US Summer Tour


The US Summer Tour was the debut promotional tour of American singer Whitney Houston, designed to promote her debut album Whitney Houston, released on February 14, 1985. The tour took place in multiple theaters, festivals, and clubs around the United States throughout the summer and fall between June 3 and December 1, 1985.

Background

Houston released her self-titled debut album in February 1985 and first began promoting the album through performing at nightclubs all across the country, starting at one of her old haunts, Manhattan's Sweetwaters jazz club, one of many venues her mother Cissy regularly performed at and at which Houston was discovered by her label head and mentor Clive Davis, who signed her to his label Arista roughly two years prior.
After Sweetwaters, Houston performed at other nightclubs, including Los Angeles' Roxy Theatre in May while also promoting her album on national TV shows in both her native United States and in Europe. That month, her first leading single, "You Give Good Love", peaked at number one on the Hot Black Singles chart. Not too long afterwards, it was announced that Houston would open for American singer Jeffrey Osborne on his national US tour at the end of June. Houston had recorded Osborne's composition, "All at Once", on her debut. Not too long after joining Osborne's tour, Houston started getting rave reviews for her performances.
Around August, just as her second single, "Saving All My Love for You", was being promoted by her label, Houston joined longtime friend Luther Vandross' The Night I Fell In Love Tour on a few selected dates. By the end of August, as her debut album hit the top ten of the Billboard 200, it was decided by Houston's management, which was led by Gene Harvey, that Houston would begin headlining her own shows since her fame was starting to outgrow that of Osborne and Vandross.
Houston's first headlining show was at Humphrey's in San Diego for two shows on August 28. On October 28, two days after "Saving All My Love for You" topped the Billboard Hot 100, Houston gave the first of two sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall before heading back to London where she filmed the music video for "How Will I Know" in early November before returning to the States where she eventually finished her tour at the Universal Amphitheater in California on December 1.

Set list

  1. "Greatest Love of All"
  2. "Love Will Find a Way"
  3. "Someone for Me"
  4. "You Give Good Love"
  5. "All at Once"
  6. "Thinking About You"
  7. "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do"
  8. "How Will I Know"
  9. "Saving All My Love for You"
Notes
  • Houston's set also included "I Am Changing" and "Home" which was often performed at select venues.
  • August 28: in San Diego, Houston's opening act was comedian Roseanne Barr.
  • October 26: Houston performed at Disney World's 'On Stage' event at the Skyleidsocope, on October 28: at Carnegie Hall, she performed "A Brand New Day" from the film The Wiz, after opening with "Greatest Love of All". She also performed "I Am Changing" from the broadway musical Dreamgirls.
  • November 20: at Carnegie Hall, Houston performed "I Am Changing", and closed show with the final encore, "Home" from the musical The Wiz.
  • November 24: in Houston, she performed two additional duets with brother Gary Houston; "Hold Me" and "Take Good Care of My Heart".

    Shows

Personnel

Band