By Michael P Coleman
Whitney Houston fans got a surprise late last week when her estate released a cover of Steve Winwood’s & Chaka Khan’s “Higher Love,” featuring a new production bed by Norwegian DJ and producer Kygo.
That surprise was 30 years in the making.
The new single’s original, transcendent vocal was recorded with legendary producer and longtime Houston collaborator Narada Michael Walden in 1989, as the pair was working on songs for what was to be Houston’s third album, I’m Your Baby Tonight. Walden had worked with Houston since her debut album’s “How Will I Know” and had produced several hits for the singer by that time, including “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “So Emotional,” “Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” and “One Moment In Time.”
During our EXCLUSIVE conversation just after the new single’s release, Walden said he couldn’t be happier about Houston’s fans finally getting to experience the thrill he enjoyed when they recorded the song.
“I always knew in my heart and mind that one day ‘Higher Love’ would resurface, because she sang it so great,” Walden enthused. “Whitney and I were very close. We’d discuss music all of the time, we both loved ‘Higher Love,’ and we had a fun time discussing what we could do with it. So I decided to surprise her by cutting the track at my studio in San Rafael, with a full choir.”
“When I played it for Whitney, she got so thrilled and excited,” Walden continued. “She just sang like crazy! And the ending was super long. It just kept going and going and going, ‘cause she had so much spirit about it.”
“When she heard the choir come in, she went to a whole new gear, man! That’s when it really exploded! We were all elated in the studio. I’ll never forget it!”
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