(June 29, 2019) It has been over seven years since the death of legendary songstress Whitney Houston. And while some additional compilations and live performances were released soon after her tragic death, there really haven’t been many “vault” releases by her estate or Arista Records.
So it was a bit of a surprise to hear this week of the release of a brand new single of Whitney’s performance of the 80s Steve Winwood hit, “Higher Love,” fashioned by modern dance producer Kygo.
The song, recorded by Houston in 1990, was originally slated to be part of her I'm Your Baby Tonight album, but was only released overseas. Houston estate executor Pat Houston tapped Kygo (who also remixed Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” a few years ago to bring the song to life with a more modern backdrop.
(June 29, 2019) It has been over seven years since the death of legendary songstress Whitney Houston. And while some additional compilations and live performances were released soon after her tragic death, there really haven’t been many “vault” releases by her estate or Arista Records.
So it was a bit of a surprise to hear this week of the release of a brand new single of Whitney’s performance of the 80s Steve Winwood hit, “Higher Love,” fashioned by modern dance producer Kygo.
The song, recorded by Houston in 1990, was originally slated to be part of her I'm Your Baby Tonight album, but was only released overseas. Houston estate executor Pat Houston tapped Kygo (who also remixed Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” a few years ago to bring the song to life with a more modern backdrop.
Houston sounds magnificent on the cut and Kygo does a fine job of bringing the track forward (though we would have love real horns rather than synthesized ones). The song bursts from the speakers with immediacy, and reminds us of the kind of joy that Whitney Houston’s bright voice often brought us back in the day.
While songs pulled from the vaults often don’t work, we think this one is a winner. Check it out below.
Whitney Houston and Kygo
"Higher Love"