Best of Whitney Houston to be released Nov. 13

[jobeterob]

2012‘Best Of Whitney Houston’ Album Cover & Track List Revealed
Written by Trent | Filed under Whitney Houston

The ‘I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston’ album cover
Call it record label greed or a special gift to the fans but the release of Whitney Houston’s latest greatest hits compilation, ‘I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston’, is definitely happening. In fact, earlier today, both the album cover and the track list were revealed.


‘The Best of Whitney Houston’ includes remastered versions of several of Houston’s most memorable hits, including ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘I Have Nothing’. Additionally, the previously unreleased ‘Never Give Up’ has been added to the mix to give those fans of the diva who are currently undecided about supporting the album extra incentive to purchase it.

Pick up your copy of ‘The Best of Whitney Houston’ on November 13th and see the track list of the set below:

1. You Give Good Love
2. Saving All My Love for You
3. How Will I Know? [[Remastered)
4. Greatest Love of All
5. I Wanna Dance With Somebody [[Remastered)
6. Didn’t We Almost Have It All
7. So Emotional [[Remastered)
8. Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
9. I’m Your Baby Tonight
10. All the Man That I Need
11. I Will Always Love You
12. I’m Every Woman
13. I Have Nothing [[Remastered)
14. Exhale [[Shoop Shoop)
15. I Believe in You and Me [[Film Version)
16. My Love Is Your Love
17. I Look to You [[with R. Kelly)
18. Never Give Up

[Kamasu_Jr]

2012‘Best Of Whitney Houston’ Album Cover & Track List Revealed
Written by Trent | Filed under Whitney Houston

The ‘I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston’ album cover
Call it record label greed or a special gift to the fans but the release of Whitney Houston’s latest greatest hits compilation, ‘I Will Always Love You – The Best of Whitney Houston’, is definitely happening. In fact, earlier today, both the album cover and the track list were revealed.


‘The Best of Whitney Houston’ includes remastered versions of several of Houston’s most memorable hits, including ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’, ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘I Have Nothing’. Additionally, the previously unreleased ‘Never Give Up’ has been added to the mix to give those fans of the diva who are currently undecided about supporting the album extra incentive to purchase it.

Pick up your copy of ‘The Best of Whitney Houston’ on November 13th and see the track list of the set below:

1. You Give Good Love
2. Saving All My Love for You
3. How Will I Know? [[Remastered)
4. Greatest Love of All
5. I Wanna Dance With Somebody [[Remastered)
6. Didn’t We Almost Have It All
7. So Emotional [[Remastered)
8. Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
9. I’m Your Baby Tonight
10. All the Man That I Need
11. I Will Always Love You
12. I’m Every Woman
13. I Have Nothing [[Remastered)
14. Exhale [[Shoop Shoop)
15. I Believe in You and Me [[Film Version)
16. My Love Is Your Love
17. I Look to You [[with R. Kelly)
18. Never Give Up

Looks like label greed to me. LOL But I guess she didn't leave much in the Arista vaults. There are several releases that cover most of these tracks.If I buy it, I'd look for one cheap or ask Arista for a promo.

[jobeterob]

I agree with you.

All of this is pretty much available on The Greatest Hits and it is the only Whitney album left on the Billboard Charts, at about #190.

But this CD puts the really good material, her best material, her biggest hits very concisely together and they know this will sell for a long time........and it's their last kick at the can, right in time for Christmas.

[soulster]

The only thing that worries me is that only a few of the songs were remastered. What the hell is that supposed to mean??? They only cared about some of the song? Or, worse, did they just pull whatever remastered tracks there was in the vaults and mix them with the old masterings? That's laziness, and seems to be the new MO. The same shit seems to have been pulled on the recent A&M 50th Anniversary set. Are we gonna have a few compressed tracks mixed in with better, older masterings? Do the labels think that little of the music listeners?

This new set had better be up to snuff, soundwise. The track list is good. But, that won't be enough to get me to buy it until I get some feedback from audio types.

Oh, I know you all don't give a damn about sound quality You'll take whatever shit the labels spoon-feed you. But a lot of us care.

And, they had better have used the hit single mixes!

Rant over.

[Ngroove]

My recommendation ; just get the individual albums, at least until the sense to extend the "Greatest Hits" collection, to at least two discs, and MORE than just the "hits", but also the mid-hits, gems, and rarities as well; including the just as great sounding, my opinion, "All At Once", her duets with Jermaine Jackson & Teddy Pendergrass, her cover of "For The Love Of You", "One Moment In Time"...what the??? QUEEN OF THE NIGHT IS NOT INCLUDED????? Tsk, Tsk....Also loved "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Try It On My Own" back when myself also...

[soulster]

You know, if I can get that new GH CD, I can actually get rid of all but one my WH CDs. I don't really care to have all the deep cuts, and I don't need alternate mixes, bonus tracks, or any of that stuff. OK, i'm not a hard-core fan.

If one of the top engineers who normally do work for Sony/BMG Legacy mastered this i'll buy it.

[JimBagley]

What a huge disappointment. This should have been at least twice as long. I have the UK version of the Greatest Hits cd which has a lot more of the original versions of the singles than the American version. Maybe someone will wake up and put out a Whitney box set someday.

[soulster]

Well, according to the track list, it looks like they got most or all of the U.S. singles. I'm happy with it.

[Roberta75]

The only thing that worries me is that only a few of the songs were remastered. What the hell is that supposed to mean??? They only cared about some of the song? Or, worse, did they just pull whatever remastered tracks there was in the vaults and mix them with the old masterings? That's laziness, and seems to be the new MO. The same shit seems to have been pulled on the recent A&M 50th Anniversary set. Are we gonna have a few compressed tracks mixed in with better, older masterings? Do the labels think that little of the music listeners?

This new set had better be up to snuff, soundwise. The track list is good. But, that won't be enough to get me to buy it until I get some feedback from audio types.

Oh, I know you all don't give a damn about sound quality You'll take whatever shit the labels spoon-feed you. But a lot of us care.

And, they had better have used the hit single mixes!

Rant over.

"Oh, I know you all don't give a damn about sound quality You'll take whatever shit the labels spoon-feed you. But a lot of us care."

Such hostility and anger isn't healthy my dear. You need to get out a bit more.

Yours, with every good wish.

Roberta

[nathanj06]

The cover is very nicely done. It would have been nice to include "After All" but I have these anyway.
Attachment 5438

[smark21]

Well this release is aimed at people who lack the intelligence or ability to cherry pick songs they want from itunes or amazon.

[marv2]

No "Million Dollar Bill"?

[carlo]

"The Ultimate Collection", which was released overseas, is a better one disc overview of her career, in my opinion. I am not all that excited by the new version of "I Look To You" with R. Kelly. "Never Give Up" is a previously unreleased track and I am curious about that one, but I'm not going to buy the CD just for one song.

[soulster]

Well this release is aimed at people who lack the intelligence or ability to cherry pick songs they want from itunes or amazon.

That's not true. It's for those who are not hardcore fans who just want a nice little collection of her hit singles in one nice, little package. It's for those who will not settle for the degraded sound that you get on iTunes or Amazon. And, trust me, many of us in that second bunch knows more about computer audio, manipulating digital audio, and downloading than you do.

And, one greatest hits collection is cheaper than cherry-picking data-reduced audio files in a digital store.

[reese]

There was an article in yesterday's USA TODAY about upcoming Whitney projects.

Re the duet with R. Kelly, Clive Davis says it was recorded after Whitney had to give up smoking for two weeks while getting dental work. He says the difference in the vocals is striking, and he wanted the public to hear what she could have sounded like if she had given up smoking, as she promised him.

On Nov. 5th, the Home Shopping Network will devote its HSN Live show to Whitney, with an exclusive pre-order version of the greatest hits album, which will include a bonus cd of duets with Aretha, Teddy Pendergrass, and others.

[JimBagley]

For the folks who feel "all of the hit singles" were included, the following hits were left off:
Miracle, My Name Is Not Susan [[My Name Is Whitney Houston), Love Will Save The Day, Run To You, Count On Me, Million Dollar Bill, One Moment In Time, Heartbreak Hotel, Step By Step, When You Believe [[with Mariah), My Love Is Your Love, and missing all of my favorites: It's Not Right But It's Okay, I Learned From The Best, Hold Me [[with Teddy P) and Same Script Different Cast [[with Deborah Cox). Also missing is the R&B duet hit with Aretha "It Isn't It Wasn't..." which would be highly tolerable [[instead of unlistenable) if they edited out the "you may be his Queen, but I'm his princess" talking crap out of the song.

[marv2]

For the folks who feel "all of the hit singles" were included, the following hits were left off:
Miracle, My Name Is Not Susan [[My Name Is Whitney Houston), Love Will Save The Day, Run To You, Count On Me, Million Dollar Bill, One Moment In Time, Heartbreak Hotel, Step By Step, When You Believe [[with Mariah), My Love Is Your Love, and missing all of my favorites: It's Not Right But It's Okay, I Learned From The Best, Hold Me [[with Teddy P) and Same Script Different Cast [[with Deborah Cox). Also missing is the R&B duet hit with Aretha "It Isn't It Wasn't..." which would be highly tolerable [[instead of unlistenable) if they edited out the "you may be his Queen, but I'm his princess" talking crap out of the song.

Excellent, excellent points Jim! I knew that track list seemed pretty slim with Whitney's considerable catalog.

[Roberta75]

On Nov. 5th, the Home Shopping Network will devote its HSN Live show to Whitney, with an exclusive pre-order version of the greatest hits album, which will include a bonus cd of duets with Aretha, Teddy Pendergrass, and others.

I hope they use Cissy, or Saint Cissy as she's known in New York and New Jersey as, to promote this album on the Home Shopping Network.

Everyone loves that dear sweet lady, Miss Cissy Houston.

May God continue to bless and protect Miss Cissy Houston.

Roberta

Roberta

[soulster]

For the folks who feel "all of the hit singles" were included, the following hits were left off:
Miracle, My Name Is Not Susan [[My Name Is Whitney Houston), Love Will Save The Day, Run To You, Count On Me, Million Dollar Bill, One Moment In Time, Heartbreak Hotel, Step By Step, When You Believe [[with Mariah), My Love Is Your Love, and missing all of my favorites: It's Not Right But It's Okay, I Learned From The Best, Hold Me [[with Teddy P) and Same Script Different Cast [[with Deborah Cox). Also missing is the R&B duet hit with Aretha "It Isn't It Wasn't..." which would be highly tolerable [[instead of unlistenable) if they edited out the "you may be his Queen, but I'm his princess" talking crap out of the song.

Well, they got the biggest, most popular hits. And, there is only 80 minutes available on a single disc. The single disc was obviously chosen to keep the price down.

Obviously, this set isn't intended to be a complete singles set. It did get all the biggies, although a good case might be made for "Million Dollar Bill", but I don't know the highest chart position or number of downloads it received.

Again, this CD is NOT for the hardcore fans, like most of you. It's for people like me, the more casual fan, who does not need to have every single single, B-track, outtake, remix, or alternate version. Some of us do not want sound-compromised downloads from iTunes, 7-Digital, Amazon, or others. We indeed do know all about downloading, we just choose to not do it if at all possible. So much for the not-so-veiled attempt at insults.

If the mastering for the tracks is better than what can be found on the original CDs, all the better.

If there is a reissue campaign, you fanatics will not be left out.

To all you religious types: have a blessed day! [[snark)

[carlo]

To all you religious types: have a blessed day! [[snark)

Uncalled for.

[Roberta75]

Uncalled for.

Consider the source and then place him in your prayers Carlo.

Best to you.

Roberta

[Glenpwood]

DELUXE EDITION TRACK LISTING:

From UK iTunes:

CD: 1

Quote:

1. You Give Good Love 2. Saving All My Love For You 3. How Will I Know? [Remastered] 4. Greatest Love Of All 5. I Wanna Dance With Somebody [Remastered] 6. Didn't We Almost Have It All? 7. So Emotional [Remastered] 8. Where Do Broken Hearts Go? 9. I'm Your Baby Tonight 10. All The Man That I Need 11. I Will Always Love You 12. I'm Every Woman 13. I Have Nothing [Remastered] 14. Exhale [[Shoop Shoop) 15. I Believe In You And Me [Film Version] 16. My Love Is Your Love 17. I Look To You [[With R. Kelly) 18. Never Give Up

CD: 2

Quote:

1. Love Will Save The Day 2. One Moment In Time [Remastered] 3. It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be [[With Aretha Franklin) 4. My Name Is Not Susan 5. I Belong To You 6. Run To You 7. Queen Of The Night [Radio Edit] 8. Count On Me [[With CeCe Winans) 9. Step By Step 10. It's Not Right But It's Okay 11. I Learned From The Best 12. If I Told You That 13. Heartbreak Hotel [[Featuring Kelly Price & Faith Evans) 14. Million Dollar Bill

[Glenpwood]

At least the Uk is getting a better set.....

[soulster]

Uncalled for.

I know. I was actually targeting one person, and then I decided against it. I thought I removed it but my internet connection has been wonky. I didn't double-check. Sorry.

[Roberta75]

I know. I was actually targeting one person, and then I decided against it. I thought I removed it but my internet connection has been wonky. I didn't double-check. Sorry.

I know who you were targeting sir but man up and leave your words for all to see.

"The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion."

Roberta

[smark21]

But wouldn’t you agree that itunes or amazon cherry picking is the way to go for the very casual fan who only wants just the few Whitney songs they like, and nothing else? Or for the Whitney fan who already has everything but the one never before released song? Of course if all these very casual Whitney fans are audiophiles and sound tech buffs like Soulster, I supposed they’re screwed and will have to fork over the money for the CD to get optimum sound quality.

[Glenpwood]

If any track needs to be remastered its Didnt We Almost Have It All. The vocal has distortion that gets particulary noticable when listening to it via headphones. The input gain was probably set too high when recording But the output levels looked ok so the Engineer and producer likely didnt play the vocal track back solo during mixdown to notice the obvious distortion.

It would also be nice if the 45 mix of How Will I Know finally makes it onto CD. For some odd reason even though the original CD got reissued three times during its time topping the charts back in 85-86 they swapped out the last ten seconds of the 45 mix with the LP mix. Theres a missing Heartbeat background vocal line and the tempo changes slightly.

It wouldve been nice for the single edit of Miracle to come out since it only got issued on 45 and CD promo only but it got overlooked likely because its subject matter and lower chart peak has made it the most obscure of Whitneys Top 10 pop hits these days.

[soulster]

But wouldn’t you agree that itunes or amazon cherry picking is the way to go for the very casual fan who only wants just the few Whitney songs they like, and nothing else? Or for the Whitney fan who already has everything but the one never before released song? Of course if all these very casual Whitney fans are audiophiles and sound tech buffs like Soulster, I supposed they’re screwed and will have to fork over the money for the CD to get optimum sound quality.

I'm not screwed. That CD will probably be a bit cheaper than the download. And, that CD will have better sound than either AAC or mp3 files. Plus, i'll get liner notes and production credits. I will rip the CD to FLAC with no loss in sound quality.

[soulster]

If any track needs to be remastered its Didnt We Almost Have It All. The vocal has distortion that gets particulary noticable when listening to it via headphones. The input gain was probably set too high when recording But the output levels looked ok so the Engineer and producer likely didnt play the vocal track back solo during mixdown to notice the obvious distortion.

That's not how it works. There shouldn't be any distortion on that song. And, what engineers do is put a limiter on the vocal track so that it doesn't overload the tape. FWIW I do not hear distortion on my CD OR LP copy.

A LIMITER is a specialized compressor that is used to stop in incoming signal at a per-determined threshold. High notes by a singer, for example, go high, but then sounds like it hits a glass ceiling. It doesn't go any higher. That way, you do not hear the full dynamic range. Limiters are necessary You don't want the needle to jump out of the groove on high passages. for not only avoiding tape saturation at high levels, but aids in disc cutting.

So, if you are hearing distortion, it could be a number of things. You did not mention what source you are hearing, but if it's the LP, you could be hearing groove damage, cartridge mis-tracking, or something in your playback chain. If you are listening to a CD comp, your distortion may be from mastering compression that was commonly used starting in the 90s. If you are listening to an mp3 or an iTunes download, that's likely your problem. This is why I want the CD, and wonder about the mastering. This is why I am an audiophile.

It would also be nice if the 45 mix of How Will I Know finally makes it onto CD. For some odd reason even though the original CD got reissued three times during its time topping the charts back in 85-86 they swapped out the last ten seconds of the 45 mix with the LP mix. Theres a missing Heartbeat background vocal line and the tempo changes slightly.

Apparently, you do not have the second pressing of the CD, or the deluxe CD that came out a few years ago. They have the single mix on it in place of the original mix.

[Glenpwood]

That's not how it works. There shouldn't be any distortion on that song. And, what engineers do is put a limiter on the vocal track so that it doesn't overload the tape. FWIW I do not hear distortion on my CD OR LP copy.

A LIMITER is a specialized compressor that is used to stop in incoming signal at a per-determined threshold. High notes by a singer, for example, go high, but then sounds like it hits a glass ceiling. It doesn't go any higher. That way, you do not hear the full dynamic range. Limiters are necessary You don't want the needle to jump out of the groove on high passages. for not only avoiding tape saturation at high levels, but aids in disc cutting.

So, if you are hearing distortion, it could be a number of things. You did not mention what source you are hearing, but if it's the LP, you could be hearing groove damage, cartridge mis-tracking, or something in your playback chain. If you are listening to a CD comp, your distortion may be from mastering compression that was commonly used starting in the 90s. If you are listening to an mp3 or an iTunes download, that's likely your problem. This is why I want the CD, and wonder about the mastering. This is why I am an audiophile.

Apparently, you do not have the second pressing of the CD, or the deluxe CD that came out a few years ago. They have the single mix on it in place of the original mix.

As for HWIK I remain correct in that the single mix with The heartbeat line by the background singer during Whitneys adlibs on the fadeout is not on CD yet. I just rechecked the Whitney Houston Anniversary set to be certain and they used the incorrect ending. It may not seem to be the incorrect ending to you because Arista issued this 45 with two mixes while it was charting for reasons unknown to me but they exist. I'll see if I can get you the 45 matrix numbers to compare your copy.

[Glenpwood]

That's not how it works. There shouldn't be any distortion on that song. And, what engineers do is put a limiter on the vocal track so that it doesn't overload the tape. FWIW I do not hear distortion on my CD OR LP copy.

A LIMITER is a specialized compressor that is used to stop in incoming signal at a per-determined threshold. High notes by a singer, for example, go high, but then sounds like it hits a glass ceiling. It doesn't go any higher. That way, you do not hear the full dynamic range. Limiters are necessary You don't want the needle to jump out of the groove on high passages. for not only avoiding tape saturation at high levels, but aids in disc cutting.

So, if you are hearing distortion, it could be a number of things. You did not mention what source you are hearing, but if it's the LP, you could be hearing groove damage, cartridge mis-tracking, or something in your playback chain. If you are listening to a CD comp, your distortion may be from mastering compression that was commonly used starting in the 90s. If you are listening to an mp3 or an iTunes download, that's likely your problem. This is why I want the CD, and wonder about the mastering. This is why I am an Audiophile

Soulster, Ive had the original Whitney LP & CD pressings plus the 45, Greatest Hits 2 CD set both US & Japan pressings plus the Love Whitney comp and its right there, its mildly noticeable in the earlier parts of the songs but particularly noticeable with headphones on from 330 on, the best example around the 408-410 mark in the song. I only picked up on it once friends pointed it out to me and I listened to all those versions back to back. It doesnt ruin the song for me just wish they would fix it if they can.

[Glenpwood]

Here's the difference between the two How Will I Know's....

The reissued 86 CD/LP version switches over to sparser instrumentation at the 4:17 mark. And in addition to fading slightly earlier, the 45 has a one-line difference in the background vocals:

The reissued LP fadeout goes:

How will I know
[[How will I know)
How will I know
How will I know
[[I say a prayer)
How will I know, ooh
How will I know
[[I fall in love)
How will I know
Hey, How will I know
[[I'm asking you)
How will I, How will I... [[END)

The 45 version goes:

How will I know
[[How will I know)
How will I know
How will I know
[[I say a prayer)
How will I know, ooh
[[Heartbeat)
How will I know
[[I fall in love)
How will I know
Hey, how will I know... [[END)

The 25th anniversary edition uses the non "heartbeat" version..... its a minor change that 99.9% of people didn't notice or care about but for those of us with that version of the 45 imprinted on our brains we miss it.....

[soulster]

As for HWIK I remain correct in that the single mix with The heartbeat line by the background singer during Whitneys adlibs on the fadeout is not on CD yet. I just rechecked the Whitney Houston Anniversary set to be certain and they used the incorrect ending. It may not seem to be the incorrect ending to you because Arista issued this 45 with two mixes while it was charting for reasons unknown to me but they exist. I'll see if I can get you the 45 matrix numbers to compare your copy.

Ah! The issuing two different mixes on different pressings of the 45 thing. Who is to say which one is wrong?

[soulster]

The 25th anniversary edition uses the non "heartbeat" version..... its a minor change that 99.9% of people didn't notice or care about but for those of us with that version of the 45 imprinted on our brains we miss it.....

Dammit! I went to pull up the track on my music drive and accidentally moved the folders somewhere else. Now I have to find them. I'll check it later on my many backups.

Either way, I also did not notice the difference. Yes, those little things mean a lot to me.

As for "Didn't We Almost Have It All", I did take a quick listen. Now I hear what you were talking about, but i'm still not ready to call it distortion. But, if it exists on all masterings, it may be on the master tape. There are ways to fix it with software. I've done it, and it has been done on audio restoration projects, such as on the 2009 Beatles remasters.

[jobeterob]

Britney Spears has joined the lineup for the CBS one-hour special "We Will Always Love You: A Grammy Salute to Whitney Houston."



The pop star won't be performing, however. She along with Oscar-winner Halle Berry, actress Taraji P. Henson and rapper LL Cool J will introduce segments and iconic footage of Houston from from the Nokia Theatre stage at Thursday. The special on Nov. 13.



Previous performers announced for the Grammy salute include Celine Dion, Jennifer Hudson and Usher, Yolanda Adams and Cece Winans. The TV tribute will celebrate Houston's life and career with exclusive interviews, never-before-seen footage, including highlights of nearly all of Houston's Grammy telecast performances, her classic performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991, and her first-ever television appearance on The Merv Griffin Show in the early '80s.



Houston died on Feb. 11, the evening before the 2012 Grammy Awards at the Beverly Hilton. She won six Grammys during her career and performed on the Grammy stage eight times. Her last appearance on "music's biggest night" was in 2009 where she presented Hudson with her first Grammy for Best R&B Album.

[Glenpwood]

Heads up I just learned we will be getting the Whitney 1987 album expanded likely in January with 6 bonus cuts, three that are unreleased. Two unreleased cuts are Michael Masser productions and the others a Winans production. The other three are 45 B Sides from the era. The engineer did go pull the multi tracks and clean up the vocal distortion on Didn't We Almost Have It All so this will be the best version of it we've had to date. They aren't putting the 12 inch mixes of the singles on this sadly....

[skooldem1]

I had thought about getting this, just because it had most of her biggest hits. But when I saw that they substituted "I look to you" with that awful R. Kelly/Whitney duet version, I no longer will.

[soulster]

The engineer did go pull the multi tracks and clean up the vocal distortion on Didn't We Almost Have It All so this will be the best version of it we've had to date. They aren't putting the 12 inch mixes of the singles on this sadly....

I just hope he did a good job on the remix, and kept it faithful to the original.

[carlo]

Heads up I just learned we will be getting the Whitney 1987 album expanded likely in January with 6 bonus cuts

Where did you hear/read this? I only ask because I am a member of a Whitney forum and none of the fans have posted about this yet, which surprised me. This is great news!

[jobeterob]

Celebrity Net Worth

Whitney Houston Net Worth
Random Celebrity Profile

How much does Whitney Houston make?

-$20 Million

Singer, former model, and actress Whitney Houston had a net worth of -$20 million at the time of her death. Even though Houston once signed a $100 million contract and sold over 200 million albums in her lifetime, she was in fact nearly $20 million in debt to her record label Sony when she passed away in February 2012. Born and raised in New Jersey, Houston hails from a family of prominent singers including her mother, gospel Cissy Houston, her cousin Dionne Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin. Houston began singing at an early age in a junior gospel choir, and back-up vocals for various artists including her own mother, Michael Zager Band, and award winning Chaka Khan. Houston’s career as a fashion model picked up and she appeared on such magazines as Seventeen, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. Her self-titled debut album peaked at number one on the US Billboard chart and has been certified diamond by the RIAA. Her impressive discography continues with five subsequent studio albums, all of which have been certified at least platinum by the RIAA, with three of those albums reaching the top five on the US Billboard [[Whitney, I’m Your Baby Tonight and I Look To You). From these albums and the two soundtracks Houston contributed extensively to, she has produced eleven number one singles in the USA alone, including You Give Good Love [[Whitney Houston, 1985), I Will Always Love You [[The Bodyguard soundtrack) and So Emotional [[Whitney, 1987). Among her awards are six Grammys and twenty-two American Music Awards. Her acting credits include the films The Bodyguard [[grossed $410.9 million worldwide) and Waiting to Exhale, and The Preacher’s Wife and guest spots on television shows such as Gimme a Break!, Silver Spoons and Boston Public.

Whitney Houston’s Death and Financial Problems

On February 11th, 2012, Whitney Houston passed away in a hotel room in Beverly Hills California. During her career, Whitney sold over 200 million albums and won two Emmy awards, 6 Grammies, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 AMA’s. Her net worth had declined dramatically in the last years of her life. In 2001, she was flat broke when she signed a $100 million recording contract with Sony/Arista. That fact is especially shocking when you consider that at the peak of her career, Whitney was able to earn up to $30 million a year from touring alone.

When an artist signs a $100 million record contract he/she does not receive the money all at once. An artist is paid in stages, and each payment is essentially a loan based on the success of future albums. Whitney only ever earned $40 million of her $100 million contract but unfortunately her records did not sell well. Therefore she ended up actually owing the record label nearly $20 million. Sony/Arista owns the rights to Whitney’s back catalog which has seen skyrocketing sales recently, but Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown will not receive any money until 5 million new albums are sold and the $20 million is paid back.

When Whitney divorced Bobby Brown in 2007 she filed paperwork in Orange County California [[where the couple was legally married) stating that she had $4 million in debts/obligations, a life insurance policy worth $300,000, $225,000 in a stock portfolio, and just $40,000 cash. At the time Whitney stated that she owned two properties, a $6.5 million house in New Jersey which had a $3.3 million mortgage and a $1.2 million townhouse in Atlanta which had $1.05 million mortgage. Houston also owned nearly $2 million worth of art and jewelry. In sum, Whitney stated that she had roughly $10 million in assets and just over $4 million in debts giving her a net worth in 2007 of $6 million.

Unfortunately, at the time of her death, Whitney was completly broke and was rumored to be asking her mentor Clive Davis for handouts. Her New Jersey home is now dangerously close to foreclosure and the townhouse in Atlanta has already been repossessed. Clive Davis had reportedly loaned Houston $1.2 million to pay off debts and get clean from drugs after her divorce from Bobby was final. Unfortunately she was never able to make the comeback everyone had hoped for.

Whitney Houston’s Estate Today:

In the nine months following Whitney Houston’s death, her estate earned and estimated $40 million! The vast majority of this windfall came from the enormous spike in Whitney’s record and single sales. Her estate also benefited from the release of the movie Sparkle, in which Whitney acted and executive produced. Whitney’s executors were able to settle most of her debts and set aside a whopping $20 million for daughter Bobbi Kristina. Whitney’s mother has been very vocal about not allowing 19 year old Bobbi to inherit the full $20 million all at once. Cissy Houston wants the money to be divided and distributed in a series of payments.

[nomis]

she recorded a version of Stevie Nicks epic "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" for the I Look To You album thats in the can,,theres also unreleased Jermaine Jackson produced tracks from the debut LP sessions including a duet of "Dont Look Any Further"..several tracks that only had Japanese releases..but as Ive stated before once the debut LP took off Clive Davis had to go to great lengths to get her back in the studio for the following projects..and yet she would turn up to lend a vocal hand at any Winans sessions she was asked..including a studio recording of "hold up the Light" that they sang on the Soul Train Awards...but theres not much in the vaults unreleased compared to her contemparies Mj,Madonna and Prince..if she didnt like something..she wouldnt sing it.period.

[soulster]

I'll have to check the quality and consistency of the mastering before I buy it.

[Glenpwood]

Carlo,

The engineer who worked on the project has been sharing online. He also noted there's only a total of 5 unreleased cuts in the Arista vaults on Whitney, 3 of which we get here. If the posting about the Stevie Nicks cover is correct, that leaves one final cut to be released unless he meant only 5 cuts left after the 3 on Whitney expanded. BMG supposedly will sprinkle the rest out over various hits packages and a box set. Of course, there's always alternate takes to exploit I suppose since Michael Masser allegedly made her cut a lot of his material over and over until he got what he was looking for....

[JimBagley]

Carlo,

The engineer who worked on the project has been sharing online. He also noted there's only a total of 5 unreleased cuts in the Arista vaults on Whitney, 3 of which we get here. If the posting about the Stevie Nicks cover is correct, that leaves one final cut to be released unless he meant only 5 cuts left after the 3 on Whitney expanded. BMG supposedly will sprinkle the rest out over various hits packages and a box set. Of course, there's always alternate takes to exploit I suppose since Michael Masser allegedly made her cut a lot of his material over and over until he got what he was looking for....

Glen,

I'm waiting a week or two so I can purchase the version with the 14 extra tracks on the deluxe UK version:

Disc: 2
1. Love Will Save The Day
2. One Moment In Time
3. It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Never Gonna Be - Franklin, Aretha, Duet with Whitney Houston
4. My Name Is Not Susan, It's Whitney Houston!
5. I Belong To You
6. Run To You
7. Queen Of The Night
8. Count On Me - Houston, Whitney, & CeCe Winans
9. Step By Step
10. It's Not Right But It's Okay - Jerkins, Rodney
11. I Learned From The Best - Whitney Houston
12. If I Told You That - Jerkins, Rodney
13. Heartbreak Hotel - Houston, Whitney, feat. Faith Evans and Kelly Price, Karlin, Kenneth, Soulshock & Karlin
14. Million Dollar Bill

This will hold me over until the super deluxe box set is released in a couple of year.

[soulster]

Well, I bought the CD after all, and I am impressed by the mastering. There is NO limiting used at all! This is progress, folks! I checked it with Audition.

No, "Didn't We Almost Have It All" is not remixed. The engineer did use plug-ins to clean up the distortion. Sounds nice.

I fine purchase! I heartly endorse this CD if you need some of her big hits.

[alanbill1074]

has anyone bought the UK version? Before I buy another Whitney compilation I would like to know if the single remixes of How Will I Know and So Emotional are on it. If they aren't I'm going to pass.

[Kamasu_Jr]

Haven't received it yet. I bought it because it had more TRACKS THAN THE US VERSION.

[Glenpwood]

I am picking the 2 disc up in a few weeks when I go to London for vacation. I did buy the US Version and copied it to Itunes before gifting to a friend. I did enjoy the booklet and the note from Clive. Also the flier confirming theres expanded Whitney 1987 and Bodyguard Soundtracks to look forward to in the near future. The only disappointment I see as far as the UK version goes judging from the Itunes snippets is that BMG went with the album versions of Million Dollar Bill and My Name Is Not Susan rather than the single versions that were hits there.

[alanbill1074]

They're the album versions. Just checked on Spotify. Thankfully saved myself £10.

Why oh why oh why is it constantly so difficult for these record companies to put the versions that were the actual HITS on the compilation? Because it's cheaper to take them off the album master.

Great big fat rip off!