Greatest Love of All

"The Greatest Love of All" is a song written by Michael Masser and Linda Creed and originally recorded by George Benson for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest. (A live version by Benson appears on 1978's Weekend in L.A.). The song was also recorded in 1979 by Shirley Bassey, for her album "The Magic Is You".

The song was further popularized by Whitney Houston under the title "Greatest Love of All". The song was recorded by the American recording artist for her debut album, self-titled Whitney Houston, which was released in February 1985, by Arista Records.

Creed wrote the lyrics in the midst of her struggle with breast cancer. The words describe her feelings about coping with great challenges that one must face in life, being strong during those challenges whether you succeed or fail, and passing that strength on to children to carry with them into their adult lives. Creed eventually succumbed to the disease in April 1986 at the age of 37; at the time her song was an international hit by Houston.

The song became a major hit, topping the charts in Australia, Canada, and the US, while reaching the top 20 in most countries, including Italy, Sweden, and the UK. It remains her third biggest US hit, after "I Will Always Love You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".^[1] All three songs, in order of their former popularity, re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart, after Houston's death, debuting the same week at numbers 7, 35 and 41, respectively, giving Houston three posthumous chart hits.^[source?]

1. ↑ "Whitney Houston's Biggest Billboard Hits: A Look at Her Legendary Chart Career". Archived from the original on February 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2015.