Whitney Houston, Run To You | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

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In the 161^st edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Run To You” by the late, great Whitney Houston.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez ! Throwback Vibez is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past. The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils ! All genres of music are welcome. In the 161^st edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Run To You”, performed by Whitney Houston.

“I know that when you look at me / There’s so much that you just don’t see.” True, you truly cannot judge a book by its cover. There are so many things that are invisible to the eyes. The late, great Grammy-winning icon Whitney Houston adds in the in the first verse of The Bodyguard standout, “Run To You”, “Can’t you see the hurt in me? / I feel so all alone.” Ah, those layers that aren’t seen. So, what’s the answer? How is this quandary solved? Well, in the chorus, the crème de la crème of this gorgeous, underrated ballad penned by Jud Friedman and Allan Rich, Houston asserts, expressively:

“I wanna run to you

I wanna run to you

Won’t you hold me in your arms

And keep me safe from harm?

I wanna run to you

But if I come to you

Tell me, will you stay

Or will you run away?”

Love, love, love! “Run To You,” the fourth single from The Bodyguard soundtrack is a love song.

Sadly, “Run To You” was not one of Houston’s biggest hits . It did reach the top-40, though merely peaked at no. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. Even so, in 2019, the RIAA certified the single gold – not too shabby! As always, Whitney’s voice is utterly sublime – expressive, nuanced, refined, sophisticated, and most of all, celestial. Backed by production courtesy of David Foster, she is on autopilot. “I need you here / I need you here to wipe away my tears / To kiss away my fears.” Sigh. An artist the caliber of Whitney Houston is only once in a lifetime. Even on a lesser gem like “Run To You”, she shows why she’s considered a musical icon.