Whitney's "Greatest Love of All"
I think Whitney Houston’s song, “The Greatest Love of All�, is undervalued and underappreciated. I mean, what other song has the power of sticking in your brain so deeply that twenty years later a person is able to (out of the blue!) recite the first minute of lyrics word for word at 7:00am. And that person’s wife is also able to join in on that same crazy morning, word for word. And on top of this, both of these people mostly despise Whitney Houston and have not tried to listen to her music in over fifteen years. Clearly, this song has to be given serious “props� for its staying power.
Like Ann Powers discussed in her “Bread and Butter� article, this song (like many pop songs) somehow affected me deeply, even though on the surface I find the song overly simplistic and annoying. Powers describes how listeners are attracted to music that aligns with core parts of their identity. Maybe the message of this song connects with my same motivation for being a teacher. Whitney and teachers both “believe the children are our future.� I’m sure many teachers agree that we should “teach them well and let them lead the way.� I sure as hell want to show kids “all the beauty they possess inside�.
David Sanjek describes authenticity in his “All the Memories Money Can Buy� article. Sanjek describes the story behind the Bristol country/folk music sessions and how authenticity sometimes can be sacrificed. I think of a similar authenticity conflict when I hear the message of Whitney’s “Greatest Love of All� and then remember her trouble with drugs and Bobby Brown later in her own life. When Whitney tells us that she “decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadows� and then I remember her dependence on Bobby Brown even after he physically abused her – well, that’s a conflicting story. But then I remember her saying, “If I fail, if I succeed, at least I live as I believe� and I realized that we are all human and have faults. No matter what they took away from Whitney, they couldn’t take away her dignity.
These essential human truths are what really create the staying power of this song. Ultimately, “The Greatest Love of All� is a fight for independence. When viewed through a feminist critical approach (like the one described in our textbook), Whitney’s song is a message to all women to stand up for themselves – even in the face of domestic and drug abuse. But this song can be expanded to speak to both sexes, and I clearly feel Whitney’s message of hope and self-sufficiency ring through twenty years later (even if the lyrics are little cliché and the background music is dated and the video is cheesy). I don’t care what a music critic might say about this song; it is amazing in its power. It’s spooky to see the juxtaposition of this song’s lyrics with the knowledge of her later troubles with drugs and Bobby. Yet, this song also inspires both men and women to believe in themselves. When you set everything aside, all your preconceived biases against Whitney, and just sit and listen to this song and its lyrics, you can’t help but realize that Whitney was right all along. The greatest love of all is inside of you.
Do yourself a favor and just watch this, all the way through.