All The Man That I Need

"All the Man That I Need" is a song written by American songwriters Dean Pitchford and Michael Gore. The song was first recorded by Linda Clifford in 1982, for her album I'll Keep on Loving You. Pitchford and Gore (who wrote the song "Red Light" from Fame for her in 1980) had in mind Clifford and her husband when they wrote the song. It was later recorded and released as a single by the musical group Sister Sledge. Their version reached number 45 on the United States Billboard R&B Singles chart. Later, in 1989, American recording artist Whitney Houston recorded her version and subsequently released it as a single in 1990. Her version featured production from Narada Michael Walden. In 1994, Luther Vandross (who made the arrangements of the original Linda Clifford version) included his own version, "All the Woman That I Need" on his album "Songs". Musically, the song is an R&B number, and the lyrics speak about a special one.

Houston's version became a major hit, received mainly positive reviews from music critics, and reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart; it remains as her fourth biggest hit in that chart. It also peaked at number one on the Billboard R&B Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. Elsewhere, the song reached number one in Canada, while peaking within the top 20 in Ireland, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, while reaching the top 40 in countries like Austria, France, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland.

Houston performed the song on her Feels So Right Tour (1990), I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour (1991), The Bodyguard World Tour (1993-94), The Pacific Rim Tour (1997), and The European Tour (1998). She has also performed the song on many other appearances including the televised concert Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston, dedicated to the troops, their families, and military and government dignitaries in honor of those returning from the Gulf War. She later performed the song on Hollywood Rock festival and other shows.