Whitney Houston "I Learned From the Best"

After stumbling upon a former colleague's website, I read this message: "Rob is retiring from radio." After years of traveling the country and holding down various radio jobs in Chicago as well as Las Vegas, he was hanging up his headphones and transitioning into web design. It was 1999 and everyone wanted a website, so Rob made the career decision to exit radio. His message included a zillion people he wished to thank including "Todd and Todd". Hoping I was one of the Todd's, I quickly found the "Contact Us" page and fired off an email. "I'm one of the Todds, I hope!"A couple days later, he confirmed that I was one of those he mentioned as being a "joy to work alongside" -- I was flattered. 

Ray Charles "A Song for You"

When more than 200 artists line up to sing a tune, you call that song an American Classic. That's exactly how Elton John described "A Song for You". Originally recorded by Leon Russell in 1970, artists such as Cher, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Michael Buble, and Simply Red are some of the numerous names who've recorded the song. Ray Charles' version earned him a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Whitney Houston "I Will Always Love You"

Whitney Houston never planned to cover Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" for The Bodyguard Soundtrack. Instead, she planned to sing "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", but reversed course when she heard Paul Young was doing a version for Fried Green Tomatoes. Since Houston had complete creative control over which songs made the movie, she resumed her hunt for a different song. Credit her co-star Kevin Costner for suggesting she choose "I Will Always Love You". The song went on to become one of the biggest hits of 1992 and 1993 -- spending an astounding 14 weeks atop the Hot 100 Chart. I still remember hearing the song at every school dance and on nearly every contemporary radio station in Chicago. The Bodyguard Soundtrack went on to be the best-selling soundtrack of all-time and, when Whitney died, Dolly Parton quoted lyrics from the ballad in praise of Whitney: "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed.'" 

Whitney Houston "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?"

Hard to believe it's been seven years since Whitney Houston died. While she may be gone, her streak of seven straight #1 songs remains. She set that record in 1988 with a song she claimed to hate. Whitney originally refused to record "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" because she believed the song conveyed no meaning. She said the lyrics leave the question unanswered, according to a 2000 interview. Released in February 1988, the song went to #1 in April. As of today, we still have no idea where broken hearts go.

Kenny Rogers & Gladys Knight "If I Knew Then What I Know Now"

While the halftime show gets all the attention tonight, don't forget about the voice behind our National Anthem. You may remember Whitney Houston turned her rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Superbowl into a #1 song on the radio at a time when the world waged war in the Persian Gulf. Tonight, Gladys Knight takes her turn at Superbowl LIII.

Whitney Houston & Enrique Iglesias "Could I Have This Kiss Forever?"

"Could I Have This Kiss Forever?" won an award from the publication Idolator for being the #1 song from Whitney Houston that radio forgot. While that award title might elicit a head scratch, the sultry ballad featured Enrique Iglesias and appeared on radio stations in late-2000 before apparently falling off the map. If you're curious, other songs that made the list include "Million Dollar Bill" and "My Love Is Your Love".

Whitney Houston "Didn't We Almost Have It All?"

It wasn't uncommon to hear soft rock songs from Whitney Houston, Phil Collins or Michael McDonald on Smooth Jazz radio stations. Chicago's former WNUA-FM prominently featured ballads that had fallen off the playlists of Adult Contemporary stations--especially in the station's twilight years before flipping to Spanish (and later Country).

Whitney Houston "I'm Every Woman"

Whitney Houston's rendition of the disco hit "I'm Every Woman" managed to out-do the original from Chaka Khan. Recorded for The Bodyguard Soundtrack, Whitney took the tune to #4 on the Hot 100 in 1993 whereas Chaka's original version peaked at #21 in 1978.

Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston "When You Believe"

You would think a duet from two of the biggest female divas singers of their time would result in a huge hit, but that wasn't the case with the song "When You Believe" from Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. The duo recorded reportedly did not like one another and sought to disprove the rumors with the duet for The Prince of Egypt Soundtrack in 1998. While song only proved to be a Top 20 hit on the Hot 100, it fared much better on the Adult Contemporary Chart (#3).

Whitney Houston - "I'm Your Baby Tonight"

On the list of Top Whitney Houston songs, where would you rank "I'm Your Baby Tonight"?  The song itself is her fifth most successful song on the Billboard Chart reaching #1 on the Hot 100 and spending 19 weeks on the charts between 1990 and 1991.

Entertainment Weekly placed the song at #18 (out of 25)

BET placed it at #23 (out of 40)

Whitney Houston - "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)"

The summer of 2016 saw Justin Timberlake debut "Can't Stop the Feeling" in the #1 spot.  This begs the question: how often do songs debut in the #1 spot on the Hot 100?  Actually, not often.  In fact, it's only happened 26 times in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 -- including a record-setting four times in 1995.  That year saw not only Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" debut at #1, but also "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson, "Fantasy" by Mariah Carey, and "One Sweet Day" by Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey.

Whitney Houston - "Saving All My Love for You"

Did you know Whitney Houston wasn't the first to chart "Saving All My Love for You"?  Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. originally scored a minor hit with the ballad in 1978.  Whitney made it one of her signature tunes in 1985 when it went to #1.  The following year, the song earned her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

After 7 - "Ready or Not"

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds had his hands all over R&B music during the late-80s and 90s.  He was part of the '80s group Deele and later became a super producer responsible for hits from Whitney Houston, Boyz II Men, and Madonna.  Babyface also founded Soda Pop Records and co-founded LaFace Records -- a record label responsible for TLC, Usher, and Toni Braxton.  Heck, the state of Indiana even renamed a portion of I-65 in Indianapolis after the successful singer, songwriter, producer, and Hoosier.  As someone who has driven I-65 numerous times, I am well aware how little there is to see aside from the creepy wind farm.  His brothers, Melvin and Kevon, performed in After 7 and produced the Top 10 hit "Ready or Not" in 1990.

The Rolling Stones - "Out of Tears"

Adult Contemporary radio stations loves when the likes of Paul McCartney or The Rolling Stones put out an AC-friendly tune years past their prime.  That meant that Adult Contemporary stations could add the song simply based on the name.  While "Out of Tears" mainly found its way to rock stations, it was one such song that certain AC radio stations deemed "safe enough" to play between Amy Grant and Whitney Houston tunes back in 1994.

Whitney Houston - "All The Man That I Need"

Whitney Houston's wildly talented vocal range is on display in 1990's "All The Man That I Need".  One listen and you're guaranteed to sing along.

Wendy Moten - "Come in Out of the Rain"

"Come in Out of the Rain" sounds like it could have been a bonus track sung by Whitney Houston on The Bodyguard Soundtrack, but the 1992 Adult Contemporary hit was the product of Wendy Moten.  Moten never really found major success as a solo artist, but has performed backup vocals for several big name artists.

Whitney Houston - "I Have Nothing"

Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" is synonymous with The Bodyguard Soundtrack, yet I've always believed the better song from the soundtrack is "I Have Nothing".  Unlike "I Will Always Love You" (which is about breaking up), "I Have Nothing" is actually a love song.  Written by David Foster, Whitney put her signature sound to it creating a monster power ballad that dominated the radio in 1993.

Lou Gramm - "Just Between You And Me"

In 1989, Adult Contemporary radio stations desperate to fill the time between Richard Marx and Whitney Houston songs were handed a gift from the record company gods.  Lou Gramm, whose voice is well-known by fans of the group Foreigner, found success with the song "Just Between You And Me".  Radio stations lapped it up as it proved to be a tonic for their itch that demanded more Foreigner music.  This also gave Richard Marx some time to compose another hit song.

The Escape Club - "I'll Be There"

From Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" to Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", there is an abundance of songs about losing someone you love dearly.  A forgotten song that weaves a similar theme is the 1991 song "I'll Be There" by The Escape Club.  A band best-known for the song "Wild Wild West" (that featured gunshot sound effects), The Escape Club's final hit is arguably their best.

Babyface - "When Can I See You?"

Growing up in Indiana, I had to do a project in the 4th grade about famous people from the state of Indiana.  I chose the great Tim Stoddard, a former Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched in one game for the White Sox in 1975.  I had his baseball card and noticed that he was from East Chicago, Indiana--hear my home.  I remember standing in front of my 4th grade class tediously reading stats from the back of Stoddard's baseball card.  Instead, I should have chose Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds for my project.  Born in Indianapolis, Babyface wrote and produced for Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Pink, Phil Collins and numerous other acts (Wikipedia lists over 40 different artists).  Babyface had a big hit himself in 1994 with the acoustic ballad "When Can I See You".