I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Compilation album by | ||||
Released | March 24, 2023 | |||
Recorded | 1981–2012 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 61:42 | |||
Label | ||||
Whitney Houston chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston | ||||
|
I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston is a posthumous gospel compilation album by American recording artist Whitney Houston, released on March 24, 2023 by Arista Records, Legacy Recordings, and Gaither Music Group. [1] The album features 14 tracks, including six never-before-released songs, three of which culled from a 1981 recording session when Houston was just seventeen.
In February 2023, according to Billboard, a new documentary and posthumous album would explore the singer's lifelong connection to gospel music. The album I Go to the Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston, would feature previously unreleased tracks, including the upcoming first single "Testimony", issued before the full album to be released later in the year. [2] The compilation album celebrates Houston's deep roots in gospel music and showcases her talent, faith and passion for the genre. Included are renditions of classics "Jesus Loves Me", "I Love the Lord" and "His Eye Is on the Sparrow." [3] I Go to the Rock features six new unreleased gospel tracks "He Can Use Me," "I Found a Wonderful Way" and "Testimony"; and Houston's live performances of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with singer CeCe Winans, "This Day" and "He/I Believe". [4]
I Go To The Rock: The Gospel Music of Whitney Houston debuted at number 2 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart dated April 8, 2023. According to Billboard, the compilation garnered 4,000 equivalent album sales during the tracking week ending March 30, 2023, propelling it at number two spot. [5]
The album marks Houston's second top ten spot and entry into the Top Gospel Albums chart. [6] Her first gospel album, 1996's The Preacher's Wife soundtrack debuted at number one and held the top spot for 26 consecutive weeks and remained on the chart for 161 weeks. [7]
The compilation has since spent 31 cumulative weeks on the chart. [7] On October 26, 2023, the album was announced as a finalist for the Billboard Music Awards for Top Gospel Album. [8]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Go to the Rock" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Dottie Rambo |
| 4:05 |
2. | "Jesus Loves Me" |
| 5:12 | |
3. | "He Can Use Me" |
|
| 4:55 |
4. | "Joy to the World" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Traditional |
| 4:41 |
5. | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (with Cece Winans) (Live VH1 Honors – June 22, 1995) | Paul Simon | Ken Ehrlich | 5:35 |
6. | "Testimony" |
|
| 3:40 |
7. | "I Look to You" | R. Kelly | 4:26 | |
8. | "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" | R. Kelly | 3:33 | |
9. | "Hold On, Help Is On the Way" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Rev. Kenneth Paden |
| 4:14 |
10. | "This Day" (Live VH1 Honors – June 22, 1995) | Edwin Hawkins | Ehrlich | 3:55 |
11. | "I Found a Wonderful Way" |
| Brown | 2:47 |
12. | "Joy" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Kirk Franklin |
| 3:16 |
13. | "I Love the Lord" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Richard Smallwood |
| 4:57 |
14. | "He / I Believe" (Live at Yokohama Arena – January 2, 1990) |
| 6:26 | |
Total length: | 61:42 |
Credits adapted from album liner notes.
Chart (2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Album Downloads (OCC) [9] | 71 |
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [10] | 37 |
US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard) [7] | 2 |
Chart (2023) | Position |
---|---|
US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard) [11] | 17 |
Chart (2024) | Position |
---|---|
US Top Gospel Albums (Billboard) [12] | 44 |
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, and film producer. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded entertainers and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 220 million records worldwide. Houston's crossover appeal on popular music charts and her performances influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers, as well as popular culture. Known for her vocal delivery and live concerts, Houston was ranked second by Rolling Stone on its 2023 list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time". Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials.
Loyal to the Game is the ninth studio album and fifth posthumous studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. The album was produced by Eminem and consists of remixes of previously unreleased music recorded by Tupac before his death in 1996. Released in the United States on December 14, 2004, Loyal to the Game debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It was later certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
I'm Your Baby Tonight is the third studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on November 6, 1990, by Arista Records. The album is one of the best-selling female albums of all time and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
I Care 4 U is a posthumous compilation album by American singer Aaliyah. It was released on December 10, 2002, by Blackground Records and Universal Records. Following Aaliyah's death on August 25, 2001, Blackground decided to release a posthumous record in collaboration with Universal Music Group. The album compiles eight of Aaliyah's previously released songs alongside six previously unreleased recordings which were discarded from sessions for her eponymous third and final studio album (2001).
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is a soundtrack album from the film of the same name, released on November 17, 1992, by Arista Records. The album's first side features songs recorded by American singer Whitney Houston, who starred in the film, while side two features the work of various artists. Houston and Clive Davis were co-executive producers of the record.
Whitney: The Greatest Hits is the first compilation album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was released on May 15, 2000, by Arista Records. Anticipation over a greatest hits album from Houston arose as far as 1995, when Billboard first announced the album's release. However, it was continuously postponed as Houston focused on film projects, before deciding to record several new tracks for the belated collection in 1998. The effort was quickly expanded into her fourth studio album My Love Is Your Love, released in November 1998 to widespread success, which effectively postponed Whitney: The Greatest Hits again.
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her second studio album, Whitney (1987). It was released as the lead single from the album on April 28, 1987, by Arista Records. It was produced by Narada Michael Walden, and written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, of the band Boy Meets Girl, who had previously collaborated with Houston on "How Will I Know". At the 30th Annual Grammy Awards, "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" won for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, marking Houston's second win in the category.
"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded as "All the Man I Need" by Linda Clifford for her album I'll Keep on Loving You (1982). In 1990, American singer Whitney Houston had a number-one multiple chart hit with this song, recorded as "All the Man That I Need", from her third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990).
The albums discography of American singer, actress and producer Whitney Houston consists of seven studio albums, eight compilations, three soundtracks, five box sets and six extended plays. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In 1986, Houston's self-titled debut album spent fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, earned three number one singles in a row on the Billboard Hot 100 including "How Will I Know" and "Greatest Love of All" and was 1986's top album of the year, giving Houston the distinction of the first female artist to earn that honor. The album became the first studio album by a female artist to be certified over ten-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in January 1994, and went on to be certified fourteen-times platinum, tying with Britney Spears' ...Baby One More Time, as the highest-certified debut album by a female artist in history. It sold 25 million copies worldwide and earn a Guinness World Record as the best-selling R&B studio album by a female artist in the United States. Houston's second album, Whitney, was released in 1987 and became the first album by a female artist to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. It also became the first female album to spend its first ten weeks at number one, eventually staying there for eleven consecutive weeks. The album spawned four number one singles in a row including "I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", which helped Houston become the only artist to produce a record seven consecutive number-one hits. The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA for sales of ten million equivalent album sales and topped the charts in other countries, eventually selling in excess of 20 million copies worldwide. Houston earned a third consecutive top ten album on the Billboard 200 with the release of I'm Your Baby Tonight in 1990. The album helped Houston become the first female artist to earn multiple number one singles off three or more albums.
"I Have Nothing" is a song by American singer and actress Whitney Houston, released on February 20, 1993 as the third single from The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album (1992) by Arista Records. The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson, and produced by Foster.
"Higher Love" is a 1986 song by English singer Steve Winwood. It was the first single released from his fourth solo LP, Back in the High Life (1986). It was written by Winwood and Will Jennings and produced by Russ Titelman and Winwood. The background vocals were performed by Chaka Khan, who also appeared in the music video.
"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" is a gospel hymn written in 1905 by lyricist Civilla D. Martin and composer Charles H. Gabriel. It is most associated with actress-singer Ethel Waters who used the title for her autobiography. Tanya Blount & Lauryn Hill recorded the song for the Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit soundtrack in 1993. Jessica Simpson's version was included as the final track on her 2001 album Irresistible. Mahalia Jackson's recording of the song was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2010. Whitney Houston's recording of the song, one of the singer's last to be recorded before her death in 2012, was released off the soundtrack of the film, Sparkle, and became a posthumous number one Billboard single off one of the gospel singles charts.
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record producer to write a Christmas song, but he was hesitant due to the commercialism of Christmas. It has sold tens of millions of copies and has been covered by hundreds of artists.
The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album is the soundtrack to the 1996 film of the same name and features songs performed and produced by American singer Whitney Houston, who also stars in the film. The soundtrack was released on November 26, 1996, by Arista Records and BMG Entertainment. With sales of 6 million copies worldwide, it is the best-selling gospel album of all time.
I Look to You is the seventh and final studio album by American singer Whitney Houston. It was first released on August 28, 2009, through Sony Music in Europe, then August 31, 2009 with Arista Records in the United States before being released by RCA Records in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2009. The album was Houston's first non-holiday studio album since 2002's Just Whitney. It received favorable reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 66/100 from Metacritic and debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number one with sales of 305,000 beating her previous career best first-week sale of 205,137 units with Just Whitney (2002), and it was her first album to reach number one in the US since 1992's The Bodyguard. Additionally it became her fourth chart-topping album, thus extending her as the female artist with the most cumulative weeks at the number one position.
"I Look to You" is a pop-soul song performed by American recording artist Whitney Houston, from her seventh and final studio album of the same name. It was released as a worldwide promotional single and as the first US single from the album on July 23, 2009 on US radio following highly favorable reviews at pre-release album listening parties.
I Will Always Love You: The Best of Whitney Houston is a posthumous greatest hits album by American recording artist Whitney Houston. The album was released on November 13, 2012 via RCA Records.
American singer Whitney Houston, known as "The Voice", released 57 singles as a leading artist and 4 as a featured artist. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 220 million records sold worldwide. In the United States, Houston amassed 11 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, all of whom have been certified either gold, platinum, multi-platinum or diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America and was one of a selected group of artists to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in four different decades. She is currently ranked in seventh place of the artists with the most number one singles in the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Prior to the introduction of digital singles, Houston sold 16.5 million physical singles in the country, the most ever by a female recording artist. In October 2012, the Official Charts Company claimed Houston was the fourth biggest-selling female singles artist of all time with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.