Death of Whitney Houston

You wouldn't  have to have been a steady reader of tabloid newspapers to have foreseen the dark end to the Whitney Houston story. Plenty of reporting in so-called "legitimate" outlets had been done over the years that revealed what an unmanageable train wreck Whitney's life had become. The story of Whitney and Bobby Brown need not be re-counted here except to say that whatever bad habits the two were prone to on their own, the combination of the two seemed to create a hurricane of bad consequences. Together, or apart, it appears that the worst drug that Whitney ever did, with the exception of whatever she overdosed on, was Bobby Brown.

Obviously, less than 24 hours after her unfortunate demise, we don't know exactly what caused Whitney to die at the relatively young age of 48. The coroner will render that verdict soon enough. I do want to stop to remember Whitney as she was when she came on the scene. She did have 11 number one hit records back when that meant something.When it meant the actual shifting of physical units, mainly cds because she came up at the start of the digital era. She also had another 11 chart hits. Though my taste in divas tends to be distinctly "old-school" (Aretha. Dionne Warwick. Diana Ross. Patti Labelle) I do recognize the high quality of the records that Whitney made, under the watchful eye of Clive Davis at Arista.

"I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" is everything that you want in a catchy, bouncy dance pop single. It has a lot of the hallmarks of an upbeat 80's smash hit. Bubbly instrumentation which relied heavily on the synthesizer sound of the moment, lyrics that hit the sweet spot of it's intended audience, and a spot on vocal performance by Whitney who could, at that  point in her career, sing anything. Throw in a video that got ton's of airplay (and must have sold millions of lookalike outfits worn in the video to teenage girls) and you have a cultural juggernaut. It was a number one, platinum record of course.

She made it seem easy. Like Berry Gordy's Motown assembly line, or the effortless string of hits pumped out by Brian Wilson with the Beach Boys, it seemed like the auteurs at Arista could put these hits out forever.

Whitney became most well-known, of course, for the 'Big Ballad" for which her voice was particularly well suited. "Saving All My Love For You," "The Greatest Love Of All" and, of course, the record smashing "I Will Always Love You" were made for what Tom Jones might call "a Big Voice." And no ones was bigger than Whitney's. "I Will Always Love You" had been written by Dolly Parton in a version country fans revered and pop fans were unaware of. Whitney changed all of that. Its placement in a movie that has been more or less forgotten,(The Bodyguard) brought the song to the public's attention. But the combination of great tune, great production and great vocal resulted in a record that grabbed the top of the charts and refused to let go, spending month's in first place, selling multi-platinum copies. You would have to have been a hermit to become unaware of this record. It won Grammy's Record of the Year and Best Pop Vocal.

It's a great record.

Whitney peaked with that record. Never dominated the charts like that again. She had only one more number one hit whose name escapes me. The hits weren't as big. Never found the movie vehicle that matched "The Bodyguard." Newer, more over the top singers like Mariah Carey came along to steal her   thunder and audience. She came to be mentioned more in the tabloid news than the music news.

She made a comeback record a couple of years ago. It sold alright, but not lilke Whitney in her prime. And her vocal instrument had been damaged by years of abuse. She lost the clarity and purity of that dazzling, powerful gift. Her death on the eve of the Grammy's, an event she had become so associated with, right before a Clive Davis party she was rumored to be performing and appearing at, well, fate has a dark sense of humor, I guess.

Whitney Houston RIP