All the Man That I Need

"All the Man That I Need" was originally written in 1981, by Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. They had Linda Clifford in mind when they wrote the song, having written the song "Red Light" from Fame for her in 1980.[2] Clifford recorded her version of the song, "All the Man I Need," for her 1982 album I'll Keep on Loving You. She released it as a single, but it failed to chart.[2]

Pitchford later stated that although different versions of the song were recorded, no one was scoring a major hit with it: "I figured that it was one of those songs that was going to get cut a number of times and not ever have its day," he said.[2] During a dinner with Arista Records' president Clive Davis, the song came up and Davis asked Pitchford to send him a demo. Davis had just finished working with Whitney Houston as the executive producer of her second album, Whitney (1987).[2]

Although he was impressed by the song, he felt they would be unable to do anything with it at that time as Houston had only just finished recording an album, so it would be some time before she would be returning to the studio. During this period, Pitchford's publishers received several requests from other artists wishing to record the song. Houston eventually recorded it for the album I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990).[2]

"All the Man That I Need" is an R&B song with gospel influences. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing, the song is written in the key of F minor with a key change to the key of F-sharp minor.[3] The beat is set in common time, and moves at a slow tempo of 76 beats per minute.[3] It has the sequence of B♭m–Fm–E♭–E♭/D♭–D♭–Cm₇ as its chord progression.[3] Houston's vocals in the song span from the note of C♯₄ to the note of A₅, while the piano elements range from the note of B♭₁ to the high note of F♯₅ .[3] Stephen Holden of The New York Times, wrote that the song was an "expression of sexual hero worship."[4] The song also features a saxophone solo by American recording artist Kenny G.[5]

Released in December 1990, "All the Man That I Need" entered the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart at number 53, the issue dated December 22, 1990.[6] Ten weeks later, on the issue dated February 23, 1991, it ascended to the top of the chart, becoming Houston's ninth number-one on the chart.[7] It stayed atop the chart for two weeks.[8] It also topped the Hot 100 Singles Sales and Hot 100 Airplay charts, her first song to achieve this feat since "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" in 1988. It enjoyed a seven week run in the top ten of the chart, which was one week shorter than that of the album's lead single "I'm Your Baby Tonight."[1] The song also helped Houston in becoming the first and only artist to launch multiple number one singles off their first three albums. The single entered the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (formerly Hot R&B Singles) at number 58, the same week it debuted on the Hot 100.[9] It later peaked at number one on the chart, the issue date of March 2, 1991, making it Houston's fifth R&B number-one hit.[10] When it hit the pole position of the R&B chart, the single spent its second and third week at the top of the Hot 100 and Hot Adult Contemporary charts, respectively.[11] As a result, it became her first single topped simultaneously all of three different Billboard charts — the Hot 100, Hot R&B, and Hot Adult Contemporary — and overall the third triple-crown hit, after 1985's "Saving All My Love for You" and 1986's "How Will I Know," reached the top spot on those of three charts in separate weeks.[12] The song maintained the top position of the Adult Contemporary chart for four weeks, her second-longest stay on the chart.[13] It was ranked number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End chart for 1991.[14] The single was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 copies or more on March 21, 1991.[15] In Canada, the song debuted at 90 on the RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks chart.[16] Seven weeks later, it peaked at number one on the chart and stayed there for a week.[17]

Internationally, the song experienced some success. It went to number-one in Canada. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 27, the week ending date of December 22, 1990, and peaked at number 13 on January 19, 1991, in that country.[18][19] According to The Official Charts Company, the single has sold 120,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[20] It also reached number 16 in Ireland,[21] 11 in Netherlands,[22] 21 in Austria,[23] and 28 in France.[24] The song also peaked at number 37 in Germany,[25] 36 in New Zealand,[26] and 28 in Switzerland.[27]

"All the Man That I Need" was nominated for "Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female," Houston's fifth nomination for the category, at the 34th Grammy Awards on February 26, 1992.[28] The song was also nominated for "Best R&B/Soul Single, Female" at the 6th Soul Train Music Awards on March 10, 1992.[29]

"All the Man That I Need" garnered mainly positive reviews from music critics. Larry Flick from Billboard complimented it as a "shimmering jazz-and gospel-inflected ballad", and stated that it "fully demonstrates Houston's vocal beauty".[30] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune was also positive in his review, writing that through the song, Houston was providing "soundtrack to a million love affairs."[31] A reviewer from Melody Maker said, "She really sounds as if she means it and the chorus is more than suitably sumptuous and soaring and shouty so it really ought to be Number One all over the world by Chrimbo."[32] Pan-European magazine Music & Media declared the song as a "staggering gospel-tinged ballad with an overwhelming build-up in the chorus."[33] A reviewer from Music Week commented, "Another sterling performance from Whitney, on a slightly sub-standard song. Nevertheless, a high chart placing seems inevitable."[34] The New York Times' Stephen Holden was also positive in his review, viewing the song as a "hunk of gargantuan pop bombast swathed in echo and glitzy astral twinkles."[4] People Magazine's editor described it as "an effective, down-tempo change of pace".[35] James Hunter from Rolling Stone called it "an outsize ballad about poverty and damaged self-regard, so expertly that the song, with its effective whiff of Spanish guitar, stages undeniable pop drama."[36]

About.com ranked "All the Man That I Need" number four in their list of "Top 20 Best Whitney Houston Songs" in 2018, noting that it has "a prominent gospel choir in the final chorus."[37] In an 2020 retrospective review, Matthew Hocter from Albumism described it as "a power ballad bringing some serious drama".[38] AllMusic's Ashley S. Battel said that the song is one of "the two high points she does reach on this album [I'm Your Baby Tonight]", and added "the uplifting tale of another's [sic] love being enough to provide happiness in [the song]."[39]

The accompanying music video for "All the Man That I Need" was directed by Peter Israelson.[40] The video begins with Houston, donning a curly hairstyle, and wearing a black turtleneck, with her initials "WH" embroidered on it, standing against a wall in a house. She then moves forward in the room, and sits on a chair, singing her lines looking into the camera. The video then switches into another room in the house with all white furniture, including a bed, wardrobe, and grand piano, in which Houston sings. She then moves outside on the balcony, where it is raining. After that scene, she is now seen performing, accompanied by a children's choir, on a stage, in front of an audience at some sort of program. The video ends with Houston finishing the performance, with her outline shown online.

Houston performing "All the Man That I Need" on Saturday Night Live on February 23, 1991.

Houston performed the song on three of her regional and two world tours. She premiered the song in January 1990, during her Feels So Right Japan Tour, before the release of I'm Your Baby Tonight. The song was performed in 1991 in the Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston concert, and is included on the concert film, taped in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31, 1991.[41] This performance was also included in the 2014 CD/DVD release, Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances.[42]

The song was also performed on her third world tour, I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour. Two different performances of the song on this tour were taped in Yokohama, Japan, on March 15, 1991[43] and in A Coruña, Spain, on September 29, 1991.[44] The former was broadcast on Japanese TV channel. The latter was aired on Spanish TV channel, and in the United States, her first hourlong TV special, "Whitney Houston: This Is My Life," on ABC TV, dated May 6, 1992.[45]

Two years later on The Bodyguard World Tour (1993–94), she performed the song as a final part of "Love Medley," along with "I Love You," "All at Once," "Nobody Love Me Like You Do," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go." Four different performances of the song were taped and broadcast on each country's TV channel during South American leg of the tour in 1994: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 16, during Hollywood Rock festival; Santiago, Chile on April 14; Buenos Aires, Argentina on April 16; and Caracas, Venezuela on April 21.[46][47][48] Houston also performed the song on two of her regional tours, The Pacific Rim Tour (1997) and The European Tour (1998).

Besides her tour performances of the song, she performed the song on various TV shows and the concerts. On December 11, 1990, Houston appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guest host: Jay Leno) and performed the song to accompaniment of her tour band.[49] She also performed the song at The Arsenio Hall Show, and Saturday Night Live on February 23, 1991, which was her first appearance on the show.[50]

"All the Man That I Need" was performed as a part of medley by Houston at the 2nd Billboard Music Awards on December 9, 1991.[51] The medley consisted of two Billie Holiday's classics―"Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" and "My Man"―and the song. In 1996, she performed the song at Brunei: The Royal Wedding Celebration, a private gig for the wedding of Princess Rashidah, the eldest daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.

In 1982, the American musical group Sister Sledge recorded another version of the song as "All the Man I Need" as a duet with the singer David Simmons, on the Sister Sledge album 'The Sisters' (1982).[2] Their version failed to make a large impact on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached a moderate peak of number forty-five on the Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart.[52][53]

In 1994, Luther Vandross (who made the arrangements of the original Linda Clifford version) included his own version, "All the Woman I Need" on his album Songs. He performed the song at the 2001 BET Awards, in honor of Houston.[54]

• GER Maxi-Single[55]

1. "All the Man That I Need" — 4:11
2. "Dancin' on the Smooth Edge" — 5:50
3. "Greatest Love of All (Live) — 7:30

• US CD-Single[56]

1. "All the Man That I Need" — 4:11

• List of RPM number-one singles of 1991
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1991 (U.S.)
• List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1991
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1991 (U.S.)

• All the Man That I Need at Discogs
• Sister Sledge - All the Man That I Need on YouTube
• Whitney Houston - All the Man That I Need on YouTube