Did you know that Whitney Houston’s ‘Whitney’ LP was the first album by a female artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200?

‘Whitney’ entered the Billboard 200 at #1 during the week of June 27th 1987. The record held the top slot for its first 11 weeks on the chart and remained in the top 10 for 31 weeks consecutive frames until January 23rd 1988.

Throughout her career, Houston scored 4 #1 albums – ‘Whitney Houston’, ‘Whitney’, ‘The Bodyguard’ soundtrack and ‘I Look To You’ – on the Billboard 200 and notched a cumulative total of 46 weeks at the chart summit. No other female artist has matched that total figure.

In honor of Houston’s legacy, let’s reflect on our 10 previous Music Minute features discussing her amazing career:

Did you know that Whitney Houston sang background vocals on the original version of Chaka Khan’s first solo hit, ‘I’m Every Woman’? Read more here!

Did you know that Whitney Houston was the first artist to be given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards? Read more here!

Did you know that Whitney Houston had the #1 song on the Pop and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts as well as the #1 album on the Pop and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts in 1993? Read more here!

Did you know that when Whitney Houston was denied a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist it caused major industry controversy? Read more here!

Did you know that Whitney Houston and Madonna were tied for the most #1 singles by a female artist in the 1980s? Read more here!

Did you know that Whitney Houston is the only female artist to have 3 albums spend a minimum of 10 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200? Read more here!

Did you know that Whitney Houston’s monster hit ‘Greatest Love of All’ is actually a cover? Read more here!

*Did you know that if Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ climbs to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 then she we will have as many #1 singles as Whitney Houston? Read more here!

Did you know that Aretha Franklin is Whitney Houston’s godmother? Read more here!

Did you know that Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ was only ranked at #68 among the 100 most successful songs on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 50-year period of 1958 to 2008? Read more here!

*Note: Rihanna’s ‘We Found Love’ eventually hit #1 on the Hot 100, thus matching her total number of chart-toppers with Houston.

Finally, watch Houston perform the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ from the ‘Whitney’ album below:

Now you know!