Vanessa Williams Says Two Music Legends Passed on ‘Save the Best for Last’ Before It Came Her Way: ‘I Was Third One Up’
Vanessa Williams has said that Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand both declined ‘Save the Best for Last’ before it was offered to her. The song became Williams’s signature hit, illustrating how a track initially passed over by major artists can define another performer’s career.
Williams recorded the ballad for her 1991 album The Comfort Zone, releasing it as the third single. It spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, received two Grammy nominations and finished fourth on the US year-end chart for 1992; Williams also said she wished she had been offered Amy Grant’s ‘Baby Baby’.
- Midler and Streisand reportedly passed on Williams’s biggest hit.
- ‘Save the Best for Last’ spent five weeks at number one.
- Williams also wanted to record Amy Grant’s ‘Baby Baby’.
New here? Start with this
Vanessa Williams is an American singer and actor who rose to prominence in the 1980s and later built a successful music career. Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand are also major American singers and actors, each known for long-running careers and wide influence in popular music.
‘Save the Best for Last’ is a slow pop ballad written by Jon Lind and Phil Galdston. Williams recorded it for her 1991 album The Comfort Zone, and it became closely associated with her after reaching the top of Billboard’s US singles chart.
Songs are often written and offered to several performers before one artist chooses to record them. A song’s eventual success can depend on the singer’s voice, the production and the timing of its release, rather than simply on which artist was first approached.