Whitney Houston's 'Greatest Love of All' was sued for plagiarism

Houston in 1988
In this March 3, 1988, file photo, Whitney Houston poses with her Grammy at the annual Grammy Awards in New York.
Mark Lennihan | AP 1988

Today's Morning Edition music is from the song "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston, which was No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart 30 years ago today.

It was originally recorded by George Benson as the main theme for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic "The Greatest."

Gordon Lightfoot says when he heard the song on an elevator, he recognized that a 24-bar section of the tune had been lifted from his 1971 hit "If You Could Read My Mind."

Lightfoot sued for plagarism, but says he eventually dropped the suit out of respect for Houston.

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