Who put out the hit single "Didn't We Almost Have It All" in 1987?

Whitney Houston put out the hit single "Didn't We Almost Have It All" in 1987. The power ballad was recorded for her second studio album, Whitney, and released as the album's second single by Arista Records in July 1987.

The song was written by Michael Masser and Will Jennings, with Masser producing and Houston arranging her own vocal part. It was not initially expected to be the album's follow-up single: Houston had recorded a version of the Isley Brothers' "For the Love of You," but label president Clive Davis chose the original Masser-Jennings composition instead.

The decision paid off commercially. "Didn't We Almost Have It All" became Houston's fifth consecutive No. 1 single on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, remaining at the top for two weeks. It also earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards. Listeners sometimes confuse the performer with the writers, but Whitney Houston is the canonical answer because she is the artist who recorded and released the hit single.