Album: Heaven (1988)
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Songfacts®:

  • Brother and sister BeBe (Benjamin) and CeCe (Priscilla) Winans are two members of gospel music's most prominent family. Between 1984 and 1996, the Winans siblings recorded a succession of hit records as a duo. CeCe also successfully teamed up with Whitney Houston in 1996 for the transatlantic hit "Count On Me," whilst "I Wanna Be The Only One" was a #1 hit in the UK in 1997 for BeBe in partnership with the girl group Eternal.
  • BeBe Winans wrote this song for the duo's second album, together with producer Keith Thomas. CeCe Winans recalled in CCM Magazine presents 100 Greatest Songs In Christian Music: "As soon as he heard it, we knew there was something magical about it. It's a song that just makes you smile, and makes you want to go to heaven too."
  • The Heaven album, which featured a guest appearance by Whitney Houston, propelled the duo to star status. It was certified gold, peaked at #95 on the pop charts and reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot R&B chart, the first gospel recording to do so since Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace in 1972.
  • Whilst the single won a 1990 Dove Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song, the album won multiple honors, including matching Best Gospel Vocal Performance Grammy Awards in the male and Female categories for BeBe and CeCe.
  • This was covered by Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams on her 2002 gospel album Heart To Yours.

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