Who was Whitney Houston to you? How does a complete stranger become so tied up with what it meant for you to grow up, to fall in love, to get over that guy, to believe in yourself? It turns out, that all Whitney had to do was sing. “We will always love you Whitney.
You belong to a time in my life that conjures so many memories for me. It’s like those days have gone,” says Gabriella S, an ardent fan of the singer.
For a generation whose coming of age coincided with the most successful phase of Whitney’s career, there was no escaping her face. Frizzy-haired and drop dead gorgeous, she simply sung her way into becoming, “The first black America’s Sweetheart.”
Her incredibly popular debut in 1985 and its headliner ‘Saving All My Love For You’ won her legions of fans and she cemented her reputation with her self titled album ‘Whitney’ in 1987 which delivered four more number ones and earned the singer her first Grammy. “I know everyone says that Arethea Franklin is the Queen of Soul, but for me, Whitney Houston was the epitome of soul,” Radio personality Shehara of Yes FM told the Mirror Magazine. “As singers, we all try to live up to Whitney Houston, and she will always be my idol.”
Unfortunately, the bulk of Whitney’s repertoire was made up of largely forgettable songs, but there was nothing at all forgettable about that voice and the sheer skill with which she wielded it. Her foray into acting won her a Razzie for Worst Actress in ‘The Bodyguard’, but the movie scored big at the box office. It helped that when she sang Dolly Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You,” for the soundtrack she simply stole it from right under its owner’s nose. “…Hers is a voice we’ll never forget. There will never be a voice nor a singer like her again,” says a fan Damien Niroshan earnestly.
Over the course of her career Whitney would win six Grammys and become widely recognized as one of the greatest pop vocalists of her generation. “Whitney Houston was quite obviously an amazing artist,” says Mark Kross who hosts the Morning Showgram of EFM. “I remember I was about 7 when I first heard her sing and I was just mesmerised by the voice. But I also feel that a lot of these 80’s icons - reached the top of their career and then, they felt they had nothing more to achieve, so they turned to substance abuse. It’s a shame things turned out the way they did for her, because there was so much more she could have contributed to the world.”
Whitney certainly seemed to need help, particularly in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s when her increasingly unhappy marriage to Bobby Brown and her own terrible struggle with addiction almost derailed her career. Her studio work was neglected, concerts were cancelled and her problems became increasingly public. She later confessed to Oprah in 2009 that her mother saved her: “[My mother] walks in with the sheriff and she says: ‘I have a court injunction here. You do it my way or we're not going to do this at all. You're going to go on TV, and you're going to retire. And say you're going to give this up because it's not worth it.’” Whitney took a break from her career, divorced Bobby in 2007, and won sole custody of their child, Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown.
After almost a decade of struggling with her personal life, things seemed to have finally turned a corner for Whitney. She was hard at work on a new musical, ‘Sparkle’, a remake of the 1976 movie about an all-girl musical and was considering joining The X Factor as a judge.
Then the news broke last Saturday on Twitter that she had died. “When she passed away, it was like someone you knew passing away, you know. It was very emotional,” Jimmy Deen (Real Radio) confesses. Others shared his grief. Social media of all kinds filled with obits, tributes and makeshift memorials. The fountains in Dubai were synchronised to play “I Will Always Love You” and a video of a 90 year old grandmother swinging her hips to “I Want to Dance with Somebody” went viral. At the Grammy’s Jennifer Hudson sang in Whitney’s honour and struggled to hold back the tears. “After having rejuvenated the lives and spirits of millions of adoring fans her loss will be definitely felt not just by the music community, but the world as a whole,” says Azlan Sheriff.
Though she died too young, Whitney is in no danger of being forgotten. Karen Hatch, a RJ on Lite FM says we should remember Whitney for her music. “She’s simply amazing, and incredibly talented. I feel that we should focus on her career as an artist, and not on her life and the choices she made, because eventually that’s the important thing.”
Whitney Houston through the years
Having watched her rise through the charts our
music columnist Miles Brohier pens his thoughts
The news of Whitney Houston’s death on Saturday February 11 was a surprise as one never expected the “diva” to be gone so soon. My earliest recollection of Whitney Houston goes back to 1984 listening to “You Give Good Love”, over the VOA, in the pre digital radio age. It was a period when musicians and producers were experimenting with new ideas with the advent of synthesizers. By September I realized Whitney Houston’s potential as she powered her way to both the US and UK charts with “Saving All My Love For You”.
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For nearly ten years or more Whitney held sway as a popular female R & B singer with a careful blend of soul and pop captivating audiences with her music. She had power and was able to hold on to high notes for a little longer , which was nerve wracking for others but eventually attracting a long enthusiastic fan base who were enthralled by her rich voice. As for me I was never a Whitney Houston fan but simply kept abreast with music since my taste varied amazingly and frightfully from pop, rock, rap, jazz, classical, military etc as well.
There seemed to be no end of songwriters and producers who wanted to be associated with her after Clive Davis, the founder of Arista Records took her under his wing. In my opinion two producers who did wonders for her were Michael Masser and Narada Michael Walden. Masser for the Soul/ R&B ballads such as “Saving All My Love For You” and “Didn’t We Almost Have It All’,while Walden for ‘How Will I Know’ and ‘So Emotional’ among others.
In the Nineties, the fast evolving music industry was overtaking Whitney Houston. Her album ‘I am Your Baby Tonight’ tried to blend into the prevailing scene with its mash up of disco, soul, pop and gospel. It spawned two significant hits, the title track and “All the Man That I Need’, as it narrowed down her sales, obviously as the new generation was looking for younger stars as her music did not seem to be progressive and lacked appeal despite new producers Wyclef Jean and L.A Reid being on board.
Whitney peaked with the Bodyguard soundtrack. The stand out track on the soundtrack was the lead title track ‘I Will Always Love You’, which turned out to be her signature tune.
The song is etched in my memory (for that famous note which Whitney herself found difficult to get through in later years) as it topped the chart in December of 1992 and as it happened to be my Dad’s favourite song at the time. The other reason being whilst it held its place at the top of the US chart in the first week of 1993, during a sneak preview of the US chart, devastating news of my Dad’s sudden passing a way was communicated. For a considerable period of time my Mum would be overcome with emotion whenever Whitney’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” was on the airwaves.
I would be compelled to even skip the track whenever the Bodyguard soundtrack was played at home.
Arguably Whitney Houston was one of the best singers of her time. She will always be remembered for the songs that were special at some point of time for the many fans and new fans who will now discover her music which is evident by the surge in record sales across the world.
Send in your tributes
The Mirror Magazine has opened a space on our blog for you to write in with your tributes. See all the tributes at www.sundaytimes.lk/mirrorblog
Rest in peace Whitney, The world has lost such an amazing artist today, Without her music some of us wouldn’t have made it through our days, Her songs were truly great, May this day be her day, We will all miss you Whitney.
Reece
United Kingdom, England.
God Bless You Whitney Houston Always!
Richard Duszynski
When I heard of Whitney Houston’s passing I could not believe it. As a child we had many mini talent shows amongst the cousins and invariably we sang Whitney Houston’s songs. It’s such a shame that a voice such as hers would never be heard again. What a great loss to the music industry, what a great loss to our ears. A true music legend has gone. Earth has lost her, heaven has gained her. Goodbye and goodnight our “singing angel”
Sonali Perera
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