Whitney Houston

Released: January 1, 1978

Featuring: Cissy Houston

Songwriter: Michael Zager

Producer: Michael Zager

Love, love, smile, everybody smile, dance
‘Cause life’s a party everyone comes to, comes to
Join in! Come on!
Love, everyone love
Smile, everyone smile
Dance, everyone have a ball
‘Cause life’s a party everyone comes to

Laugh, everyone laugh
Sing, everyone sing
Live, everyone have a ball
‘Cause life’s a party everyone comes to

Lift your head up when life looks dreary
Let your wishes climb to the sky
Things will always make a life brighter
If you go lighter, take things in stride, then you will glide

So love, everyone love
Everyone smile, everybody smile
Dance, everyone have a ball
‘Cause life’s a party everyone comes to
Join in! Come on!

Known across the pop culture spectrum as the “Queen of Pop” and “The Voice” for her mezzo-soprano octave, Whitney Elizabeth Houston left an indelible impression upon pop culture. She is one of the most successful artists of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold worldwide.

Born August 9, 1963, Houston grew up singing as part of the gospel choir at her local church. She was surrounded by powerful voices in her own family (mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick, godmother Darlene Love, honorary aunt Aretha Franklin). After working as a model and commercial actress in the early 1980s, Whitney was discovered during a New York City nightclub performance, which led to her signing a contract with Clive Davis at Arista Records. Whitney’s first song was a duet in 1984 with Teddy Pendergrass on “Hold Me.”

She released her self-titled début album the following year, which catapulted her into superstardom as the album topped the Billboard 200 for 14 non-consecutive weeks before becoming the top-selling album of 1986, eventually achieving diamond status in the US and selling over 22 million copies worldwide. The singles “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know,” and “Greatest Love of All” topped the Billboard Hot 100 and achieved platinum status. The music video for “How Will I Know” received heavy rotation on MTV, which was uncommon for Black women at the time. She took home the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award for “Saving” in 1986; her performance at the Grammys of “Saving” later won her an Emmy award. She also won seven American Music Awards between 1986 and 1987.

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