B-side "Good Enough" Recorded 1988 | Released September 27, 1988 | |
Format 7" (45 rpm), cassette, CD single Genre R&B
pop
soul jazz
quiet storm Length 3:54 (Single Version)
4:18 (Album Version) | ||
"Giving You the Best That I Got" is a 1988 song by American R&B recording artist Anita Baker. The song appears on Baker's album of the same name, which was released in the fall of that year. The song was written by Baker, Skip Scarborough and Randy Holland.
Contents
Chart performance
The song was Baker's highest charting hit on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number three in December 1988. It also spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B chart in November 1988, Baker's first number one on this tally. In addition, the song spent one week atop the Billboard adult contemporary chart in December 1988.
Awards
The song "Giving You the Best That I Got" was released prior to the Grammy Awards eligibility cutoff date of September 30, allowing it to be nominated for four awards at the Grammy Awards of 1989. The song won in the categories Best Female R&B Vocal performance and Best R&B Song; it was also nominated for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. The album Giving You the Best That I Got was released in October 1988, meaning that it would not be eligible for Grammy consideration until the 1990 ceremony. There, Baker's album won in the category Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, earning her the same award two years running for a song and album of the same title.
Songwriter Skip Scarborough had offered the song to various singers, including Howard Hewett, without success. Prior to recording the song, Baker made some changes to the original, including improvising a scat opening and requesting that the tempo of the song be increased.