That is most definitely NOT Kenny G.
For a time, a sax part was practically mandatory to score a Top 40 hit, so Kenny G. found his oral skills in high demand (raises eyebrow and looks into the camera), particularly among his Arista Records brethren and sistren. When the Queen of Soul, came calling, Kenny was there. Babyface asked, Kenny answered. When Toni Braxton needed…well, you get the picture.
In the late Eighties, Arista’s main draw was Whitney Houston. Actually, in the late Eighties, MUSIC’s main draw was Whitney Houston. She was the biggest selling artist of the era, in addition to being the first female artist to have an album debut at #1. She accomplished that feat with her sophomore effort, 1987’s “Whitney”. Amidst fluffy dance tunes like “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and saccharine ballads like “Didn’t We Almost Have it All” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” was a chilled-out cover of the Isley Brothers’ classic “For the Love of You”.
Yeah, it sounds totally dated now, but I still dig the tropical vibe. It retains the sensual vibe of the original, but has it’s own distinct flavor-a slam dunk as far as remakes go (if you ask me). It was also nice to hear Whitney do something than scream on a song-a relative novelty at the time. Kenny’s sax adds some cool flavoring amid the birds chirping and canned percussion-it’s one of his most subtle guest appearances.