"Heaven Knows" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer. Over his career, he achieved eleven consecutive RIAA certification, RIAA-certified ...

, released in September 1993 by Epic and

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

as the second single from his eight studio album, '' Never Let Me Go'' (1993). The song was written by Vandross with

Reed Vertelney Reed Philip Vertelney is an American record producer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Calabasas, California, Calabasas, CA. He has written, produced, played, and worked for and with artists such as Michael Jackson, Luther Vand ...

and produced by Marcus Miller. It peaked in the top 30 on both the US '' Billboard'' Hot R&B Singles and Hot Dance Club Play charts, and also at thirty-three on the ''Billboard'' Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart. "Heaven Knows" was nominated for Best R&B Song alongside " Little Miracles (Happen Every Day)" (also from ''Never Let Me Go'') at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in March 1994, losing to " That's the Way Love Goes" by Janet Jackson.

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' commented, "Familiar-sounding midtempo jam from Vandross' current '' Never Let Me Go'' collection shows the singer in fine form. Lovely melody and a memorable chorus are laid into retro rhythm that will work best with older audiences. Broader acceptance will come via sparkling

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

remixes by Frankie Knuckles and David Morales." In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton stated, "One of the few soul artists in the traditional sense to still be having UK hits is Luther Vandross." Andy Beevers from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it four out of five, naming it "one of the best tracks" of the album. He also complimented the Classic mix, that "is going to sound great on the radio". James Hamilton from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update described "Heaven Knows" as "creamily flowing".

Music video

A music video was produced to promote the single. It features ''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995, to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen R ...

'' actress Khandi Alexander appearing as one of the backup dancers. The video was later made available on Vandross' official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in 2010 and had generated more than a half million views as of September 2021.

Track listing

* UK CD single"Heaven Knows" (UK Maxi-Single)
/ref> #"Heaven Knows" (Single Version) - 4:26 #"Heaven Knows" (Classic 12" Mix) - 8:00 #"I Want the Night to Stay" - 5:26

Charts

References

{{authority control 1993 songs Luther Vandross songs 1993 singles Songs written by Luther Vandross Epic Records singles Songs written by Reed Vertelney