I'm Every Woman

"I'm Every Woman"
Single by Chaka Khan
from the album Chaka
Released	1978
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1978
Genre	Disco, funk, R&B
Length	4:25
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson
Producer	Arif Mardin
Certification	Gold (U.S.)
Chaka Khan singles chronology
"I'm Every Woman" (1978) "Life Is a Dance" (1978)

"I'm Every Woman" is a hit song recorded by Chaka Khan in 1978. It was Chaka Khan's first hit outside of her recordings with funk band Rufus; the song was included on her platinum debut solo album Chaka. Produced by Arif Mardin and written by successful songwriting team Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the soul/disco song reached number twenty-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, number eleven on the UK Singles Chart and hit number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. On the disco chart, the single peaked at number thirty.

The single established Chaka's career outside of the group Rufus, whom she would leave after their next album Masterjam came out at the end of 1979. A music video was produced for Khan's version of "I'm Every Woman" at a time when the value of promotional films was increasing . The video, which features five dancing Chakas dressed in various outfits to represent "every woman," was made a few years before the onset of mainstream coverage of "music promos" through such outlets as MTV, VH1, and BET.

The track was remixed and re-released in 1989 for Khan's remix album Life is a Dance - The Remix Project; this mix reached number 8 in the UK. Whitney Houston (who sang backup vocals on Khan's debut album and her 1980 follow-up Naughty), would later record the song in 1992 with production by David Cole and Robert Clivillés, and vocals produced by Narada Michael Walden, turning it into a hit for a new generation.

Charts

Chart (1978)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	11
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	21
U.S. Billboard Hot Soul Singles	1
Chart (1989)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	8

Credits

• Lead and background vocals by Chaka Khan
• Background vocals by Whitney Houston, Cissy Houston, Will Lee and Hamish Stuart
• Produced by Arif Mardin

Whitney Houston version

"I'm Every Woman"
Single by Whitney Houston
from the album The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album
Released	January 2, 1993
Format	CD single, cassette single, 7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1991—1992
Genre	Dance-pop, house
Length	4:47
Label	Arista
Writer(s)	Nickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson
Producer	Narada Michael Walden, David Cole, Robert Clivillés
Certification	Gold (Australia, U.S.)
Whitney Houston singles chronology
"I Will Always Love You" (1992) "I'm Every Woman" (1993) "I Have Nothing" (1993)

Whitney Houston recorded the song for The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album. Houston's version was produced by Narada Michael Walden, with additional production by David Cole and Robert Clivillés. It was released as the soundtrack's second single in January 1993.

Release

When "I'm Every Woman" was released, Houston's preceding single, "I Will Always Love You", was still at number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 (it remained there for eight more weeks). Houston's version of "I'm Every Woman" would become a bigger hit than the original, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in just its seventh and eighth week of release; remaining in the top 40 for nineteen weeks. The song became number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, reached number five on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and cracked the top 40 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. Houston's cover was also a bigger international hit than the original version as it peaked within the top 5 in the UK and several other countries, and the top 20 in France, Australia, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

As a tribute to Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston proclaims Khan's name towards the end of the song.

Music video

The music video was directed by Randee St. Nicholas, and features a very pregnant Houston performing the song, while scenes from The Bodyguard are intercut into the clip. The video also features cameo appearances by Cissy Houston (Houston's mother), as well as by Chaka Khan, Valerie Simpson, and labelmates TLC. The song won Houston a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Music Video, and received a Grammy Award nomination in 1994 for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Formats and track listings

CD single

1. "I'm Every Woman" – 4:45
2. "Who Do You Love" – 3:55

European CD maxi-single

1. "I'm Every Woman" (7" single) – 4:44
2. "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix I) – 10:37
3. "I'm Every Woman" (a cappella mix) – 4:27

UK CD maxi-single

1. "I'm Every Woman" (7" single) – 4:44
2. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's House/Club Mix Radio Edit) – 4:40
3. "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix I) – 10:37
4. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's House/Club Mix) – 10:14
5. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's Beat) – 4:11
6. "I'm Every Woman" (a cappella mix) – 4:27

U.S. CD maxi-single

1. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's House/Club Mix Radio Edit) – 4:40
2. "I'm Every Woman" (album version) – 4:45
3. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's House/Club Mix) – 10:14
4. "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix I) – 10:37
5. "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix II) – 10:54
6. "Who Do You Love" – 3:55

U.S. 12" maxi-single

1. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's House/Club Mix) – 10:14
2. "I'm Every Woman" (Every Woman's Beat) – 4:11
3. "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix I) - 10:37
4. "I'm Every Woman" (Clivillés & Cole House Mix II) - 10:54
5. "I'm Every Woman" (The C & C Dub) – 10:03
6. "I'm Every Woman" (a cappella mix) – 4:27

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	11
Austrian Singles Chart	19
Belgian Singles Chart	2
Dutch Singles Chart	3
French Singles Chart	11
German Singles Chart	13
Ireland (IRMA)	4
Italian Singles Chart	6
New Zealand Singles Chart	5
Spain (AFYVE)	3
Swedish Singles Chart	7
Swiss Singles Chart	18
UK Singles Chart	4
US Billboard Hot 100	4
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	26
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles	4

Year-end charts

Chart (1993)	Position
Dutch Singles Chart	56
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	39
U.S. Dance/Club-Play Singles	10
U.S. Pop Singles	39
U.S. R&B Singles	35

Chart procession and succession

Preceded by "One Nation Under a Groove" Part 1 by Funkadelic	Billboard's Hot Soul Singles number one single (Chaka Khan version) November 11, 1978 – November 25, 1978	Succeeded by "Le Freak" by Chic
Preceded by "Mr. Wendal" by Arrested Development	Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single (Whitney Houston version) March 6, 1993 – March 13, 1993	Succeeded by "Love You More" by Sunscreem

Covers

• In the 1993-1994 season, an instrumental cover of this song was used as the theme song for The Oprah Winfrey Show.
• In 1999, Whitney Houston performed the hit song live as a duet with Chaka Khan on VH1 Divas.
• In 2004, Girls Aloud performed their version in a Discomania TV show.
• Tina Arena performed a duet of the song with Natasha St-Pier at La fête de la musique in Paris in early 2006.
• In 2006, it was recorded in the fifth season of American Idol by Mandisa, and put on the album American Idol Season 5: Encores.
• The song has been performed several times on American Idol; by Trenyce, Vonzell Solomon, Mandisa, Carly Smithson (for her second audition) and Lil Rounds.
• The song was performed on Australian Idol in 2005, on the Final 5 70's week, by eventual runner up Emily Williams. She scored her third touchdown from judge Mark Holden after this performance and sang a reprise of this song at the grand final of that season.
• Edyta Górniak performed the song live on the final episode of the 11th season of Polish edition of Dancing with the Stars on June 13, 2010.
• Niamh Kavanagh, Paula Seling and Chiara Siracusa covered live the song at the Romanian National Final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, on New Year's Eve.