"She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.Throughout her career "Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey ... she said by the time 'The Preacher's Wife' was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.'"*
Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling." *
"He signed her in 1983 and the two began work on her debut album. Initially Davis had a hard time finding songs for her. Even after elaborate showcases in New York and Los Angeles, many producers turned down the chance to work with her. During the time, rock bands and dance oriented acts were popular; many songwriters felt Houston's gospel voice didn't fit in the pop landscape. It took a year and a half for Jerry Griffith, then Arista's A&R chief and had recommended Whitney to Davis, and Davis to amass suitable songs for the album. Finally the songwriter-producer Kashif offered to produce 'You Give Good Love.' Jermaine Jackson, who had emerged from the shadow of Brother Michael, produced three songs. Narada Michael Walden came in to revise and then produce 'How Will I Know.' And Michael Masser covered the pop side of the tracks, producing four of his own compositions, including 'Saving All My Love for You' and 'Greatest Love of All.' After two years of recording, the album was ready for release.'"The rest is history.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"). Houston is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female artist to have two number-one Top Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985 debut album, Whitney Houston, became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. The album was also named Rolling Stone's best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[7] Her second studio album, Whitney (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.[7] Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know",[8] influenced several African-American female artists to follow in her footsteps.[9][10]posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:43 PM on February 11 [2 favorites]
In 2009, talking to Winfrey about why she took a break from show business, Houston said, "It was too much. So much to try to live up to, to try to be, and I wanted out."posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:55 PM on February 11 [1 favorite]
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits ("Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go").
We booked the studio for five days. I went around to the record shop near the studio to get hold of 'Shaft' & in the window was a big cut-out of Whitney Houston. I love that track, and I loved Whitney Houston then, and I just said 'Wow', and bought the album. We just played that track over and over again, and we just thought: "no point us making records when such fantastic records as this have been made". And that's how that track grew into a celebration of Whitney Houston.— Bill Drummond, on Whitney Joins The Jams
I think with Whitney Houston, even if you weren't a fan or didn't particularly like her songs, it's hard not to appreciate how utterly powerful her voice was.I agree, but I think her weakness as a singer was that she never really reined in the power. She was always at 100%, which made her songs less effective than if she'd exercised some restraint. But it's sort of not the point right now. She had an amazing voice, and she died much too soon.
In Los Angeles on Saturday night, a number of other people were drawn to the hotel where Ms. Houston died to mourn. “I want to show support because she inspired a lot of people, and nobody’s perfect,” said Lavetris Singleton. “But if we’re not out here then she’ll be forgotten. We are her legacy.”.
'My uncle was a recording engineer in the 1970s and 80s and he worked on Whitney. Obviously lady had a gorgeous voice but she didn’t always enunciate well enough, precisely enough to record. So when she recorded “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” she cut off all the “ssss” sounds at the end of “dance” so my uncle, this quaker dude from Maine, had to record the “ssss” because once she left, she wouldn’t come back to the studio. So that’s my uncle Lincoln hissing at the end of “dance” in that song. When the record came out, my uncle was courting my aunt so he came back from New York one weekend with a signed copy that just said “To Melissa. PEACE. Whitney.” Which, I must have been about 10? And my mother and my aunt and I just sat around and played it and stared at “To Melissa. PEACE. Whitney.” And we would try to say it over and over in her voice, because what an incredibly cool autograph.'posted by casarkos at 11:57 PM on February 11 [4 favorites]
"Whitney Houston died yesterday. She was scheduled to appear at Clive Davis's annual pre-Grammy party last night.posted by ericb at 12:05 PM on February 12 [10 favorites]
When I heard that I thought, well, she must have been putting on her public face and summoning the strength to go out there again and live up to all the expectations.
She'd been doing that pretty much her whole life.
Whitney was still a teenager when the buzz in New York music circles became, 'Have you heard Cissy Houston's daughter? She's an incredible singer - she's the most beautiful woman you ever saw! She's going to be huge!'.
And this was BEFORE she ever made a record.
From the time Whitney was a kid, she was the object of enormous expectations. And you know what? She lived up to them all.
Her voice contained gospel, soul, rock and pop. It was a young voice, an old voice - it was timeless.
Like Elvis, like Sinatra, she could elevate a mediocre song by her taste, her virtuosity, and by the conviction she brought to each performance.
And when she got her chops around a GOOD song? The heavens opened.
Whitney Houston was a public figure her whole adult life. She battled her demons in the public eye. Today, everyone will praise her. Tonight at the Grammys, she will be paid tribute. In the next few days she will be eulogized. That's as it should be, she deserves it.
But wouldn't it be great if all of us could then leave it at that? Let's ignore the gossip press and scandal media that will try to exploit her memory now that she can't defend herself.
Whitney Houston touched millions of us, but she does not belong to us. She was someone's daughter. She was someone's mother. Her memory, like her love, belongs to them.
The rest of us will always have her music.
When the eulogies have ended, let's let Whitney Houston rest in peace." [emphasis mine]
"Whether Whitney Houston died as a direct result of taking crack cocaine isn't clear; but no one – least of all, herself – was in any doubt that her self-confessed crack addiction destroyed her career. Over the years her fans have desperately wanted her to clean up her act for good. Perhaps if they knew more about crack they would understand why that was unlikely to happen.posted by ericb at 12:14 PM on February 12 [2 favorites]
... A crack-addicted brain has been physically changed: it sends out a screamingly loud message to its owner that it needs a hit. Bear that in mind before you rush to judgment about Whitney Houston."
"New reports indicate that Houston was prone to taking Xanax prior to shows or major public appearance. She may have overdosed on that drug yesterday and fallen asleep in the bathtub, drowning."*posted by ericb at 12:20 PM on February 12
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