A 35th-anniversary vinyl edition of Whitney Houston released

Whitney Houston has been cited as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and remains one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with 200 million records sold worldwide.

In June, Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, and Vinyl Me, Please--in conjunction with The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, announced the 35th anniversary 2LP 12" vinyl collector's edition of Whitney Houston. This debut album launched the American music icon's superstar career.

As a special bonus for fans, the 35th-anniversary edition of Whitney Houston includes the first U.S. release of the Whitney Dancin' Special E.P./remix album (previously released only in Japan in 1986). Tracks--including How Will I Know? (Dance Remix) from Whitney Dancin' Special.

The 2LP deluxe vinyl package produced by Vinyl Me, Please includes heavyweight color vinyl and a premium gatefold jacket, housed in a foil-stamped slim case box. The 180-gram peaches and cream, swirl color, vinyl set, features the original album alongside the first U.S. pressing of Whitney Dancin' Special.

The anniversary edition includes a 40-page hardcover photo and lyric book with new essays from Pat Houston, Clive Davis, Narada Michael Walden, LaLa and others who collaborated with Whitney on the album.

In commemoration of Whitney and her enduring musical and cultural influence, The Estate of Whitney E. Houston partnered with Black Archives, an archive of Black lives researched and curated by multimedia artist Renata Cherlise. They created an inspirational lyric video for Whitney's transcendent interpretation of Greatest Love of All (a ballad originally recorded by George Benson in 1977).

The new Greatest Love of All lyric video incorporates poignant and powerful images of the everyday Black experience from around the world. There are scenes culled from Whitney's original music video to embody the beauty, joy, expression and pride within the Black community, particularly the dreams, aspirations and promise of Black youth. The video premiered in June.

Whitney Houston took 55 weeks to hit #1, but once there, spent 14 non-consecutive weeks in the top slot, one of the longest-running #1's in Billboard chart history. Whitney Houston was the best-selling album of 1986 in the United States and the first album by a female artist to earn Billboard's #1 Album of the Year (1986). The album was certified Diamond on March 16, 1999, and awarded 13x platinum status on July 29, 1999. Worldwide, Whitney Houston has sold more than 22 million copies.

Whitney Houston generated three iconic #1 singles--Saving All My Love for You, How Will I Know and Greatest Love of All. A cover of The Greatest Love of All was initially recorded in 1977 by George Benson, making it the first debut album and the first album by a solo female artist to feature three #1 singles.

In 2013, Whitney Houston was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, established by the Recording Academy's National Trustees in 1973 to honor recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance that are at least 25 years old. On January 15, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced the induction of Whitney Houston into its Class of 2020.

For more information, visit whitneyhouston.com.

The Gayly. 8/3/2020 @ 9:21 a.m. CST.