Giving You the Best That I Got (album)

Giving You the Best That I Got
Studio album by Anita Baker
Released	October 18, 1988
Recorded	1988 at Encore Studio; Yamaha International Recording; Sound Suite; Hitsville; TMF; Gnome Studios
Genre	R&B soul jazz quiet storm
Length	34:33
Label	Elektra
Producer	Michael J. Powell
Anita Baker chronology
Rapture (1986) Giving You the Best That I Got (1988) Compositions (1990)
Singles from Giving You the Best That I Got
"Giving You the Best That I Got" Released: September 27, 1988 "Just Because" Released: January 1989

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C+ [2]

Giving You the Best That I Got is the third album by the American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker. It was Baker's first and only #1 Pop album in the US, the second #1 R&B Album, and was certified 3x platinum in 1989 by the RIAA.

The title track was released as the first single from the album and became Baker's highest charting single in the US, peaking at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album also earned Baker three Grammy Awards and three Soul Train Music Awards.

Track listing

1. "Priceless" (Garry Glenn) 5:00
2. "Lead Me into Love" (Steve Lane, Larry Prentiss) 4:45
3. "Giving You the Best That I Got" (Baker, Randy Holland, Skip Scarborough) 4:18
4. "Good Love" (Gary Taylor) 5:39
5. "Rules" (Graham Lamb, Phil Nicholl, Maggie Ryder) 3:52
6. "Good Enough" (Baker, James McBride) 4:50
7. "Just Because" (Alex Brown, Sammy McKinney, Michael O'Hara) 5:13
8. "You Belong to Me" (Terry Britten, Billy Livsey, Graham Lyle) 3:43

Reception

The album peaked at number two in Jet magazine's top 20 for three weeks between February 6 and 20, 1989,^[3][4][5] and again on the week of March 13, 1989.^[6] Alex Henderson of AllMusic rated the album four points out of five, calling it not "on the par with" Baker's previous albums but better than most of R&B albums released in 1988.^[7]

"Just Because" hit number one in Jet magazine's top 20 singles on weeks of March 13, 20, and 27, 1989.^[6][8][9] The song peaked at number one on the Hot Black Singles, making it Baker's second number one and also made the Top 40, peaking at number fourteen.^[10] It has been described as a wedding reception favorite.^[11]

"Lead Me into Love" peaked at number six in Jet magazine's top 20 singles on weeks of June 5 and 12, 1989.^[12][13] It peaked at number four on the Hot Black Singles.^[10]

Production

• Executive Producer: Anita Baker
• Produced By Michael J. Powell
• Mixed & Engineered By Nick Viterelli, Elliot Peters, Bruce Nazarian, Milton Chan, Craig Burbridge, Mike Brown
• Mastered By Bernie Grundman
• A&R By Raoul Roach

Personnel

• Anita Baker: Lead Vocals (All Tracks), Background Vocals (Tracks 4-5), Executive Producer, Background Vocal Arrangements (Track 5)
• Gerald Albright (Track 6), Reverend Dave Boruff (Track 8), Courtlen Hale: Saxophone
• Reverend Dave Boruff (Tracks 1, 8), Robbie Buchanan (Tracks 1-2, 5, 7), Sonny Burke (Track 8), George Duke (Track 2), Vernon D. Fails (Tracks 1-4, 6), Sir Gant (Tracks 3, 6), Bobby Lyle (Track 2), Patrick Moten (Track 8), Bruce Nazarian (Track 6), Peter Schwartz (Track 5), David Spradley, Gary Taylor (Track 4), Neal Walker (Track 8): Keyboards, Piano, Synthesizer
• Nathan East: Bass (Tracks 1-3, 5-7)
• Chuck Findley: Trumpet (Track 8)
• Donnie Lyle (Track 4), Paul Jackson, Jr. (Tracks 1-2, 5, 7), Kevin Moore, Michael J. Powell (Tracks 1-2, 4-5, 8): Guitars
• Omar Hakim (Tracks 1-3, 6), Joseph Vitarelli, Paulinho Da Costa (Tracks 1-3, 5-6): Drums, Percussion
• The Perri Sisters - Carol Perri (Track 2), Lori Perri (Tracks 2, 7), Darlene Perri (Track 2), Sharon Perri (Track 2) -background vocals

Charts

Chart (1988)	Peak position[14][15]
US Billboard 200	1
US Billboard Top R&B Albums	1
UK Album Chart	9

Singles

Year	Title	US Pop[16]	US R&B[17][18]	US AC[19]
1988	"Giving You the Best That I Got"	3	1	1
	"Just Because"	14	1	4
1989	"Lead Me into Love"	-	4	32

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1988 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B albums of 1989 (U.S.)
• List of number-one albums of 1988 (U.S.)
• List of number-one albums of 1989 (U.S.)

References

1. Henderson, Alex. Giving You the Best That I Got > review at AllMusic. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
2. Christgau, Robert. "Giving You the Best That I Got > review". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
3. Jet, February 6, 1989. p. 63
4. Jet, February 13, 1989. p. 63.
5. Jet, February 20, 1989, p. 63.
6. Jet, March 13, 1989. p. 64
7. All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul, p. 30
8. Jet, March 20, 1989. p. 64.
9. Jet, March 27, 1989. p. 64
10. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 43.
11. Anastasio, Janet; et al. (2000). The Everything Wedding Checklist (rev. and exp. 2nd ed.). Avon, Mass.: Adams Media. p. 148. ISBN 1580624561. Retrieved 2016-05-08.
12. Jet, June 5, 1989. p. 65
13. Jet, June 12, 1989. p. 65
14. Anita Baker Albums chart history.www.billboard.com
15. Anita Baker R&B Albums chart history.www.billboard.com
16. Anita Baker Singles chart history.www.billboard.com
17. Anita Baker R&B Singles chart history.www.billboard.com
18. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 43.
19. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 27.