The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | November 26, 1996 | |||
Recorded | January – February 1996 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 62:20 | |||
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Whitney Houston chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Preacher's Wife | ||||
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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. The album has sold 6 million copies as of 2016, and over 10 million to date, making it the best-selling gospel album of all time. [2] The soundtrack and film cemented Houston’s status as a pop culture icon.
In 1992, Whitney Houston's film career was launched by the release of The Bodyguard . The film and her accompanying soundtrack from it were both hugely successful, with the soundtrack selling over 45 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album of all time, the best-selling album by a female artist and the third best-selling album of all time. [3] [4]
Houston then followed that up with the film, Waiting to Exhale , which Houston contributed to three songs from its multi-artist soundtrack, which was also hugely successful, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. [5]
Following the release of Waiting to Exhale, actor Denzel Washington offered Houston a role in the upcoming comedy, The Preacher's Wife where she was to play the role of Julia Biggs, wife of Rev. Henry Biggs, played by Courtney B. Vance and the leader of a church choir. Houston eventually accepted the role for $10 million, which made her the highest-paid black female actress at the time.
Because the film was focused on family and religion, Houston offered to record and produce the entire soundtrack as she had long desired to record a gospel album. Houston had been brought up in gospel music under the tutelage of mother Cissy Houston at Newark's New Hope Baptist Church as a child. She sang her first church solo at the age of twelve at the same church. While seeking a record deal in the early 1980s, a teenage Houston recorded three gospel demos to grab the attention of record labels before she signed to Arista Records in 1983. [6]
After finding mainstream stardom with pop and R&B material, Houston added gospel songs during her concert tours. Houston collaborated with members of the Winans family, including BeBe & CeCe Winans, recording two songs on their album, Heaven, in 1988. For the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, Houston recorded and produced a pop-rendered rendition of the traditional gospel hymn, "Jesus Loves Me", which she received critical praise.
Houston recruited Mervyn Warren, founding former member of the gospel group Take 6, to be her collaborator in producing the album.
The duo decided to record the more traditional gospel material at Atlanta's Greater Rising Star Baptist Church with the Georgia Mass Choir while some other songs were recorded at Houston's Crossway Recording Studios in her hometown of Mendham Township, New Jersey, as well as studios in New York and Los Angeles, including a gospel and jazz-inspired rendition of the Four Tops' "I Believe in You and Me".
Among the "traditional" gospel recordings on the album, Houston and Warren recorded renditions of Kirk Franklin's "Joy", Dottie Rambo's "I Go to the Rock", Richard Smallwood's "I Love the Lord", an up tempo rendition of "Joy to the World" and two original compositions, "Hold On, Help Is on the Way" and "Who Would Imagine a King".
For the more pop-leaning work on the album, Houston reunited with David Foster, who later produced a more pop-friendly version of "I Believe in You and Me". When Annie Lennox learned of Houston seeking material to record for her next soundtrack, she sent her 1992 composition "Step by Step", which was produced by English producer Stephen Lipson in a house-inspired gospel arrangement; Lennox contributed background vocals to Houston's rendition. New jack swing producer Teddy Riley contributed a remix of the song that would be featured on the album.
The album would be the first full-length Houston recording in which songwriter Diane Warren would participate in after co-composing Houston and Aretha Franklin's 1989 duet, "It Isn't, It Wasn't, It Ain't Ever Gonna Be".
Warren would send Houston the song "You Were Loved", which would be produced by Babyface, with the latter producer recording the funk and R&B-leaning "My Heart is Calling", the album's sole love song, dedicated to Houston's character Julia's growing attraction to Denzel Washington's film character of the angel Dudley.
Houston also produced, with longtime musical director Rickey Minor, a hip-hop soul-inflected rendition of "Somebody Bigger Than You and I", which featured her husband, singer Bobby Brown, his New Edition band mates Johnny Gill and Ralph Tresvant and female R&B singers Faith Evans and Monica; Brown and Tresvant provided a rap for the song as well.
The album gave Houston the opportunity to produce a song for her mother Cissy, who records the only song on the album to not feature Whitney, "The Lord is My Shepherd" with Hezekiah Walker and his Love Fellowship Crusade Choir. In addition, Houston recorded a duet with family friend Shirley Caesar on their rendition of "He's All Over Me".
Overall, the album took two months from January to February 1996 to record.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Billboard | (favorable) [7] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [8] |
The New York Times | (favorable) [9] |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Music critics saw a more emotionally engaged side of Houston, particularly with the soundtrack's gospel offerings. “For the first time in her 12-year recording career, Houston sounds genuinely moved by her material. Early on she stumbles through the Annie Lennox-penned "Step By Step," but the presence of the Georgia Mass Choir on six subsequent tracks melts her frosty reserve,” People magazine wrote. [11]
Released on November 26, 1996, The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on the issue dated December 14, 1996, selling 90,500 units in the first week. [12] On its second week, the album jumped to number four on the chart with the Greatest Gainer mark, and the following week reached number three which was the album's peak position, with reported sales of 330,000 copies that week, producing the highest first-week sales of a gospel release in history, a record it holds to this day. [13] [14] The album also debuted at number eight on the Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, and in three weeks later, peaked at the number one and remained there for two weeks, becoming her fourth number one album on the chart. [15] [16] It stayed for a total of 43 weeks and 49 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and the Top R&B Albums chart respectively. [15] [17] In Europe, the soundtrack became the first and only gospel album in history to sell a million copies in the continent.
In addition, the soundtrack was more successful on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. It debuted at number one, becoming the first album by a female solo artist to do so. It spent 26 consecutive weeks at the top from December 14, 1996, to June 7, 1997. It remained on the chart for 117 weeks during its initial run. [18] [19] It has since returned to the Top Gospel Albums chart for 48 more weeks, bringing its total to 165 cumulative weeks. The album was the number one gospel album on the 1997 Billboard Top Gospel Albums year-end chart.
Prior to the album's release, music industry insiders had expected The Preacher's Wife soundtrack to "do at least as well as" Waiting to Exhale 's soundtrack, which sold 5,100,000 copies in the United States. [20] The album was the Best-selling Gospel Recording by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM) in 1996–1997. [21] [22] It was certified 3× Platinum for shipping 3 million copies in the United States alone by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 30, 1998. [23] According to Nielsen SoundScan, as of 2012, the album has sold 2,627,000 copies in the United States alone. [2]
The lead single, "I Believe in You and Me" (originally by The Four Tops), became a top five hit in the U.S. [24] and was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 40th Grammy Awards, where the soundtrack overall was nominated for Best R&B Album. [25]
"Step by Step" was another hit single, peaking at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was a huge hit all throughout Europe. "My Heart Is Calling" became the soundtrack's final single release.
Though not released as a single, Houston submitted the track "You Were Loved" to the Princess Diana tribute album, Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute in 1997, following the Princess' tragic death that year.
Chart success of the soundtrack and its hit singles, "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step By Step", the singer further promoted the album and singles touring across Asia, Australia, and in North America. Known as the Pacific Rim Tour, Houston played shows in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Australia and Hawaii. The setlist featured tracks from the album, as well as duet performances of "Count On Me" with singer CeCe Winans and "In Return" at select shows in Japan.
Date | Title | Details |
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December 13, 1996 | Rosie O'Donnell Show |
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December 14, 1996 | Saturday Night Live |
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March 15, 1997 | UK National Lottery Show |
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All tracks are produced by Houston and Mervyn Warren, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "I Believe in You and Me" (film version) |
| 4:01 | |
2. | "Step by Step" | Annie Lennox | Stephen Lipson | 4:12 |
3. | "Joy" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Kirk Franklin | 3:16 | |
4. | "Hold On, Help Is on the Way" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Rev. Kenneth Paden | 3:09 | |
5. | "I Go to the Rock" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Dottie Rambo | 4:05 | |
6. | "I Love the Lord" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Richard Smallwood | 4:57 | |
7. | "Somebody Bigger Than You and I" (Featuring Bobby Brown, Faith Evans, Johnny Gill, Monica and Ralph Tresvant) |
| 4:42 | |
8. | "You Were Loved" | Diane Warren | Babyface | 4:13 |
9. | "My Heart Is Calling" | Babyface | Babyface | 4:14 |
10. | "I Believe in You and Me" (single version) |
| David Foster | 3:52 |
11. | "Step by Step" (Remix) | Annie Lennox | Remixed by Teddy Riley | 4:34 |
12. | "Who Would Imagine a King" |
| 3:31 | |
13. | "He's All Over Me" (with Shirley Caesar and the Georgia Mass Choir) | Alvin Darling | 3:53 | |
14. | "The Lord Is My Shepherd" (performed by Cissy Houston with Hezekiah Walker & The Love Fellowship Crusade Choir) | Traditional | 4:24 | |
15. | "Joy to the World" (with the Georgia Mass Choir) | Isaac Watts | 4:41 |
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA) [67] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [68] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Hong Kong (IFPI Hong Kong) [69] | Platinum | 20,000* |
Italy (FIMI) [70] | Gold | 50,000* |
Japan (RIAJ) [71] | 2× Platinum | 400,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [72] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF) [73] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [74] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [75] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [76] | 3× Platinum | 2,471,000 [77] |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI) [78] | Platinum | 1,000,000* |
Worldwide | — | 6,000,000 (as of 2016) [2] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Like the majority of her work, Houston received awards and accolades from the soundtrack.
The album was nominated for the American Music Award for Favorite Soundtrack at the 1998 American Music Awards. [79]
Houston was nominated for two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in 1997 and 1998 in relation to the soundtrack, winning one for favorite female R&B artist in the former year. [80] [81]
For her overall contributions to music as well as her humanitarian efforts, Houston received the Triumphant Spirit Award at the 1997 Essence Awards, which was accepted by Houston's mother Cissy. [82] [83]
At the Dove Awards, Houston received two awards. In 1997, Houston received the special Dove Award for Outstanding Mainstream Contribution to Gospel Music, honoring her for incorporating gospel music into her art for mainstream pop audiences. [84] The following year, in 1998, Houston won a competitive Dove Award in the category for Best Traditional Gospel Song of the Year for the song "I Go to the Rock", along with the song's writer and original performer Dottie Rambo. [85] [86]
At the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998, the album was nominated for Best R&B Album, while the ballad "I Believe in You and Me" was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, losing both to singer Erykah Badu's Baduizm and Badu's hit "On & On" respectively. [87] The nominations were controversial since the album was shunned from the Grammy gospel category. [88] Houston responded to the snub by boycotting that year's ceremony. [88]
Houston won two NAACP Image Awards for the soundtrack including Outstanding Gospel Artist, along with the Georgia Mass Choir and the album won Outstanding Album. [89] [90] [91]
At the 1997 NARM Best Seller Awards, Houston received the award for best-selling gospel recording of the year for the soundtrack. [22]
Her work with the soundtrack also resulted in Houston winning the People's Choice Award for favorite female musical performer in 1998, shared with country artist Reba McEntire. [92] [93]
Houston received two more special honors during the era, receiving the Soul Train Music Award lifetime honor, the The 1998 Quincy Jones Award for career achievement. [94] [95] Houston also received the Pinnacle Award at the Trumpet Awards, which honored notable black Americans for achievement. [96] [97]
The Preacher's Wife was ranked the top gospel album on Billboard for the year of 1997.