MUSIC: A HITMAKER AND A GENTLEMAN

FROM MARIAH CAREY TO ERIC CLAPTON, CHART-HUNGRY STARS CALL ON BABYFACE

Whitney Houston didn't want to sing on the sound track of Waiting to Exhale. But that was before singer-songwriter-producer Kenneth ("Babyface") Edmonds got to her. The way Houston recalls it, Edmonds told her, "I just want you to hear this one song. If you like it, you'll do it." It turned out he hadn't written any lyrics; all he had was a melody. "He started laughing," says Houston. And then he started playing the song on the piano. Houston joined in, improvising: "Count on me through thick and thin/ A friendship that will never end..." They recorded that song, Count on...

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