I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour

The I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour was a concert tour by American pop/R&B singer Whitney Houston, in support of her multi-platinum album I'm Your Baby Tonight. Prior to Houston performing two dates in Japan early-March, the official tour started on April 18, in North America. Houston's performed nearly 100 concert dates throughout 1991 in North America and Europe.

I'm Your Baby Tonight
World Tour

Tour by Whitney Houston
I'm Your Baby Tonight Tour Book
Associated album	I'm Your Baby Tonight
Start date	March 14, 1991 (1991-03-14)
End date	October 2, 1991 (1991-10-02)
Legs	3
No. of shows	66 in North America 2 in Asia 28 in Europe 96 in total
Whitney Houston concert chronology
Feels So Right Tour (1990) I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour (1991) The Bodyguard World Tour (1993-94)

Background

After a successful series of concerts in Japan during March 1991, Houston returned to the United States to prepare for the world tour to support the four-times platinum selling album of the same name. Houston was initially planned to start the tour in the U.K. However, due to the Gulf War, the European leg was rescheduled until the fall.^[1] Houston instead started the tour in the US. Houston kicked things off with her "Welcome Home Heroes Concert" on March 31 in Norfolk Virginia. The special, which aired on HBO, was dedicated to the troops who were fighting in the Gulf War. All proceeds went to the Red Cross.^[2] The summer of 1991 was considered one of the worst touring seasons ever. Many big names were cancelling dates and playing to low capacities. Houston was no exception. The singer played to low attendances and even cancelled some dates due to poor ticket sales. Experts cited the ongoing recession and financial crisis as the main reason.^[3][4] During the summer, Houston also developed a throat ailment. As a result, the singer was forced to cancel the end of her Canadian tour to rest her voice.^[5]

The tour resumed in late August when Houston reached the U.K. She played 10 consecutive dates at Wembley Arena in London, surpassing her own record of 9 straight dates at the same arena during the Moment of Truth World Tour, in 1988.

A month and a half after the tour concluded in Paris, October 1991, Houston would begin production on her first feature film, The Bodyguard in December.^[6]

The show

Unlike her previous tours, the shows had more focus on visuals. The stage was lit by 300 lights spinning and flashing in synch with the music. The state of the art system was designed by Mark Fisher and Jonathan Park. The system had only been used previously by Pink Floyd in his "The Wall" show in Berlin and the Rolling Stones' "Urban Jungle Tour".^[7] Houston also incorporated costume changes during her sets for the first time. She often wore skin tight jump suits. Houston also took part in choreographed dancing with backup dancers. Unlike her previous tours, the stage was not in the round. She was backed by a seven piece band. After her previous musical director John Simmons died, bass player Rickey Minor became the tour's musical director. R&B group After 7 opened during the North American leg. Dance act Snap! supported her on the European leg.

Houston reworked most of the songs during the show with improvisations and spontaneity, adding funk to the uptempos while slowing down the ballads.^[8] According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "Saving All My Love for You" was "sultry, taking excursions through the church and jazz world that aren't heard on the recorded version."^[9] She incorporated her popular love songs into a "Love Medley", giving her time to try out the newer uptempo/new jack swing numbers on her current album.^[8] Midway through the shows, Houston introduced her band while singing the gospel "Revelation". This started the gospel set which included a cappella and solos from her backup singers. Her brother Gary Houston also performed a Marvin Gaye medley. With hip hop music becoming popular during the time, Houston incorporated rappers into the show. Rappers were given verses during "How Will I Know" while shouting "yo Whitney yo" throughout other songs.^[8] During some of the shows, Houston incorporated her hit "All The Man That I Need" into a medley with the Billie Holiday classics "Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be?)" and "My Man", which she dedicated to her own man at the time. At the time, Houston was rumored to be dating singer Bobby Brown. The rumor of course turned out to be true.^[10] The Holliday cover earned praise from many critics. The Vancouver Sun said "her delivery was achingly soulful" and that the singer should continue towards that direction musically.^[11] For some of the US dates, she performed her top ten pop hit "Miracle". Houston ended her show with "I'm Your Baby Tonight" before the encore, "Greatest Love of All", in Europe for some of the London, UK dates included the encore "I Belong to You".

Some criticized Houston for focusing on the MTV trend of relying on dancing and big production lighting. The Sun Sentinel noted that the singer should opt for smaller venues and theaters that are "far more suitable to her sophistication and talent."^[12] USA Today praised the singer because she "shakes the confinements of her recordings' calculated productions and gets downright gutsy and soulful"^[13]

Opening acts

• After 7 (USA—Leg)
• Snap! (European—Leg)
• D'Influence (Glasgow Scotland)
• Gerald Alston (European—Leg, select dates)

Setlist

1. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
2. "So Emotional"
3. "Saving All My Love for You"
4. "How Will I Know"
5. "All at Once" / "A House Is Not a Home" / "Didn't We Almost Have It All" / "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"
6. "Billie Holiday Medley: Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)" / "My Man"
7. "All the Man That I Need"
8. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" / "What's Going On" (performed by Gary Houston)^[a]
9. "My Name Is Not Susan"
10. "Anymore"
11. "Miracle"^[b]
12. "Revelation" (contain excerpts of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" and "He's All Right")
13. "Sack Full of Dreams" (performed by Gary Houston)^[c]
14. "In Return"^[b]
15. "This Day"^[c]
16. "Who Do You Love"
17. "I'm Your Baby Tonight"
18. "I Belong to You"^[c]
19. "Greatest Love of All"

Notes

1. performed at select dates in North America, and Europe
2. performed at select dates in North America
3. performed only at select dates in Europe

Additional notes

• March 14 and 15: in Yokohama, Japan, Houston performed a stirring rendition of CeCe Winans "In Return".
• May 11: her performances of "My Name Is Not Susan", "Miracle" and "Greatest Love of All" at her Oakland, California concert were shown during a televised telethon that aired on MTV, May 12, for The Simple Truth: A concert for Kurdish Refugees.
• September 29: the concert in A Coruña, Spain was recorded and aired on TV in several markets of Spain, and select countries in Europe.

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and amount of gross revenue

Date	City	Country	Venue	Attendance	Revenue
Asia
March 14, 1991	Yokohama	Japan	Yokohama Arena	—	—
March 15, 1991
North America^[14]
March 31, 1991	Norfolk	United States	Naval Air Station	—	—
April 18, 1991	Knoxville		Thompson–Boling Arena	6,836 / 16,786	$136,637
April 20, 1991	Lexington		Rupp Arena	—	—
April 21, 1991	Champaign		Assembly Hall
April 23, 1991	Columbia		Hearnes Center
April 24, 1991	Ames		Hilton Coliseum	6,175 / 13,000
April 26, 1991	Iowa City		Carver–Hawkeye Arena	—
April 27, 1991	Minneapolis		Target Center
April 29, 1991	Winnipeg	Canada	Winnipeg Arena	5,832 / 12,470	$156,624
May 1, 1991	Saskatoon		Saskatchewan Place	—	—
May 3, 1991	Edmonton		Northlands Coliseum
May 5, 1991	Calgary		Olympic Saddledome	9,736 / 14,114	$238,662
May 7, 1991	Vancouver		Pacific Coliseum	—	—
May 8, 1991	Portland	United States	Memorial Coliseum	9,387 / 10,000	$218,422
May 9, 1991	Seattle		Seattle Center Coliseum	8,807 / 11,993	$203,520
May 11, 1991	Oakland		Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena	—	—
May 12, 1991	Sacramento		ARCO Arena	9,031 / 12,786	$208,640
May 16, 1991	Inglewood		Great Western Forum	—	—
May 17, 1991	Costa Mesa		Pacific Amphitheatre
May 19, 1991	Phoenix		Desert Sky Pavilion	10,774 / 12,000	$221,576
May 21, 1991	Las Vegas		Thomas & Mack Center	—	—
May 23, 1991	Albuquerque		Tingley Coliseum
May 24, 1991	Greenwood Village		Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
May 25, 1991	Salt Lake City		Salt Palace
May 28, 1991	New Orleans		Lakefront Arena
May 30, 1991	Oklahoma City		Myriad Convention Center
May 31, 1991	Dallas		Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre	8,837 / 20,111	$188,511
June 2, 1991	The Woodlands		Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion	—	—
June 4, 1991	San Antonio		HemisFair Arena
June 5, 1991	Austin		Frank Erwin Center
June 7, 1991	Birmingham		BJCC Coliseum
June 9, 1991	Pensacola		Pensacola Civic Center
June 10, 1991	Orlando		Orlando Arena	7,093 / 15,500	$159,593
June 11, 1991	Miami		Miami Arena	9,530 / 10,000	$238,250
June 13, 1991	Columbia		Carolina Coliseum	—	—
June 15, 1991	Atlanta		Coca-Cola Lakewood Amphitheatre
June 16, 1991	Greensboro		Greensboro Coliseum
June 19, 1991	Chattanooga		McKenzie Arena
June 20, 1991	Nashville		Starwood Amphitheatre	8,000 / 17,137
June 27, 1991^[A]	Milwaukee		Marcus Amphitheater	—
June 28, 1991	Noblesville		Deer Creek Music Center	7,746 / 12,000	$157,199
June 30, 1991	Tinley Park		World Music Theatre	8,525 / 20,000	$221,965
July 3, 1991	Detroit		Joe Louis Arena	—	—
July 6, 1991	Charlotte		Blockbuster Pavilion
July 7, 1991	Raleigh		Hardee's Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
July 10, 1991	Cuyahoga Falls		Blossom Music Center
July 11, 1991	Grove City		Capitol Music Center
July 13, 1991	Burgettstown		Coca-Cola Star Lake Amphitheater	10,763 / 20,089	$208,566
July 14, 1991	Richmond		Richmond Coliseum	—	—
July 16, 1991	Columbia		Merriweather Post Pavilion
July 17, 1991	Providence		Providence Civic Center	7,012 / 12,000	$164,782
July 19, 1991	Philadelphia		The Spectrum	—	—
July 20, 1991	Hershey		Hersheypark Stadium
July 21, 1991	Saratoga Springs		Saratoga Performing Arts Center
July 23, 1991	New York City		Madison Square Garden	13,850 / 14,000	$401,773
July 26, 1991	East Rutherford		Brendan Byrne Arena	—	—
July 27, 1991	Cincinnati		Riverbend Music Center	8,114 / 17,000
July 29, 1991	Lenox		Tanglewood	—
July 30, 1991	Hopewell		Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center
August 1, 1991	Buffalo		Buffalo Memorial Auditorium
August 3, 1991	Hartford		Hartford Civic Center
August 4, 1991	Rutland		Paramount Theater
August 6, 1991	Mansfield		Great Woods Performing Arts Center
August 7, 1991
August 9, 1991	Old Orchard Beach		Seashore Performing Arts Center
August 10, 1991	Nashua		Holman Stadium
Europe
August 27, 1991	Birmingham	England	NEC Arena	—	—
August 28, 1991
August 29, 1991
August 30, 1991
August 31, 1991
September 1, 1991
September 3, 1991	London		Wembley Arena
September 4, 1991
September 6, 1991
September 7, 1991
September 9, 1991
September 10, 1991
September 11, 1991
September 13, 1991
September 14, 1991
September 15, 1991
September 17, 1991	Glasgow	Scotland	Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
September 18, 1991
September 19, 1991
September 21, 1991	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Ahoy Sportpaleis
September 22, 1991
September 23, 1991
September 25, 1991
September 26, 1991
September 27, 1991
September 29, 1991	A Coruña	Spain	Coliseum da Coruña
October 1, 1991	Paris	France	Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
October 2, 1991

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

^[A]Summerfest^[15]

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

May 13, 1991	Mountain View, California	Shoreline Amphitheatre	Cancelled^[16]
June 22, 1991	Maryland Heights, Missouri	Riverport Amphitheatre	Cancelled^[17]
June 23, 1991	Kansas City, Missouri	Starlight Theatre	Cancelled^[17]
June 25, 1991	Omaha, Nebraska	Omaha Civic Auditorium	Cancelled^[17]
July 5, 1991	Hampton, Virginia	Hampton Coliseum	Cancelled^[18]
August 11, 1991	Moncton, Canada	Magnetic Hill Concert Site	Cancelled^[19]
August 13, 1991	Halifax, Canada	Halifax Metro Centre	Cancelled^[19]
August 15, 1991	Montreal, Canada	Montreal Forum	Cancelled^[19]
August 16, 1991	Ottawa, Canada	Lansdowne Park	Cancelled^[19]
August 17, 1991	Toronto, Canada	CNE Grandstand	Cancelled^[19]

Personnel

Band

• Musical Director – Ricky Minor
• Bass guitar, bass synthesizer – Ricky Minor
• Guitar – Ray Fuller
• Keyboard: Michael Bearden
• Drums – Ricky Lawson
• Keyboard – Bette Sussman
• Saxophone – Kirk Whalum
• Keyboard – Kevin Lee
• Percussion – Bashiri Johnson
• Background vocalists – Gary Houston, Vonchita Rawls, Carmen Rawls, Tiawana Rawls

Choreography

Choreographer – Khandi Alexander

Dancers

• Diesko Boyland, Bryant Cash-Welch, Jonathan Webbe, Luca Tommassini

Tour Management

• Manager – Tony Bulluck

External links

• i'm your baby tonight tour - whitneyhouston

References

1. AllWhitney.com
2. Smith, Patricia. "Mom, apple pie and Whitney Houston in concert for troops". Boston Globe April 1, 1991.
3. Watrous, Peter. "Pop Life". The New York Times. August 7, 1991. Page C15.
4. Dafoe, Christopher M. "Rock 'n' Ruin Not just the recession is to blame for the small crowds at rock concerts this summer" The Globe and Mail. August 17, 1991. Page C1.
5. "Houston cancels rest of tour". The Globe and Mail. August 10, 1991. Page C3.
6. Dutta, Nishitha (2020-12-26). "Where Was The Bodyguard Filmed? All The Bodyguard Filming Locations". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
7. Stout, Gene. "Whitney Houston will be Impossible to Ignore when she comes to Seattle." Seattle Post. May 3, 1991. Page 5.
8. Considine, JD. "Houston gives her hits a new spin, and her fans applaud at every turn". The Baltimore Sun. July 17, 1991. Page 1E.
9. Bream, Jon. "Whitney (Hit Woman) Houston's concert packs quite a punch." Minneapolis Star Tribune. April 28, 1991. Page 07.B
10. Racine, Mary. "Whitney love songs". Houston Chronicle. June 4, 1991. Page 1.
11. Mackie, John. "Houston strikes up the bland: Voice can thrill, but lyrics shallow." The Vancouver Sun. May 8, 1991. Page B5.
12. Wilker, Deborah. "Whitney Houston: Bigger – but better?" Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. June 13, 1991. Page 3E.
13. Jones, James T. "Whitney is so emotional, soulful in concert". USA Today. April 19, 1991. Page 01D.
14. North American box score data:
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 18. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 4, 1991. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 20. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. May 18, 1991. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 22. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 1, 1991. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 23. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 8, 1991. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 24. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 15, 1991. p. 30. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 26. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 29, 1991. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 28. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 13, 1991. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 29. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. July 20, 1991. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 31. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 3, 1991. p. 27. ISSN 0006-2510.
    • "Boxscore: Top Concert Grosses" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 32. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 10, 1991. p. 28. ISSN 0006-2510.
15. . Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Journal Media Group. June 28, 2007. Archived from the original on 3 August 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
16. Selvin, Joel. "Whitney Houston Strands fans at Shoreline." The San Francisco Chronicle. May 15, 1991. Page E1.
17. "Whitney Houston Cancels Omaha Date". Omaha World-Herald. June 26, 1991. Page 47.
18. Chastain, Sue. "The Latest." The Philadelphia Inquirer. July 4, 1991. Page C2
19. Howell, Peter. "Whitney Houston hits Ex with second major no-show". The Toronto Star. August 9, 1991. Page A1.