Which Whitney Houston song was a cover of a Chaka Khan hit?

“I'm Every Woman” was the Whitney Houston song that covered a Chaka Khan hit. Houston recorded it for The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album, released in 1992 alongside music from her first major film role.

The original was Chaka Khan's 1978 recording, written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Houston had admired Khan since childhood and had even worked as a teenage background vocalist on Khan's music before becoming a star herself.

Houston's version was produced by Narada Michael Walden, with additional production from David Cole and Robert Clivillés of C+C Music Factory. It became a major part of Houston's live repertoire and helped connect her pop-soul sound with the dance-oriented energy of the original.

A common mix-up is assuming that every famous song on The Bodyguard soundtrack was written for Houston. “I Will Always Love You,” for example, was a cover of Dolly Parton's song, while “I'm Every Woman” specifically traces back to Khan's 1978 hit.