| National tour by Whitney Houston | |
| Location | North America |
|---|---|
| Associated album | Whitney Houston |
| Start date | June 27, 1985 |
| End date | December 1, 1985 |
| Legs | 1 |
| No. of shows | 59 |
| Whitney Houston concert chronology | |
The US Tour was the debut promotional tour of American singer Whitney Houston, designed to promote her debut album Whitney Houston, released on February 14, 1985. The tour took place in multiple theaters, festivals, and clubs around the United States throughout the summer and fall between June 27 and December 1, 1985. Initially, the opening act for established singer Jeffrey Osborne and following selected spots on Luther Vandross' tour that year, Houston eventually headlined her own shows, including two landmark performances at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Background
[edit]Houston released her self-titled debut album in February 1985 and first began promoting the album through performing at nightclubs all across the country, starting at one of her old haunts, Manhattan's Sweetwater's jazz club, one of many venues her mother Cissy regularly performed at and at which Houston was discovered by her label head and mentor Clive Davis, who signed her to his label Arista roughly two years prior.[1][2][3]
After Sweetwater's, Houston performed at other nightclubs, including Los Angeles' Roxy Theatre in May while also promoting her album on national TV shows in both her native United States and in Europe. That month, her first leading single, "You Give Good Love", peaked at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart. Not too long afterwards, it was announced that Houston would open for American singer Jeffrey Osborne on his national US tour at the end of June. Houston had recorded Osborne's composition, "All at Once", on her debut. Not too long after joining Osborne's tour, Houston started getting rave reviews for her performances.[4][5]
Around August, just as her second single, "Saving All My Love for You", was being promoted by her label, Houston joined longtime friend Luther Vandross' The Night I Fell In Love Tour on a few selected dates. By the end of August, as her debut album hit the top ten of the Billboard 200, it was decided by Houston's management, which was led by Gene Harvey, that Houston would begin headlining her own shows since her fame was starting to outgrow that of Osborne and Vandross.[6][7]
Houston's first headlining show was at Humphrey's in San Diego for two shows on August 28. On October 28, two days after "Saving All My Love for You" topped the Billboard Hot 100, Houston gave the first of two sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall before heading back to London where she filmed the music video for "How Will I Know" in early November before returning to the States where she eventually finished her tour at the Universal Amphitheater in California on December 1.[8]
Set list
[edit]- "Greatest Love of All"
- "Love Will Find a Way"
- "How Will I Know"
- "Saving All My Love for You"
- "Someone for Me"
- "Hold Me"
- "Take Good Care of My Heart"
- "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do"
- "Send It"
- "All at Once"
- "Thinking About You"
- "I Am Changing"
- "Tomorrow"
- "You Give Good Love"
Notes
- August 28: in San Diego, Houston's opening act was comedian Roseanne Barr.[9]
- October 26: Houston performed at Disney World's 'On Stage' event at the Skyleidsocope,[10] on October 28: at Carnegie Hall, she performed a showstopping rendition of "I Am Changing" from the Broadway musical Dreamgirls.[11]
- November 20: at Carnegie Hall, Houston performed "I Am Changing", and her mother Cissy Houston mounted the stage to sing a cover of the classic "You Are My Dream".[12]
Shows
[edit]Personnel
[edit]Band
- Music director / piano – John Simmons
- Keyboards – Willard Meeks
- Saxophone – Josh Harris
- Guitar – Curtis Taylor Neishloss
- Bass - Rickey Minor
- Drums – Brian Brake
- Percussion – Kevin Jones
- Background vocalists – Gary Houston, Felicia Moss, Voneva Simms
References
[edit]- ^ Adam White (March 9, 1985). "Talent in Action: Whitney Houston, Sweetwaters in New York". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 10. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
- ^ "Nice Story, Solo Whitney, 1985". New York Daily News. May 30, 2005. Retrieved March 15, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ "Whitney Houston Makes Musical Debut in N.Y." Jet. 68 (12). Johnson Publishing Company. June 3, 1985. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ "Singer Whitney Houston Hits A High Note Early In Her Career". Orlando Sentinel. July 2, 1985.
- ^ Clarence Waldron (1 September 1986). Whitney Houston Headlines Her First Tour Across the Country (p58-60). Jet. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
- ^ Defendorf, Richard (October 20, 1985). "Whitney Houston Takes Fame in Stride". Orlando Sentinel.
- ^ "SINGER WHITNEY HOUSTON HITS A HIGH NOTE EARLY IN HER CAREER". Orlando Sentinel. August 4, 1985. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (October 29, 1985). "POP: WHITNEY HOUSTON IN CARNEGIE HALL DEBUT". New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
- ^ Infusino, Divina (August 30, 1985). Savvy Whitney Houston Gives A Stunning Show Archived 2016-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. San Diego Union Times
- ^ Defendorf, Richard (October 20, 1985). Whitney Houston Takes Fame In Stride. Orlando Sentinel
- ^ Holden, Stephen (October 29, 1985). "POP: Whitney Houston In Carnegie Hall Debut". New York Times.
- ^ "Whitney Houston Recalled Conversations with Aretha Franklin, Early Modeling Days in 1985: From the Archives". People.com. Archived from the original on 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
- ^ North America:
- Joyce, Mike (June 28, 1985). "Whitney Houston Takes Fame in Stride". Washington Post.
- Grein, Paul (September 2, 1985). "Houston Steals Show From Osborne At Greek". LA Times.
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack albums | |
| Live albums | |
| Compilation albums | |
| Other releases | |
| Tours | |
| Concerts and appearances | |
| Family | |
| Related articles | |
