(Note: Whitney Houston died Saturday, Feb. 11 at age 48.)

Though she brought inimitable talent, strong pedigree and the enthusiasm of Clive Davis to her first recording sessions, [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Whitney Houston[/lastfm] initially wasn’t of interest to a lot of A-list producers. But Davis and Houston forged on and created the biggest-selling debut album in history for a female artist at the time.

It was well-known producer Kashif who finally got the ball rolling when he laid down a demo of the hit “You Give Good Love.” From there, other notable knob twiddlers like Michael Masser, Jermaine Jackson and Michael Narada Walden signed on and the album — an expensive $250,000 production — started to come together.

The slow gestation of Whitney Houston paid off: “You Give Good Love” hit #3, three other cuts wet to #1 and the album won or was nominated for more awards that can be listed here.

To date, Whitney Houston’s debut has sold 13 million copies in the US alone.

[metrolyrics artist="Whitney Houston" song="You Give Good Love"]

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