| "The Greatest Love of All" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 One of A-side track labels of the US vinyl release | ||||
| Single by George Benson | ||||
| from the album The Greatest soundtrack | ||||
| B-side | "Ali's Theme" | |||
| Released | June 1977 | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Arista | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Michael Masser | |||
| George Benson singles chronology | ||||
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"The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser, who composed the music, and Linda Creed, who wrote the lyrics. It was originally recorded in 1977 by George Benson, who made the song a substantial hit, peaking at number two on the US Hot Soul Singles chart that year, the first R&B chart top-ten hit for Arista Records. The song was written and recorded to be the main theme of the 1977 film The Greatest, a biopic of the boxer Muhammad Ali, and is performed during the opening credits.[1]
Benson's original recording was released in 1977 in the United States, Japan, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Brazil, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Thailand, on an extended play (EP).[2] He officially recorded the song four times; in addition to the studio single, Benson also recorded three live versions,[3][4] the last time in a duet with Luciano Pavarotti in 2001.[5] Since 1977, a great number of artists have recorded this song, including Shirley Bassey, Oleta Adams, Alexandra Burke, Deborah Cox, Ferrante & Teicher and Kevin Rowland.
Eight years after Benson's original recording, the song became even more well known for a version by Whitney Houston, whose 1985 cover (with the slightly amended title "Greatest Love of All") eventually topped the charts, peaking at number one in the United States, Australia, Canada and on the US R&B chart in early 1986.
- ^ "The Greatest (1977, George Benson - The Greatest Love Of All)". May 5, 2017. Archived from the original on April 1, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2020 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ 45cat. "Floating Gold - Various Artists (1977)". Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "George Benson – Weekend In L.A. (1978)". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ "George Benson – Live At Montreux (1986)". AllMusic. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ Music-bazaar.com. "Pavarotti & Friends For Afghanistan (2001)". Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.