In rememberance of the late Whitney Houston, it might be worth mentioning here that her first recorded performance as a lead singer on an album was a cover of Hugh Hopper's (Soft Machine, Wilde Flowers, Isotope and more) song Memories
The song itself dates back to Wilde Flowers days (mid 60s), so Hugh wasn't very old when he wrote this.
The band is Material, but the lead singer is the unmistakable Whitney.
edit :
Some added info; Material's One Down album was released in 1982.