| "You Give Good Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US vinyl edition | ||||
| Single by Whitney Houston | ||||
| from the album Whitney Houston | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | February 22, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:36 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Songwriter(s) | La Forrest 'La La' Cope | |||
| Producer(s) | Kashif Saleem | |||
| Whitney Houston singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "You Give Good Love" on YouTube | ||||
"You Give Good Love" is the debut solo single by American singer Whitney Houston for her 1985 eponymous debut studio album. It was written by La Forrest 'La La' Cope and produced by Kashif. When La La sent Kashif a copy of the song, originally offered to Roberta Flack, he thought it would be a better fit for Houston and told Arista Records he would be interested in recording with her.
The song was released on February 22, 1985 as the album's lead single. The release of "You Give Good Love" was designed to give Houston a noticeable position and standing within the black music market first, which topped the US Billboard Hot Black Singles chart. However, it also made an unexpected crossover pop hit, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, her first of what would be many Top 10 hits. It was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[1] The single was released officially in some countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and United Kingdom, but failed to make the top 40 in the countries except Canada, where it reached the top ten. The song won Favorite Soul/R&B Single at the 13th American Music Awards, and was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 28th Grammy Awards in 1986.
The music video for the song directed by Karen Bellone, shows Houston performing at a club and a photographer focusing his camera on her. Houston performed the song on various TV shows and awards ceremonies such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The 1985 R&B Countdown and The 1st Soul Train Music Awards of 1987, as well as on her first three tours and select dates of The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–94) and My Love Is Your Love World Tour (1999). "You Give Good Love" is also featured on four of Houston's compilation albums, Whitney: The Greatest Hits (2000), Love, Whitney (2001), The Essential Whitney Houston (2011) and I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston (2012). In 2009, the song was named the 12th greatest slow jam of all time by Essence magazine.[2]
- ^ "Whitney Houston - You Give Good Love - RIAA Gold Certification". RIAA. December 6, 1995. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
- ^ "25 Best Slow Jams of All Time". Essence. Retrieved March 11, 2024.