Whitney Houston is undoubtedly one of pop’s definitive icons. Breaking out in 1985 at the peak of the MTV era with her eponymous debut album, she quickly rose to become one of the period’s most bankable musicians. Although her life unfortunately had tragic shades, the Newarker released many hits in her time, becoming a key part of the era’s prismatic popular culture. Interestingly, the song that confirmed her as an indisputable pop star, was initially meant for Janet Jackson.
The 1980s was the era of highly commercialised pop, and this saw the stars often have songs written for them, or record covers of classics. In 1984, husband-and-wife songwriting pair George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam – who also perform under the name Boy Meets Girl – wrote the demo of ‘How Will I Know’ for Janet Jackson’s third album, Control. However, her label, A&M, rejected the song as it didn’t fit with the record’s unconventional fusion of rap, R&B, funk, and electronic percussion.
The pair were of course upset that the song was rejected for the eventual number one album, as they had written it with Jackson specifically in mind, and were left wondering what to do with it. Outside forces played their part though, and Brenda Andrews of Almo-Irving Music, the duo’s publisher, played the track for Gerry Griffith, the influential director for R&B music at A&M and Arista Records. At the time, Griffith was compiling material for Whitney Houston, and felt he had stumbled upon an instant classic for his new artist.
He contacted Merrill and Rubicam and asked them to give it to Arista for the Houston debut, and they accepted.
Years later, he recalled first hearing the song, and playing it to Arista’s storied founder and president, Clive Davis: “We had a lot of R&B-based tunes, we had a few ballads, but we didn’t have a pop crossover song. So when I heard ‘How Will I Know,’ I said ‘this is absolutely perfect.’ I played it for Clive [and] he fell in love with it. I wasn’t very familiar with her family background; I didn’t realise that, even at that time, there was a pretty big industry buzz about her future.”
Things weren’t so simple, though. Although the track represented the crossover into true pop that Houston needed, for Griffiths, in its demo form, it simply wasn’t ready to catapult her to the top of the charts. He then passed it to producer and songwriter, Narada Michael Walden – of Mahavishnu Orchestra fame – and asked him to produce it because it was going to be so central to the success of the LP; it needed his expertise.
Upon hearing the demo, Walden knew there was something in it, but agreed that it needed rearranging, and a clear degree of sharpening up. He flew to California to do so, and requestedthat Merrill and Rubicam grant him permission to modify some of the lyrics and chord progression. This actually led to them denying him the right to their track for a time. A frustrating juncture, Griffith played the middle man, and they eventually reached a compromise wherein Walden would de-construct the piece and change both tempo and key.
After Walden finished the song, Houston was brought to the studio to lay down her now-iconic vocals for the single that affirmed her as a pop star. Her mother, soul singer Cissy Houston, was also present on backing vocals, and this proved something of a distraction as she wanted to watch her esteemed elder in action. However, she was implored by Griffith to step up to the mic with her, and within minutes, all present knew this was to be a hit, and the start of an illustrious career.
Griffith remembered: “I asked Whitney to sing on the background session. She was reluctant because she wanted to enjoy hearing her mother sing. I said, ‘No, get out there and sing,’ so she did. The background sounded incredible … Clive Davis heard the mix and immediately gave it a 10, which is outrageous for him, because he doesn’t like anything!”
Editors’ Picks
- 1980s Pop
- Crossover Hit
- Demo Story
- How Will I Know
- Janet Jackson
- Music Production
- Narada Michael Walden
- Pop Icon
- Songwriting
- Whitney Houston
