In many ways, few can be surprised that Whitney Houston, the mega singing star of the 1980s and '90s, has died. The last decade or so has been a lesson in how not to manage a career and how not to live, with a very public drug addiction, as well as a troubled and abusive marriage to singer Bobby Brown.
Her fall from grace was immense. She sang some of the most iconic songs of the previous two decades including I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Love Me), I Will Always Love You, Saving All My Love For You and One Moment in Time.
Houston was related to show biz royalty; Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick were cousins, and Aretha Franklin was her Godmother. She grew up singing in a Baptist church in New Jersey, and progressed into a gospel choir. She also learned to play the piano.
It was the mid-80s when she rocketed to stardom topping the charts with hit after hit, and going on huge world tours. many saw her as the female Michael Jackson. Awards followed; she won Grammy awards, Emmy awards, etc. and her debut album was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Definitive 200 list and Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums. St one point she had seven consecutive US number ones, breaking a record previously held by The Beatles and The Bee Gees.
Houston was, arguably, best known for her ballads which were a fantastic vehicle for her hugely powerful voice that provided a soundtrack for a generation that has influenced countless performers and wannabees since.
She was also an actress, most notably in The Bodyguard which met with commercial, but not critical success but which, of course, gave the world her OTT performance of Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You (for me one of the worst records ever - her breathing is all over the place).
Houston was due to attend this weekend's Grammy awards. Still an icon to a generation of singers, she had made many guest appearances including on talent shows and there had been several false start comebacks.
She had admitted to crack cocaine use and addictions to alcohol, pills and other drugs. The exact circumstances of her death are yet to be revealed, though it is understood her body was found in a bath in an hotel room in Los Angeles.
A tainted star who lead a tumultuous life that took her from a pinnacle to which few can aspire
to the depths none can ever imagine but with a back catalogue that will live on beyond her.
My favourite Whitney Houston track? It has to be One Moment in Time - the song recorded for the 1988 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
I was almost tempted to blog an obit but I would probably get shot down. I've been irked by the presumptions of cause. The unpleasant Amanda Platell started it on Marr this morning. Whitney had acknowledged drug use. She must have OD'ed. Another tragic diva.
ReplyDeleteNot a unique circumstance.
She was found in the bath of a swank hotel. Very R&R.
I feel sorry for her and her family and even her ex husband. It's horrible for a loved one to die but to die in the public eye must be hell.
Whitney had a voice and a song book. It was a good voice that sold lots of mediocre (in my opinion) and populist records. She didn't write her material. Is that important? Yes. Because what we see publicly of an artist describes in our mind what they must be like.
Artist/authors with any all round talent define themselves through their output both in it's content and in it's application. I'm reading Keith Richards 'Life' and listening to the Stones back catalogue along side it. The two describe each other perfectly.
Dylan does the same. So do Miles, Spector, Patti. All artists who whilst capable of making sales don't put that out as their number one cause.
Whitney (or the woman we saw) was product. A million strings pushing and pulling. Scratching the gilt from a golden voice.
Some talking head earlier said that anyone who knew her and Bobby Brown realised why they hooked up. But because she was the white shiny diva and he was the crouch grabbing bad boy it was him who fouled the angel. Makes for a great story and an easy and marketable archetype.
The media eats it's own and then shits out cash. Her 'Best Of' was £4.99 on iTunes yesterday, back to £9.99 today. Poor Whitney was food and as long as they can maintain an appetite through salacious commentary there is still meat on the bone.
RIP. It's very sad but many far worse things happened today.
I believe it is very important for believers to understand the difference between the labels
ReplyDeletefundraising before declaring one dead, as I believe that the obituary only addresses one of the above.