Who produced I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)?

“Who produced ‘I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)?’ Narada Michael Walden produced it.” The song became Whitney Houston’s lead single from her 1987 album Whitney and was released on May 2, 1987.

The song was written by George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam of Boy Meets Girl, who had also written Houston’s earlier hit “How Will I Know.” Arista executive Clive Davis heard the demo and chose Walden to oversee the production because of his previous work with Houston.

Walden reshaped the demo into a brighter, funkier dance-pop recording. He assembled musicians including Randy Jackson, Walter Afanasieff, Corrado Rustici and Gregory “Gigi” Gonaway, adding synthesizers, programmed percussion, bass and horns. Houston also contributed vocal arrangement ideas, including the energetic closing call-and-response section.

A common mix-up is confusing the producer with the songwriters or with Davis, who helped select the song and guided Houston’s career but did not produce the recording. Walden’s work helped turn the track into one of Houston’s signature songs and earned him the 1988 Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.