Whitney Houston, one of the greatest singers in the history of recorded music, has passed away. Formulating those words is tough for me because as a fan I truly loved Whitney Houston. When the great Don Cornelius died a few days ago, I was compelled not to blog about it only because I felt my blog was starting to look like a music obit. But for Whitney, I must write.
Whitney burst onto the music scene and into our hearts in the mid 1980s. Her self titled debut album produced the hits "Saving All My Love For You" and "You Give Good Love". It also contained the smash hit "The Greatest Love of All", which many people still think she recorded first but George Benson was the original singer; Whitney just "owned" it - LOL. That song quickly became the #1 choice of aspiring singers at talent shows all around the globe in the mid to late 80s. When I heard Whitney back then, I knew she was special because she was so clearly better than any of the female contemporary singers of the time. I felt the breath from her belly as she hit notes that most singers could only dream of hitting. She made the hairs on your body stand and demanded your attention and she wielded her craft.
I have been a fan of Whitney's since day one. When she really started to become an international superstar after her second album "Whitney" took off, it bothered me some when folks started criticizing her for going "pop". That condemnation of her may have been some of the dumbest stuff I've ever heard. Crossing over is not always a bad thing. It opened more doors for her to expose her talents, like to do the movies "The Bodyguard", "The Preacher's Wife and "Waiting to Exhale". It gave her an opportunity to give us that mesmorizing performance of America's National Anthem at Super Bowl XXV and the great "One Moment Time" song for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. It strengthened her brand.
Whitney's relative absence from the music scene for 15 years or so left a huge void. When she stopped releasing music consistently and stopped charting we were left with a lot of mediocre garbage. The vacuum left by her swept in a lot subpar performers. There has always been a part of me that HOPED she would make a big successful comeback and rule the industry again. That part of me never died until tonight (news of her passing); it wasn't meant to be. But Whitney, I'll never stop playing your music and I'll never stop talking about how great you was. You'll always be near the top of my charts. I hope you are at peace.
