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Giving You the Best That I Got is the third album by American R&B/soul singer Anita Baker, released in 1988. It was Baker's first and only #1 Pop album in the US, her 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 earned Baker three Grammy Awards and three Soul Train Music Awards.

Giving You the Best That I Got
Studio album by Anita Baker
Released	October 18, 1988
Recorded	1988
Studio	Encore Studio; Yamaha International Recording; Sound Suite; Hitsville; TMF; Gnome Studios
Genre	R&B soul jazz
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 "Lead Me into Love" Released: 1989

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) – 3:50

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Village Voice	C+[2]

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.[3]

Commercial performance

The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide (including 3 million from the US).[4] peaked at number two in Jet magazine's top 20 for three weeks between February 6 and 20, 1989,[5][6][7] and again on the week of March 13, 1989.[8]

It became Baker's first and only number one album on Billboard 200 and her second number-one R&B Album. In March 1989, the album was certified 3× Platinum in 1989 by the RIAA.[9]

Singles

"Just Because" hit number one in Jet magazine's top 20 singles on weeks of March 13, 20, and 27, 1989.[8][10][11] 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.[12] It has been described as a wedding reception favorite.[13]

"Lead Me into Love" peaked at number six in Jet magazine's top 20 singles on weeks of June 5 and 12, 1989.[14][15] It peaked at number four on the Hot Black Singles.[12]

Personnel

• Anita Baker – lead vocals, backing vocals (4, 5), BGV arrangements (5)
• Robbie Buchanan – keyboards (1, 2, 5, 7), synthesizer programming (1, 2, 7, 8), string arrangements (7)
• Vernon D. Fails – keyboards (1-4, 6)
• Dave Boruff – synthesizer programming (1, 8), saxophone (8)
• George Duke – acoustic piano (2)
• Bobby Lyle – acoustic piano (2)
• Dean "Sir" Gant – acoustic piano (3, 6)
• Gary Taylor – keyboards (4)
• Joseph Vitarelli – Synclavier (4)
• Peter Schwartz – keyboards (5)
• Bruce Nazarian – Synclavier programming (5)
• Reginald "Sonny" Burke – keyboards (8)
• Patrick Moten – keyboards (8)
• Neal Walker – keyboards (8)
• Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (1, 2, 5, 7)
• Michael J. Powell – guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 8), string arrangements (7)
• Donnie Lyle – guitar (4)
• Nathan East – bass (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
• Omar Hakim – drums (1, 2, 3, 6)
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (1, 2, 3, 5, 6)
• Gerald Albright – saxophone (6)
• Courtlen Hale – saxophone (8)
• Chuck Findley – trumpet (8)
• Paul Riser – string arrangements (1, 2)
• Alex Brown – backing vocals (1, 3, 7), BGV arrangements (7)
• Angel Edwards – backing vocals (1, 3)
• Valarie Pinkston Mayo – backing vocals (1, 3), BGV arrangements (1, 3)
• Carol Perry – backing vocals (2), BGV arrangements (2)
• Darlene Perry – backing vocals (2), BGV arrangements (2)
• Lori Perry – backing vocals (2, 7), BGV arrangements (2)
• Sharon Perry – backing vocals (2), BGV arrangements (2)
• Marva King – backing vocals (7)
• Roy Galloway – backing vocals (8)
• Lynne Fiddmont – backing vocals (8)
• Fred White – backing vocals (8)

Production

• Executive Producer – Anita Baker
• Producer – Michael J. Powell
• Production Coordination – Sephra Herman, Tweed and Tominaga.
• A&R – Raoul Roach
• Engineer – Barney Perkins
• Second Engineer – Milton Chan
• Assistant Engineers – Les Cooper, Fred Law, Bruce Nazarian and Tim Purvis.
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, CA).
• Art Direction – Carol Bobolts
• Photography – Adrian Buckmaster

Charts

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

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