Love Will Save the Day

For other songs, see Love Will Save the Day (Boyzone song) and Love Will Save the Day (David Usher song).
"Love Will Save the Day"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album Whitney
B-side"How Will I Know"
ReleasedMay 1988
Recorded1986–1987
Studio
Genre
Length5:25 (album version)
4:22 (single version)
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)Toni C. (Toni Colandreo)
Producer(s)John "Jellybean" Benitez
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
(1988) 		"Love Will Save the Day"
(1988) 		"One Moment in Time"
(1988)
Licensed audio
"Whitney Houston - Love Will Save the Day (Official Audio)" on YouTube

"Love Will Save the Day" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston from her second diamond studio album Whitney (1987). The song was released in May 1988 by Arista Records as the album's fifth single. It did not have a music video but was still successful, climbing into the US top ten. Written by Toni C and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, it is one of the uptempo singles on the album that also includes "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "So Emotional".

Production and recording

Musician Roy Ayers (pictured in 2019) contributed to the song by providing a vibraphone solo.

After helping to produce a successful dance remix of Houston's hit single, "How Will I Know", which peaked at number three on the Billboard dance singles chart in 1986, Arista head Clive Davis hired John "Jellybean" Benitez to produce an original dance song for Houston's upcoming sophomore album, Whitney.

Prior to being assigned by Davis, Benitez had achieved success by producing and remixing many of Madonna's early hit singles. Houston was just the second major recording artist after Madonna that Benitez worked with. Seeking a message song with a dance beat, Benitez brought in his frequent collaborator, songwriter Toni C., to be the song's lyricist.

The song was notable for being the only song on the Whitney album to not be helmed by Houston's previous collaborators including Narada Michael Walden and Michael Masser, as well as one of the earliest songs in her catalog where Houston sang both lead and background vocals. Like most of her songs, Houston was credited as vocal arranger. The song included a vibraphone solo by acclaimed jazz-funk musician Roy Ayers.

Critical reception

Los Angeles Times editor Robert Hilburn described the song as a "hollow dance track that tries to mix social comment with dance-floor vigor."[1] Rolling Stone's Vince Alleti wrote: "Jellybean clicks neatly with 'Love Will Save the Day,' the only song to even remotely acknowledge the problems of the world at large and the most vivaciously percussive track on the record."[3] Whitney fanpage described this song as Latin influenced, sparkling song.[4] St. Petersburg Times editors Eric Snider and Annelise Wamsley described Love Will Save the Day as "a unique tune on an extremely mainstream album. Its lively Afro-Cuban flavor, driven by a wall of clattering percussion, is truly joyous."[5]

Chart performance

"Love Will Save the Day" made Houston the third female artist after Janet Jackson (pictured in 1995) and Madonna (pictured in 1987) to produce five top ten singles off a single album.

At the time, Whitney Houston had achieved a record-breaking string of seven consecutive number-one hits, with four of those number-ones from her current album Whitney. "Love Will Save the Day" did not become Houston's eighth consecutive number one, but continued her trend of hit singles by peaking in the US top 10. The song also made the top 10 without an accompanying music video. With five top ten singles off the same album, Houston joined Madonna and Janet Jackson as just the third female artist to achieve this milestone.

On the Billboard Hot 100, the song debuted at number 52 on the July 2, 1988 issue.[6] The following week on the July 9 issue, it became Houston's ninth top 40 single, moving up to number 40.[7] Five weeks later, on the August 3, 1988 issue, it peaked at number 9, becoming her ninth consecutive top ten single, making her just the third female artist after Brenda Lee and Madonna to achieve this.[8] It would remain in that position for two weeks and spent four entire weeks in the top ten overall. Spending 16 cumulative weeks on the chart, it stayed inside the top 40 for 11 of those weeks.

It reached number five on the Hot Black Singles chart, becoming her eleventh consecutive top ten single on that chart as well as her tenth top five single; in doing this, Houston became the first recording artist to produce five top five R&B singles off two or more albums. It reached number ten on the Hot Adult Contemporary chart, becoming her tenth consecutive top ten single on that chart. It topped the Hot Dance Club Play chart for the week of August 20, 1988, becoming Houston's third number one single on that chart as well as her third consecutive number one single there following "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and "So Emotional". It joined those songs as well as "How Will I Know" as Houston's fourth single to hit the top ten on the pop, R&B, dance and adult contemporary charts.

It reached the top 20 of the Cash Box Top 100 Singles chart, peaking at number 11 for two weeks in August 1988.[9] On the CHR Pop Radio & Records chart, it spent ten weeks, peaking at number 7 there.[10]

Outside the United States, the song achieved success as well, peaking at number 8 on the Canadian RPM singles chart. In the UK, it became Houston's sixth top ten single, peaking at number 10. In Ireland, it reached number 8. It also reached the top ten in Belgium, France, Spain and the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 6 while reaching the top 20 in Switzerland. It also reached the top 40 on the West Germany charts and landed on the Australian charts as well.

Legacy

After her death in 2012, Entertainment Weekly ranked the song #20 on its "Whitney Houston: Her 25 Best Songs" list and stated: "the Miami bass and spicy horns on this high-BPM (beats per minute) dance-pop workout pointed to Houston's willingness to experiment and evolve."[11] The single has been covered 17 times, sampled 17 times and remixed 5 times according to the sample database site, WhoSampled.[12]

Track listings and formats

Versions

  • Extended remix – 7:58
  • Extended remix edit – 6:55
  • 7" version – 4:22
  • 12" version – 5:21
  • 12" version (instrumental) – 5:21 (not released)
  • Acappella – 5:14
  • Dub Will Save the Day – 4:58
  • Jellybean remix – 7:28
  • The Underground mix – 7:30
  • The Underground edit – 5:40
  • Dub – 6:00
  • Instrumental dub – 6:00

Personnel

Charts

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hilburn, Robert (June 1, 1987). "Album Review : Houston: Commercial Sparkle, Artistic Fizz". Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ Molanphy, Chris (May 20, 2021). "Blame It on the Feign Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  3. ^ Alleti, Vince (August 13, 1987). "Whitney – Album Reviews". Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ "Whitney-Fan.com: Whitney Houston's Music Reviews". Archived from the original on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
  5. ^ Whitney pulls out another bag of hits Series: RECORDS
  6. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 (week of July 2, 1988)". Billboard. July 2, 1988. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  7. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 (week of July 9, 1988)". Billboard. July 9, 1988. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  8. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 (week of August 13, 1988)". Billboard. August 13, 1988. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  9. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cashbox. August 20, 1988. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  10. ^ "Love will save the day".
  11. ^ "Whitney Houston: Her 25 best songs". Entertainment Weekly. February 17, 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  12. ^ "Love Will Save the Day by Whitney Houston". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 3, 2025.
  13. ^ Discogs.com, Love Will Save the Day - US 7" Vinyl Single, Single details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  14. ^ Discogs.com, Love Will Save the Day - US CD Maxi-Single Promo, Single details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  15. ^ Discogs.com, UK 12" vinyl, Single Details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  16. ^ Discogs.com, Canada 12" vinyl, Single details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  17. ^ Discogs.com, Germany 12" vinyl, Single details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  18. ^ Discogs.com, Australia & New Zealand 12" vinyl, Single details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  19. ^ Discogs.com, Spain 12" vinyl, Single details - Retrieved on November 26, 2008
  20. ^ "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received June 17, 2014". imgur.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  21. ^ "Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  22. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8552." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  23. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. p. 135. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
  24. ^ "Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day" (in French). Le classement de singles.
  25. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Whitney Houston". Irish Singles Chart.
  26. ^ "Radio Luxembourg Singles (week of May 29, 1988)". UMDMusic.com. Retrieved August 19, 2025.
  27. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Whitney Houston" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  28. ^ "Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  29. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. p. 698. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. ^ "Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day". Swiss Singles Chart.
  31. ^ "Whitney Houston: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  32. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  33. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  34. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  35. ^ "Whitney Houston Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  36. ^ "Whitney Houston".
  37. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Whitney Houston – Love Will Save the Day" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  38. ^ "Top 100 Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. December 24, 1988. p. 9. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  39. ^ "Top 25 Dance Singles of '88" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49, no. 10. December 24, 1988. p. 10. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  40. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl - Jaaroverzichten - Single 1988" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
  41. ^ "1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Black Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. December 24, 1988. p. Y-23. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  42. ^ "1988 The Year in Music & Video: Top Dance Club Play Singles" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 100, no. 52. December 24, 1988. p. Y-25. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
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