Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston | |
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Video by | |
Released | May 14, 1991 (VHS) 2002 (DVD) |
Recorded | March 31, 1991 |
Genre | Pop, R&B |
Length | 96 minutes (US) 80 minutes |
Label | Arista |
Director | David Mallet |
Producer | Anthony Eaton Whitney Houston (exec.) John R. Houston (exec.) |
Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston is the first ever solo televised concert and video by American singer Whitney Houston.
Released on May 14, 1991, through Arista Records, the video contains Whitney's HBO concert special Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston, which was broadcast live from the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31, 1991, Easter Sunday, for 3,500 servicemen and women returning from the Gulf War. [1]
It was released in VHS and Laserdisc on May 14, 1991, and later on DVD in 2002. In 2008, the DVD was re-released in the United States and worldwide with the title A Song for You: Live.
Houston performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the Super Bowl XXV, on January 27, 1991. Her version of the song was so acclaimed that, on February 12, 1991, it was released as a charity single to raise funds for soldiers and families of those involved in the Persian Gulf War. [2] Following her performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the Super Bowl, Houston decided to carry it over into a concert to honor the troops, their families, and military and government dignitaries of the Gulf War. [3]
The concert was originally scheduled as an HBO special, with Whitney singing for the troops on Easter Sunday. But by the time of the scheduled concert, the war was over and it was billed as a "Welcome Home, Heroes" concert, with Whitney performing in a Virginia naval hangar to welcome home military personnel returning from Iraq. [4] About the event Whitney told The Salina Journal : "I was thinking about doing something else for the fellows over there and I was considering going overseas. Then the war ended and this came up." [5]
First, the United States Department of the Navy arranged for Whitney to fly out to meet the USS Saratoga, a cruise ship her men called "The Sara". The singer stayed overnight on the ship joking and laughing with the men, and even took a turn on the "mess line" serving dinner. After the visit to the Saratoga, Whitney went to Norfolk, Virginia to prepare for the concert.
The Governor of Virginia, L. Douglas Wilder, was invited and some top military officers who had served in the Gulf, but most of the seats were reserved for enlisted men and women of Desert Storm and their families. Because they were more troops than seats for the Easter Sunday's show, on March 31, 1991, 3,000 from the Army, Airforce, Navy, Marines and the Coast Guard were invited to the dress rehearsal on Saturday night. [6]
The concert was broadcast live on HBO. The cable network agreed to unscramble its signal allowing it to be available to over 50 million cable households. It gave HBO their highest ratings ever at the time. [2] About the concert, Whitney said:
Until I spent time with these military people, I didn't really appreciate how special they are. I was surrounded by courteous, brave men and women... I sang my heart out to them... and still felt them give more in return. I salute our troops, those who have returned and those still serving around the world, and thank them from the bottom of my heart. [7]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "The Star-Spangled Banner" | 2:26 | |
2. | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" | 5:53 | |
3. | "Saving All My Love for You" | 8:55 | |
4. | "How Will I Know" | 3:45 | |
5. | "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (Love Song Medley) | 4:12 | |
6. | "A House Is Not a Home" (Love Song Medley) |
| 0:23 |
7. | "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" (Love Song Medley) | 2:06 | |
8. | "All the Man That I Need" | 6:50 | |
11. | "One Moment in Time" (Instrumental) | 2:38 | |
12. | "My Name Is Not Susan" | Eric Foster White | 4:36 |
13. | "Anymore" | 4:43 | |
14. | "A Song for You" | Leon Russell | 6:49 |
15. | "Revelation" | 8:15 | |
16. | "Who Do You Love" | 5:29 | |
17. | "I'm Your Baby Tonight" | 4:51 | |
18. | "Greatest Love of All" | 10:10 | |
19. | "Battle Hymn of the Republic" |
| 6:57 |
Total length: | 96:00 |
Notes
7.9 million viewers. [8]
Jessica Goodman, from HuffPost , said that "the video shows the late singer at her best: infectiously energetic and wildly talented", while praising her performance of "I'm Your Baby Tonight", stating that the singer "brings a packed house of soldiers to their feet with an exhilarating rendition" of the song. [9] Clive Davis, president of Arista Records at the time, told HuffPost: "There's a heated, sensuous, prowling-the-stage Whitney. It really just sends shivers up your spine. You see why every audience gets out of their seats roaring with a standing ovation. All this is real. It’s spectacularly revealing." [9] Jessica Andrews, from Teen Vogue , praised her performance of "All the Man That I Need" saying that "Whitney's vocal acrobatics were truly second-to-none — especially in the final note, which she could hold for lengths at a time." [10]
The show won a Cable ACE award for "Performance music special" in 1992. [11]
The concert was released in VHS and Laserdisc on May 14, 1991, and later on DVD in 2002. In 2008, the DVD was re-released in the United States and worldwide with the title A Song for You: Live.
Only the US VHS/LD have the full clips of the concert, originally broadcast live on HBO, including the opening performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" as an encore.
Since 1991, all releases for the concert outside the US, titled Live in Concert (official release) or several other names such as A Song for You: Live and Whitney Houston Live (which were issued by a few minor labels), don't include the above-mentioned performances with an 80-minute running time or less, shorter than the original 96-minute edition.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer, actress, film producer, and philanthropist. Known as "the Voice", she is one of the most awarded entertainers of all time and has been inducted into numerous halls of fame. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts and her performances influenced the breaking down of gender and racial barriers, as well as popular culture. She has been recognized for her vocal delivery, distinctive timbre, and for popularizing the use of gospel singing techniques in pop music. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Houston second on their list of the greatest singers of all time. She has sold over 220 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. Houston also enhanced her popularity by producing and starring in multicultural movies. Her life and career have been the subject of multiple documentaries and television specials.
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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 has been certified quadruple platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
"How Will I Know" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston for her self-titled debut studio album. It was released on November 22, 1985 by Arista Records as the album's third single. Originally written and composed by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam, it was originally intended for pop singer Janet Jackson, who passed on it. Houston then recorded the song with altered lyrics and production from Narada Michael Walden.
"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 May 2, 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.
"Saving All My Love for You" is a song written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin, originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. for their album Marilyn & Billy (1978). American singer Whitney Houston recorded it for her self-titled debut studio album (1985). It was released on August 13, 1985, by Arista Records, as the second single from the album in the United States, and third worldwide. The following article discusses this version.
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