| Whitney's
lifelong dream of creating a pop/gospel album was
realized in November 1996, when Arista released the
original motion picture soundtrack album for The
Preacher's Wife, the biggest selling gospel album in
Billboard chart history. Nurtured by her mother,
R&B/gospel star Cissy Houston (an original member
of the Sweet Inspirations) and her legendary cousin
Dionne Warwick, Whitney's passion for gospel music
has been there since birth. Her collaboration with an
extraordinary roster of producers and artists resulted
in one of the most unique albums to date. Whitney sang
lead vocals on 14 of the album's 15 tracks,
including the beautiful first single "I Believe
In You And Me," "Step By Step" (written
by Annie Lennox), and two songs produced by Grammy
award-winner Babyface. In addition, Cissy Houston sang
solo on a special track, "The Lord Is My
Shepherd," in which she turned the familiar 23rd
Psalm into a spiritually touching song by adding music
to the standard prayer. The gospel-driven tracks on
the album were co-produced by Whitney and Grammy/Dove
award winner Mervyn Warren (Sister Act I and Sister
Act II). Other luminaries on the album included
Shirley Caesar and the Georgia Mass Choir. |
