A Legendary Life {Whitney Houston}
With her incredible talent, beauty and grace, Whitney Houston will always reamin an icon and source of inspriation for artists and fans alike. The 48-year-old singer died Saturday evening, as the industry gathered at the official Pre-Grammy gala hosted by the star's mentor Clive Davis, chief creative officer of Sony Entertainment Worldwide. The cause and location of her death are unknown, but as the world prepares for the biggest night in music, it also mourns the death of six-time Grammy winner and a beloved woman who became more than just a superstar performer to so many.
This is a sad and sudden end for the woman who paved the way to pop success for other African-American singers such as Janet Jackson, Anita Baker, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige. Other stars, including Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Leona Lewis to name a few, have consistently cited Houston for inspiring them to become singers. The gospel-trained Houston was the daughter of singer Cissy Houston, goddaughter of Aretha Franklin and cousin of Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick.
Houston got her first big break when record produced Clive Davis signed her to his label in 1983. The soon-to-be vibrant vocalist was already an up-and-coming magazine model (one of the first African-Americans to grace the cover of "Seventeen"), and together, her and Davis would make music history.
Davis spent more than a year working with Houston and producers as well as getting together the right songs. Her first hit, "Hold Me," a duet with Teddy Pendergrass for his 1984 "Love Language" album, went to No. 5 on the R&B chart. "Whitney Houston" was released in 1985 with two top singles, "You Give Good Love" and "Saving All My Love for You," which became even bigger. The latter went to No. 1, as did "How Will I Know," the video for which became one of the first by an African-American female to be heavily circulated by MTV.
She earned three nominations at the 1986 Grammy Awards. "Saving All My Love for You" won for female pop vocal, and her performance of the song on the show would win her an Emmy Award later that year. "The Greatest Love of All" would also be nominated for record of the year at the following year's Grammys.
Houston's immense fame was solidified in 1987 with the release of "Whitney," which sold 9 million copies in the USA and produced four No. 1 singles: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go." These hits gave her a record seven chart-toppers in a row.
Her crossover success for an African-American woman was unheard of, but she nonetheless found herself defending her music to critics, who argued her music "lacked soul." Still, spectacular changes were in store for Houston, whose 1991 Super Bowl performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" remains the standard by which other shows are judged. In 1992, she made a move into acting and making soundtracks with "The Bodyguard," and after a three-year courtship, she married former New Edition member Bobby Brown - these two events would have a lasting effect on her career and personal life.
By the mid-1990s, rumors of personal problems, such as struggles with Brown and drug abuse, began to ruin her image and started her on a downward spiral of despair and depression from which she was never able to fully recuperate. These events landed her on the pages of the tabloids and overshadowed her talent and all that she contributed to the music world.
In more recent years, Houston struggled to regain the fame she first recieved when hitting the music scene in 1985. She released "I Look to You" in 2009, her first studio album in seven years and first since the gossip surrounding her stint in rehab and divorce from Bobby Brown. While the album did debut at No. 1 and sold more than 1 million copies, it did not produce any hit singles comparable to what she had accomplished in the past. Her later overseas tour also received mixed reviews and left fans disappointed and wanting refunds.
Houston's death brings sadness and shock for the people who both loved her and her music, but all that is left to do is remember her for what she contributed to the music world. With the Grammy Awards tomorrow night, we can mourn the superstar and see the impact she has had on those who continue to transform the industry.
Reach Nicole Shoohed here.
Comments