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| Whitney Houston 1963-2012 |
Saturday afternoon, paramedics and police rushed to the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, where they found American pop singer Whitney Houston dead of unknown causes. At the time Houston was scheduled to attend Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party later that night. Her death left a void in the music industry that may never be replaced; her powerful yet soulful voice provided a soundtrack to classic 80s ballads that provide a more soothing alternative to the catchy dance beats of Madonna and Michael Jackson or the glam metal of Bon Jovi and Aerosmith.
In fact, Houston was a trendsetter herself. Her career was off to a hot start as her 1985 album Whitney Houston and her 1987 album Whitney topped the US Billboard 200 and set chart records as well, the most recognizable being a record seven straight No. 1 hit singles between the two albums. Her streak includes:
Saving All My Love for You - No. 1 on October 26, 1985
How Will I Know - No. 1 from February 15-22, 1986
Greatest Love of All - No. 1 from May 17-31, 1986
I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) - No. 1 from June 27-July 10, 1987
Didn't We Almost Have It All - No. 1 from September 26-October 3, 1987
So Emotional - No. 1 on January 9, 1988
Where Do Broken Hearts Go - No. 1 from April 23-30, 1988
Another pair of No. 1 singles from 1990's I'm Your Baby Tonight gave her nine overall:
I'm Your Baby Tonight - No. 1 on December 1, 1990
All the Man That I Need - No. 1 from February 23-March 2, 1991
But it was 1992's soundtrack album to the film The Bodyguard that witnessed Houston at her peak. The lead single 'I Will Always Love You', a remake of the Dolly Parton original, became Houston's magnum opus, hitting No. 1 and stayed for 14 weeks from November 28, 1992 to March 5, 1993. Other singles from the album include the Chaka Khan remake 'I'm Every Woman', 'I Have Nothing' and 'Run to You'. Houston made her acting debut in the film, opposite Kevin Costner, and like the soundtrack itself, was a hit in theaters worldwide.
After earning another No. 1 hit single with 'Exhale (Shoop Shoop)' from the film soundtrack Waiting to Exhale on November 25, 1995, Houston's dominance began to decline as younger R&B acts like Boyz II Men and TLC plus her fellow female pop contemporaries such as Celine Dion and Mariah Carey were taking over the pop charts. At the same time, however, rumors of Houston's drug use and her tumultuous relationship with ex-New Edition member and fellow chart-topping R&B legend Bobby Brown started dominating the tabloid news. Her rumored drug use took its toll on her rich, brilliant voice and her thin complexion, and by 2009, fans were starting to tune out of Houston's concerts due to poor reviews and frequent cancellations. Her 15-year marriage to Brown would end in divorce in 2007, while she admitted to taking crack in a 2002 TV interview with Diane Sawyer.
In the end, her death one Saturday afternoon provided a rather shaky conclusion to what was once one of the most gifted singers of all time. But despite the controversial ending to her career, Whitney Houston's legacy was secured. Her voice continues to provide inspiration and influence to other singers, while her hit singles and music videos will be remembered from generation to generation. You'll be missed, Whitney.
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