The Greatest Love World Tour
| Tour by Whitney Houston | |
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| Associated album | Whitney Houston |
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| Start date | July 26, 1986 |
| End date | December 1, 1986 |
| Legs | 4 |
| No. of shows | 35 in North America 5 in Europe 7 in Japan 3 in Oceania 50 in total |
| Box office | $5 million |
| Whitney Houston concert chronology | |
The Greatest Love World Tour is a concert tour and the first worldwide tour by American R&B/pop singer Whitney Houston, in support of her successful multi-platinum debut album Whitney Houston. The four-month tour began in North America on July 26, 1986 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion with an itinerary that included visits in Europe, Japan and Australia.
Houston's debut album was released in early 1985 and she performed at various clubs to promote the album. Following the success of the hit single "You Give Good Love", Houston became the opening act for singers' Luther Vandross and Jeffrey Osborne on their individual 1985 US tours. After the next single, "Saving All My Love For You" became Houston's first #1 in the US, she began headlining her own shows, playing at various American theaters, festivals, and clubs throughout the summer and fall of 1985. With more #1 hits on the way, and Houston's album at the top of the album charts, she would become a household name. She then embarked on her first worldwide tour, the successful The Greatest Love Tour. The tour started in North America during the summer of 1986, before heading to Europe, Japan, Australia and back to USA for a final show in Hawaii during the fall.
Setlist
Notes
Tour dates
The show consisted of Houston on a fringed round stage in the center of the arena/theater with a 9-piece band playing and four backup vocalists behind her. There were no costume changes or background dancers. Brother Gary Garland would replace Jermaine Jackson and Teddy Pendergrass on the duets. A young Washington, DC comedian Sylvia Traymore Morrison,(1st African American Female Impressionist), opened the show and did hilarious impressions of such stars as Dionne Warwick, Tina Turner, Cher and others.
While on her first global tour, Houston revealed she was a creative musician; rearranging most of the songs during her shows and sometimes deviating from the album's version. In "You Give Good Love", Houston would slow it down and emphazise the soulful elements of the song, treating it like a gospel number while breaking it down with her background singers. During "Saving All My Love", Houston arranged the song into a bluesy jazz number that recalled Billie Holiday. Houston often scatted with sax player Josh Harris during the end of the song. Many critics noted "He/I Believe" and "I Am Changing" as the show's highlights. The former is a song she learned from her mother which joins the gospel songs "He Is" with "I Believe". The latter is a cover of the show Jennifer Holliday's show stopping Dreamgirls song. After opening the show with a tease of the anthemic "Greatest Love of All", Houston closed out the show with a slowed down soulful version of the song.
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