No one before and no one since has quite captured Whitney Houston’s kind of stardom. Nicknamed “The Voice,” Houston ascended by swift leaps and bounds after entering the industry in the early ’80s.

On this 11th anniversary of Whitney Houston’s death, we tell the story of her powerful love song that was born out of a sweet country ballad.

When the time came to sift through demo tapes for new songs, Clive Davis and Whitney Houston would sequester themselves in Davis’ New York office or his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel and listen.