So, by now everyone has or is coming to terms with the death of one the 90`s greatest female vocalists. I was never a fan of Houston`s music. I never bought a record that she made. I watched "The Bodyguard" once and thought "Meh", even though it is one of the most successful films ever, and I despised the radio dominance of her version of Dolly Parton`s "I Will Always Love You".
However, I admired Houston`s outstanding vocal ability and her image and persona that went beyond her colour. She had a voice that could make you stop suddenly and think "Wow, she can sing", hitting notes that are beyond most mere mortals. In her heyday, she appeared graceful and untainted like a film star from a bygone era. That is the Whitney Houston I remember.
We all know of the rumors of her drug problems, abusive marriage to one-hit-wonder and professional tosspot, Bobby Brown and her gradual disappearance from the public eye, which in itself was a tragedy. There were stories that Burt Bacharach fired her from The Oscars in 2000/2001, and her "Crack is wack" interview with Diane Sawyer in 2002.
Whatever you thought of Whitney Houston, she was a megastar of epic proportions when I was a teenager. Her face and voice were everywhere. She was from a musical legacy with Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin amongst family members. She was a singer of unbelievable talent. But she was only human, and that makes her death all the more real, as if the Houston from my youth become corrupted, fell from grace, but was trying to claw her way back.
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