musicman said:

You can add The Manhattan's "Just The Lonely Talkin'" to the list of remakes too.

She did that one on the Whitney album (1987)

and that's one of the best songs on that album.Her remake of the Isley's "For The Love Of You" (from that same album) is also nice.It features a dreamy,exotic production that shines.

Whitney's remake of "For The Love of You" is superb. I like it ALMOST as much as the original by the Isley's.

Cinnamon234 said:

Whitney's remake of "For The Love of You" is superb. I like it ALMOST as much as the original by the Isley's.

Really?

I think she did an ok job on the remake, but it doesn't compare to the Isley's version.

daPrettyman said:

I'm surprised you didn't know this? Whitney was kind of a remake queen. She had many remade hits:

The Greatest Love Of All

All The Man I Need

For The Love Of You

You Light up My Life

I Go To The Rock

Joy

I Will Always Love You

I'm Every Woman

and a few more I can't remember.

[Edited 7/14/11 10:38am]

I had no idea Whitney's "I Believe in You and Me" was a cover!

Regardless, I love that song.

Like most of her covers (barring things like "I'm Every Woman" and "For the Love of You"), it's an improvement on the original. Aretha may be the Queen of Covers, but I think Nippy has an even better success rate.

Harlepolis said:

Who knew?

::Waiting for Timmy to tell me he heard it when he was in his momma's womb::

I KNEW!!!!!!

was on the japan pressing of IM YOUR BABY TONIGHT

[Edited 7/15/11 18:06pm]

[Edited 7/15/11 18:08pm]

SoulAlive said:

musicman said:

You can add The Manhattan's "Just The Lonely Talkin'" to the list of remakes too.

She did that one on the Whitney album (1987)

and that's one of the best songs on that album.Her remake of the Isley's "For The Love Of You" (from that same album) is also nice.It features a dreamy,exotic production that shines.

I do like both remakes!

Thought most people knew this. She has a gift for remaking songs originally sung by men for some reason.

legendofnothing said:

Thought most people knew this. She has a gift for remaking songs originally sung by men for some reason.

I thought most people knew it was a Four Tops song also. But that's cool when people discover new things.

legendofnothing said:

Thought most people knew this. She has a gift for remaking songs originally sung by men for some reason.

Most people born after 1980 didn't know that.

Timmy84 said:

legendofnothing said:

Thought most people knew this. She has a gift for remaking songs originally sung by men for some reason.

Most people born after 1980 didn't know that.

That's kinda what I was thinking. Lots of folks on here are too young to know of The Four Tops version of "I Believe in You and Me." Personally, I prefer their version.

paisleypark4 said:

daPrettyman said:

I'm surprised you didn't know this? Whitney was kind of a remake queen. She had many remade hits:

The Greatest Love Of All

All The Man I Need

For The Love Of You

You Light up My Life

I Go To The Rock

Joy

I Will Always Love You

I'm Every Woman

and a few more I can't remember.

[Edited 7/14/11 10:38am]

[img:$uid]http://dangerouspyt.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/gif-jail-sigh-gif.gif[/img:$uid]

at the man who spent his first couple of years doing numerous covers

the first 2 or 3 Jackson 5 albums are mostly covers

daPrettyman said:

Cinnamon234 said:

Whitney's remake of "For The Love of You" is superb. I like it ALMOST as much as the original by the Isley's.

Really?

I think she did an ok job on the remake, but it doesn't compare to the Isley's version.

George Michael's cover is pretty good too

bboy87 said:

daPrettyman said:

Really?

I think she did an ok job on the remake, but it doesn't compare to the Isley's version.

George Michael's cover is pretty good too

I just recently heard his version and it was good also.

HHHWAT??? How could y'all not know this??? Both the Four Tops and the Larry Graham version were major slow jam/Quiet Storm radio staples back in the day. The Larry Graham version went on to become one of the most widely requested (and highly annoying) wedding songs ever, too.

cbarnes3121 said:

they might all be remakes but whitney redid them and made u 4get the orginal she make the song her own so does it matter hell no it does not.

To some people it does matter. Particularly when she destroys incredibly beautiful songs like I Will Always Love You, and For the Love Of You. The only thing I 4get about Whitney is when it was that she could sing her face and your face off at the same time she was so damn good.?

Whitney has always had at least one remake on all of her studio cds starting from her debut. Her gift is that of interpretation. Like one poster said she can take someone else’s song, put her stamp on it that it makes people forget that there was another version . Let’s not act as if it doesn’take supreme skill to do this because it does. When a singer sings someone elses song and can make me not hear that person’s version and focus only on the current singer’s version then that is a gift , a rare one indeed.

Other remakes by her not listed here are:

I Know him So well f/Cissy Houston- I believe that this was from the show ‘Chess’- I believe this is off the ‘Whitney’ album

I was Made to Love hIm f/ uncredited Lauryn Hill (It made the cd pressing late) – original done by Stevie Wonder- she personalizes the song by using her nickname, ‘Nip’ and the state where she was born ‘Jersey’ – from the ‘My Love is Your Love’ cd- very funky/feisty track- I’d say she gave Stevie a run for his money because she and Lauryn tore this track up.

A Song For you- on the ‘I Look to You ‘ cd- originally made famous by Donny Hathaway but written by Leon Russell- she changes it up midway to a dance tune but her definitive version was when she sung it at her WHH concert for the troops.

Step by Step – from ‘The Preacher’s Wife’ sndtrk- originally done by Annie Lennox- I think Whitney’s version is so much better.

Of course Live, she’s sung many songs by Aretha, Diana Ross, Dionne, as well as a few by Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand eg all the classic divas

I agree,it is a real 'talent' to take a song that's been done before and make it your own....making people forget the original version.Luther Vandross was a genuis at that.

^ yes, Luther was great at this. There are few singers of the 'modern' era who has this gift and who could do this effectively. I give them their propers. This is why when you see singers on AI singing Whitney you still hear her version in your head.

Or when I hear someone try to sing Luther, I still hear his version.

SoulAlive said:

I agree,it is a real 'talent' to take a song that's been done before and make it your own....making people forget the original version.Luther Vandross was a genuis at that.

It takes real talent 2 create a hit from original material even more so.

It takes talent all around but what good if you can write a song and it doesn't hit or connect with people . Yes it took talent to write it and just as much or more to take that person's song, embue yourself and interpretation in it and have people respond to it where it becomes a huge hit or where people don't recall the original.

Writing a song and singing the original version for most is not a singular effort, there are writers, some of whom just write the lyrics and need input from producers etc and/or folks who come up with the melodies and the music.

They are all very talented but because soemone didn't write the song and they made it their own should not be dismissed at all. I personally think it takes just as much or more talent to do.

Graycap23 said:

SoulAlive said:

I agree,it is a real 'talent' to take a song that's been done before and make it your own....making people forget the original version.Luther Vandross was a genuis at that.

It takes real talent 2 create a hit from original material even more so.

That's true, but a song is all about intrepretation. For instance, Chaka's "I Feel For You" kills Prince's version. The same goes for Stevie's "Until You Come Back To Me." Aretha's version outshines Stevie's anyday.

In the case of Whitney, I think she has done some great covers, however, people credit her with "The Greatest Love of All," but George Benson's version is nice, but she blew his out of the water.

daPrettyman said:

Graycap23 said:

It takes real talent 2 create a hit from original material even more so.

That's true, but a song is all about intrepretation. For instance, Chaka's "I Feel For You" kills Prince's version. The same goes for Stevie's "Until You Come Back To Me." Aretha's version outshines Stevie's anyday.

In the case of Whitney, I think she has done some great covers, however, people credit her with "The Greatest Love of All," but George Benson's version is nice, but she blew his out of the water.

In my opinion, it is earsier 2 start with a song that already exist and make it better, then 2 create an original.

Graycap23 said:

daPrettyman said:

That's true, but a song is all about intrepretation. For instance, Chaka's "I Feel For You" kills Prince's version. The same goes for Stevie's "Until You Come Back To Me." Aretha's version outshines Stevie's anyday.

In the case of Whitney, I think she has done some great covers, however, people credit her with "The Greatest Love of All," but George Benson's version is nice, but she blew his out of the water.

In my opinion, it is earsier 2 start with a song that already exist and make it better, then 2 create an original.

In some cases, I say yes. IE: If an artist needs a song to fill a space on an album. But in certain cases, remakes are for the better.

Especially in the case of a lot of Motown artists. Many of them recorded each others songs. Norman Whitfield was known for trying out the same song on different artists (Friendship Train, Smiling Faces, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, etc.). I think he did that because he had different arrangements in mind and wanted to try them out on different artists. Some were hits, some weren't.

daPrettyman said:

Graycap23 said:

It takes real talent 2 create a hit from original material even more so.

That's true, but a song is all about intrepretation. For instance, Chaka's "I Feel For You" kills Prince's version. The same goes for Stevie's "Until You Come Back To Me." Aretha's version outshines Stevie's anyday.

In the case of Whitney, I think she has done some great covers, however, people credit her with "The Greatest Love of All," but George Benson's version is nice, but she blew his out of the water.

I prefer Stevie's version. One of my all-time favorite vocal performances from him. FWIW, I absolutely love Aretha's too.

AlexdeParis said:

daPrettyman said:

That's true, but a song is all about intrepretation. For instance, Chaka's "I Feel For You" kills Prince's version. The same goes for Stevie's "Until You Come Back To Me." Aretha's version outshines Stevie's anyday.

In the case of Whitney, I think she has done some great covers, however, people credit her with "The Greatest Love of All," but George Benson's version is nice, but she blew his out of the water.

I prefer Stevie's version. One of my all-time favorite vocal performances from him. FWIW, I absolutely love Aretha's too.

Stevie and Aretha's versions of the song hold different feelings for me.

Stevie's kinda dark and melancholy while Aretha's upbeat and a bit more confident.

AlexdeParis said:

daPrettyman said:

That's true, but a song is all about intrepretation. For instance, Chaka's "I Feel For You" kills Prince's version. The same goes for Stevie's "Until You Come Back To Me." Aretha's version outshines Stevie's anyday.

In the case of Whitney, I think she has done some great covers, however, people credit her with "The Greatest Love of All," but George Benson's version is nice, but she blew his out of the water.

I prefer Stevie's version. One of my all-time favorite vocal performances from him. FWIW, I absolutely love Aretha's too.

Stevie has said in interviews that he thinks his version is ok, but he thinks Aretha took it to another level. I'm sure some of that may have to do with the amount of money he made off of it too.