# Love Will Save the Day

"Love Will Save the Day" is a song recorded by American singer Whitney Houston from her second diamond studio album Whitney (1987). The song was released in May 1988 by Arista Records as the album's fifth single. The song did not have a music video but was still successful, climbing into the US top ten. Written by Toni C and produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez, it is one of the uptempo singles on the album that also includes "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "So Emotional".

## Critical reception

Los Angeles Times editor Robert Hilburn described the song as a "hollow dance track that tries to mix social comment with dance-floor vigor." Rolling Stone's Vince Alleti wrote: "Jellybean clicks neatly with "Love Will Save the Day," the only song to even remotely acknowledge the problems of the world at large and the most vivaciously percussive track on the record." Whitney fanpage described this song as Latin influenced, sparkling song. St. Petersburg Times editors Eric Snider and Annelise Wamsley described Love Will Save the Day: "a unique tune on an extremely mainstream album. Its lively Afro-Cuban flavor, driven by a wall of clattering percussion, is truly joyous."

## Chart performance

At the time, Whitney Houston had achieved a record-breaking string of seven consecutive number-one hits, with four of those number-ones from her current album Whitney. "Love Will Save the Day" did not become Houston's eighth consecutive number one, but continued her trend of hit singles by peaking in the US top 10. The song also made the top 10 without an accompanying music video.
The song remained in the top 40 for 11 weeks, and reached #5 on the US R&B chart, and #1 on the Hot Club/Dance Play Tracks chart. On the Billboard singles chart, the song debuted at #52 on the July 2, 1988 issue; after five weeks it reached and peaked at #9, staying there for two weeks and staying on the top 10 of the chart for four weeks. The single remained on the chart for a total of ten weeks.
In the Netherlands it reached number 6, number 10 in the United Kingdom, and the top 20 in Switzerland.
After her death in 2012, Entertainment Weekly ranked the song #20 on its "Whitney Houston: Her 25 Best Songs" list and stated: "the Miami bass and spicy horns on this high-BPM (beats per minute) dance-pop workout pointed to Houston's willingness to experiment and evolve."

## Track listings and formats

Versions
* Extended remix – 7:58
* Extended remix edit – 6:55
* 7" version – 4:22
* 12" version – 5:21
* 12" version (instrumental) – 5:21 (not released)
* Acappella – 5:14
* Dub Will Save the Day – 4:58
* Jellybean remix – 7:28
* The Underground mix – 7:30
* The Underground edit – 5:40
* Dub – 6:00
* Instrumental dub – 6:00

## Personnel

* Executive producer – Clive Davis
* Produced by John "Jellybean" Benitez
* Arranged by Jack Waldman and Toni C.
* Vocals arranged by Whitney Houston
* Engineered by Doc Dougherty and Michael Hutchinson
* Additional engineering by Dennis McKay
* Mix engineer by Michael Hutchinson
* Written by Toni C.
* Jellybean – drum programming
* Linden Aaron – Simmons toms
* Jack Waldman, Fred Zarr – synths
* Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar
* Roy Ayers – vibes
* Paulinho da Costa, Bashiri Johnson, Sammy Figueroa – percussion
* Background vocals – Whitney Houston