Whitney Houston R.I.P.

[Phil Carter]

Hello all,

It was sadly announced a few hours ago that Whitney Houston, the legendary singer, was found dead in the guest room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. She was born in August 1963, and was therefore only 48 years old.

At her very finest, her voice was practically immaculate. She was very probably inspired by the prominent soul/funk singers in her family, including her mother Cissy Houston (had a monster of a funk/disco track in the late 70's called Think it Over), cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and her godmother, the one and only Aretha Franklin. She began singing in a church gospel choir. From there she performed with her mother on stage in various New York clubs until being "discovered" by Arista Records.

Though many of her songs will be remembered, her rendition of Dolly Parton's "I will always love you" from the film "The Bodyguard" was a diamond track, showing the full range of her voice. It was her biggest selling single.

One of the traits of Whitney Houston's on stage singing performances was her tapping the beat of the song she was singing on the microphone with her fingers as she sang.

Her private life was a nighmare of addiction involving use of various illegal substances. The cause of her death is yet to be ascertained.

Whitney Houston 1963-2012 R.I.P.


sadly

Phil

[mariab]

Wow, she died? Sorry to hear that.
Great voice, until she lost it due to her lifestyle.

[Limehouse]

I admired and respected Whitney Houston's contribution to music but she wasn't to my personal taste. I actually preferred Dolly Parton's original 'I will always love you' due to its 'purity' and simple orchestration.

I saw Dionne Warwick on stage a few years back and she was very good. She mentioned her musical family and particularly Whitney and she was so proud of them all.

Sadly, Whitney is one of a long line of talented people who have died far too young due to the pressures of fame and the abuse of substances that, I suppose, help them to cope with those pressures for a short while.

RIP

[mariab]

I actually preferred Dolly Parton's original 'I will always love you' due to its 'purity' and simple orchestration.

That song equals the Titanic Céline Dion hit in creating an irritated state for the listener.

[Limehouse]

That song equals the Titanic Céline Dion hit in creating an irritated state for the listener.

Yes, I totally agree! I'm just not ito divas. Don't like Shirley Bassey either.

[mariab]

I work with opera thus I'm accustomed to divas, but with a real voice, not just screaming. LOL.
Christina Aguilera is a fine artist and a real voice. Whitney Houston was definitely a fine artist too, apart from that tiresome song/hit. Even opera people have praised her voice.
Here in Chicago Hyde Park there's a place called Leona's that I often frequent and they play oldie videos on their TV, and her first hit from the '80's, when she was still a teen, "Wanna dance with somebody" comes fairly often. Well, even in that one you can hear that she has a voice.

(Though watching that vid is a bit painful on the eyes from the neon colors in the clothes, accessories, and make up.)

[tji]

Apparently she 'drowned in the bath' after taking prescription drugs.

Tracy

[Phil Carter]

Hello Tracy,

---and now it has been reported that her daughter has beem admitted to hospital for stress related illness reasons. It just gets sadder.

kindly


Phil

[kensei]

Call me an old softy, but I love both Whitney's version of "I Will Always Love You" and Celine Dion's song in Titanic. Come on, let's take them as they were intended. It's been said that the ultimate peak of Whitney Houston's career can be traced not only to that one song, but to one note in that song. Final chorus- song fades to silence for a moment, then a single drumbeat, then "And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!" She had a golden voice in her, that's for sure. I'm going to miss her.

Anyone watch the Grammys tonight? They are calling it one of the oddest and most emotional ever, a perfect mixture of mourning for Whitney and celebrating the triumphant return of Adele after her throat surgery. (Adele won six awards by the way, and her awesome voice has suffered no permanent damage.) Jennifer Hudson sang "I Will Always Love You" in tribute to Whitney and just for a moment I thought, well, that's not even her original song, it's Dolly Parton's. But I let it go. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

My favorite Whitney Houston song is "The Greatest Love of All." Incredible lyrics. I think words like "I believe that children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way," and "I decided long ago never to live in anyone's shadow," and "Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all" and "If by chance that special place that you've been dreaming of leads you to a lonely place, find your strength in love" are words to live by. Sorry to be a little mushy, but I am sad tonight.

[Errata]

To be frank, Whitney Houston wasn't my thing. As a trained singer at one point in my life, I found her embellishments to be self indulgent, akin to Mariah Carey's "I can open a garage door with my voice" high notes.We used to refer to her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" as "The Vowel Song"

But damn if "It Ain't Right, But That's Okay" wasn't released EXACTLY when I needed it. It almost inspired a "Say Anything" moment with me holding up a boombox playing that song under my ex's window.

But regardless of my opinions on her vocal style, she was a human being and I'm sorry she died. On the other hand, she was a mother. She was a mother whose child was staying with her in that hotel room, and how DARE she do that to her kid? Is it any wonder her daughter ended up in the hospital with panic attacks? And believe me, I get the perils of addiction. And if she wanted to use. that's her business. But she didn't have the right to imperil herself with her kid in the next room. I'm sorry, but that's not tragic. It's inexcusable.

[mariab]

One song I enjoy on Xmas season is “When you believe“, i.e. a duet between Whitney Houston and Maria Carey from a Disney animated movie, The prince of Egypt (which spots a plot from Exodus which incidentally coincides with the plot in Rossini's operas Mosé in Egitto/Moise). This song never fails to impress when played in Xmas parties. What one can't fail to notice is how solid and authentic Houston's performance is (in the gospel tradition) vs. Carey's a bit half-assed singing and R&B mannerisms.

Houston had obtained the rights to a movie biography of Dorothy Dandridge in 1997, however, Hale Berry ended up winning in obtaining the rights to the movie and getting cast. Had that project gone through, Houston might have been taken more seriously as an actress.

[kensei]

To be frank, Whitney Houston wasn't my thing. As a trained singer at one point in my life, I found her embellishments to be self indulgent, akin to Mariah Carey's "I can open a garage door with my voice" high notes.We used to refer to her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" as "The Vowel Song"

But damn if "It Ain't Right, But That's Okay" wasn't released EXACTLY when I needed it. It almost inspired a "Say Anything" moment with me holding up a boombox playing that song under my ex's window.

But regardless of my opinions on her vocal style, she was a human being and I'm sorry she died. On the other hand, she was a mother. She was a mother whose child was staying with her in that hotel room, and how DARE she do that to her kid? Is it any wonder her daughter ended up in the hospital with panic attacks? And believe me, I get the perils of addiction. And if she wanted to use. that's her business. But she didn't have the right to imperil herself with her kid in the next room. I'm sorry, but that's not tragic. It's inexcusable.

There is a handful of female singers with voices whose power has impressed me over the years- Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Pat Benatar, Laura Branigan, and today Adele. I had the pleasure of seeing the band Heart in concert and marveling in how Ann Wilson's voice practically lifted me off my feet. I don't find it self indulgent, I enjoy it as much as I enjoy any skill that someone excells at.

And I think we should maybe wait for the toxicology report to come in before we pass judgement on Whitney, which they say could take a few weeks. I'll be surprised if some kind of drugs weren't involved, but early reports are that it may be prescribed ones. Irresponsible behavior perhaps, but not illegal. Then again, I recently had a friend die from a heart attack at age 42 who I thought was one of the healthier people that I knew.

[ChrisGeorge]

Apparently she 'drowned in the bath' after taking prescription drugs.

Tracy

I also heard a report that a record company executive who was staying in a hotel room above hers reported hearing two loud booms and man's raised voice some twenty minutes before she was discovered dead. So despite the official word pending the autopsy that there were no suspicious circumstances in regard to her death, it might be wondered if her death might have been partly due to partner abuse similar to what she had suffered from her longtime boyfriend Bobby Brown.

Best regards

Chris

[DVV]

I was also a huge fan of his father, who directed The Maltese Falcon and the unforgattable Man who would be King.

[Errata]

And I think we should maybe wait for the toxicology report to come in before we pass judgement on Whitney, which they say could take a few weeks. I'll be surprised if some kind of drugs weren't involved, but early reports are that it may be prescribed ones. Irresponsible behavior perhaps, but not illegal. Then again, I recently had a friend die from a heart attack at age 42 who I thought was one of the healthier people that I knew.

I don't care about legality. I really don't I care that she offed herself in the same hotel room as her kid.

And she did kill herself. We didn't even have to make it to the 70s for the general public to be fully aware that booze and pills kill. It is literally as responsible as playing Russian Roulette, and what would we say about any parent who plays that in the house with their child? Ironically, I would be more generous if it was an actual successful suicide attempt. Because that implies problems other than selfishness and stupidity. But I doubt it. I think she just wanted get high, got into a bathtub so the heat blew open the blood vessels, took the pills a doctor had no business prescribing her, drank, and she dropped dead because 40 % of her filtration organs were unavailable to the the heat of the water.

Anyway. If you're a great talent and a crap mom I see no need to render respect outside that due to any human.