, and she moves up and down the scale smoothly and efficiently. She seemed perfectly comfortable throughout the 60-minute show.
Emerging from backstage in a pink leather outfit, Ms. Houston immediately warmed her fans with a gracious smile and a word of acknowledgment for the support she was receiving despite the inclement weather.
She also danced gracefully across the stage, a talent she may have honed during her career as a top model. Fans at the Busch concert were clearly glad she chose music over modeling, and she rewarded them with an earful of pure, melodious soul.
Ms. Houston entertained the crowd with a fabulous rendition of her hit single “You Give Good Love” from her LP Whitney Houston. She introduced her brother, one of her backup singers, before the two siblings blended their voices in harmony on two duets.
She sang another of her hits, “Saving All My Love for You,” with the soul and incredible resonance her fans have come to expect. From jazzy selections to mellow ballads, she performed each number with impressive skill.
She reinforced her worth as a humble, up-and-coming star with moving versions of “The Greatest Love of All,” originally sung by George Benson, and “Tomorrow,” a gospel hymn first performed by the Winans. During the latter, she invited fans to let God into their lives, and her sweet, gospel-like voice conveyed the depth of her feeling.
Ms. Houston enunciated clearly and imparted emotion into every note that came from her model-thin body.
The singer only added to nature’s mood, creating a quiet storm that each listener in the audience seemed to enjoy. Whitney Houston created a gentle Sunday storm that was well worth sitting through.
(Daily Press)
September 21, 1985
Austell, GA
Six Flags Over Georgia
Attendance: N/A
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
September 20, 1985
Highland Heights, OH
Front Row Theater
Attendance: ≈3,200
Revenue: N/A
Information
Setlist:
The Greatest Love of All (Intro)
Love Will Find A Way
How Will I Know
Saving All My Love for You
Someone for Me
Hold Me (With Gary Garland)
Take Good Care of My Heart (With Gary Garland)
Nobody Loves Me Like You Do (With Gary Garland)
Send It (Includes band introductions)
All at Once
Thinking About You
I Am Changing
Tomorrow
You Give Good Love
(Setlist may be partially incorrect)
Concert Review:
Whitney Houston is hot.
The lithe singer ran up to the Front Row stage Friday night with her hands high over her head like a champion.
She is.
The singer just turned 22 last month. Two months ago, she opened three Front Row shows for Jeffrey Osborne. Now she was back as a headliner, and Front Row was sold out. This was the first date of her first headline tour.
She's gospel singer Cissy Houston's daughter and Dionne Warwicke's first cousin. Her mother was one of the Sweet Inspirations who sang with Elvis Presley. But in her first number, "The Greatest Love of All," she sang: "I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadow."
But then she's the one with her first album at No. 1 for four weeks on the Billboard's black chart, and up to No. 8 on other charts. The one who had two No. 1 hits, who gets played on rocker WMMS as well as on urban contemporary WZAK.
Twelve notes into her concert and you knew why. She has a killer voice—sweet and gentle as a summer breeze, then suddenly lower and rough-edged, worthy of Aretha Franklin.
That contrast is a part of Houston's appeal. She's a fresh-looking young woman with a veteran singer's voice. In the midst of a passionate "Saving All My Love for You," she smiled a warm, wide-mouthed smile. And in spite of her high-fashion silk dress and high heels she suddenly looked 17. In the next song, a snappy syncopated "Someone for Me," she broke into little hops.
In fact, Houston is poised and free of the many aimless motions that often accompany rock singers, even experienced ones such as Melissa Manchester. But then Houston, Size 4 and 5-foot-8 inches tall, has been a fashion model since she was 15. You may have seen her face on the covers of such magazines as Glamour and Seventeen. Her only nervousness was in clutching a white handkerchief during the latter part of the show.
Houston hit with a little humor, too. "If the songs don't sound familiar, you don't have my LP," she joked. She even did the duets on her album, the ones she had done with Teddy Pendergrass ("Hold Me") and with Jermaine Jackson ("Take Good Care of My Heart" and "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do.") She did them with her elder brother Gary Garland, former basketball player with the Denver Nuggets.
Garland's voice may not have had the rich variety of his sister, but it was strong and fluid, providing a needed texture for the show. It also aroused a surprisingly strong response.
"Now I'm going to take you where started," Houston said. "Take you back to church," she added, leading into the Winans' Brothers gospel song "Tomorrow." It's a rather new song, one she said she chose especially for young people.
But nothing could top Houston's best song, the raucous, rousing, "You Give Good Love." She soared, she stooped, she went down on her knees and she sent chills through a lot of spines.
The opener, local comic Jimmy Malone, a frequent Comedy Club entertainer, was an easy-going crowd-pleaser. Now if he could only cut down a bit on his ugly women routine.
(Plain Dealer)
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