Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

[mel]

Whitney Houston Dies @ 48

LOS ANGELES – Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died, Fox News confirms. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment...#ixzz1m8Ef5kG3

Sad news. I remember when she was a big hit maker in the mid 1980s to early 1990s. She had many #1 records. Her first two albums were great. "Saving All My Love For You," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and "How Will I Know" were 3 of my favorites plus the cover of "The Greatest Love of All" and also the cover of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You"..... from that movie The Bodyguard... all memorable hits that will surely stand the test of time.

Upon hearing this it also reminds me to look for one of her more obscure songs called "The Moment of Truth"... which I only have on vinyl. Have never located a digital copy of this either on CD or online. Oh well. Sad news indeed.

Additional links: Whitney Houston | Whitney Houston Discography

[LikaNui]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

I just saw that on CNN.com. Sad news. She had an unusually special voice, but also subjected herself to a very tough life between her marriage and her drug addictions.
I expect there'll be some kind of special thing about her at the Grammy Awards tomorrow night.

[LikaNui]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

I just found this:

"Dionne Warwick and Cissy Houston spoke with Whitney Houston by phone just before she died and say Whitney seemed fine ... TMZ has learned.
Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston, spoke with her daughter 25-30 minutes before she died and nothing seemed unusual ... sources tell TMZ. We're told they talked about attending the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party.
Dionne Warwick, Whitney's cousin, called as well ... several hours before Whitney died ... to make sure they were sitting at the same table at Clive's party. And again ... there were no signs of trouble.
The people in touch with Dionne say she is inconsolable adding, "She is an absolute mess."
As for Cissy, we're told she is "hysterical."

and this:

"Houston won two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards during her record-breaking career. Her album "Whitney" was the first female album to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard Charts. She has sold 200 million albums worldwide."

There were photos of her taken at a Grammy party Thursday night, and she looked terribly stoned. Sad deal.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Just a couple of years ago, there was a thread talking about Whitney Houston's decline as a vocalist. So much concern and speculation surrounded what was wrong with Whitney's vocal chords when, in reality, her personal life was in far, far worse shape.

R.I.P. Whitney. You were taken from this world far too soon.

[DannyWilliams]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Everyone definately has Whitney's debut album (Vinyl, Cassette or CD) in their music collection. I had her album as a cassette and was mesmerized by her voice. And when I logged on last night and skimming thru my facebook account and reading announcements of her passing I thought.... SAY WHAAAA?!? Yup, a talented lady who's career was spiraling downward from 2002...
Being with Bobby Brown played a role and I recalled when she was in Hawaii there was an incident of spouse abuse while she was outside of Kahala Mall but thats anudda thread story. I pretty much have all her albums and loaded my favorite Whitney songs onto my Ipod. The 2009 comeback song "I Look TO You" Is a nice song but sad that her vocals sound strained. RIP Grrrl... Thanks for the good ballads, upbeat songs and yes movie roles you have graced on the movie screen (The Bodyguard & Waiting To Exhale)

[Kalalau]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Its early but it looks from reports from the coroner's office that she died from prescription drugs and maybe drowning. If so, she joins the long list of celebrities who have succumbed because of prescribed drugs. A partial list includes Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Corey Haim, Elvis Presley. Sadly when people get rich enough they can find doctors who will bend the rules to indulge their patients even when their wishes are unhealthful. It comes down to personal responsibility by both the patient and the doctor. I think there are times when bending or even breaking rules is the only moral, humane thing to do--overprescribing pain killers in a miserable terminal case, why not? Yet if its just stress, no. Send the patient to a yoga class. Anyway this is another very sad case of a brilliant creative life being cut far too short.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

And our favorite looney group, Westboro Baptist Church, plans to protest at her funeral: http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/...s_funeral.html

[tutusue]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

I'll add Heath Ledger to your list, Kalalau. My guess is there's a doctor or 2 who might be having Conrad Murray nightmares right about now.

[scrivener]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Everyone definately has Whitney's debut album (Vinyl, Cassette or CD) in their music collection.

Um. Yeah. That would be a pretty inaccurate statement. The fact that she had a great voice is tough to dispute. The idea that everyone owned one of her albums (let alone her debut album specifically) is preposterous. She recorded a couple of excellent pop songs; I found most of the rest of her work decent at best.

I think there are times when bending or even breaking rules is the only moral, humane thing to do--overprescribing pain killers in a miserable terminal case, why not? Yet if its just stress, no. Send the patient to a yoga class. Anyway this is another very sad case of a brilliant creative life being cut far too short.

Pure speculation on your part; none of us knows any details. Even if it's prescription medication that played a part, you have no way of knowing yet if painkillers were even involved. There could have been a legitimate reason for taking whatever she might have taken, and any number of factors could have been involved. Let's not be in a hurry to blame physicians, wealth, Whitney herself, or anyone else. There will be plenty of time for that later.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Um. Yeah. That would be a pretty inaccurate statement. The fact that she had a great voice is tough to dispute. The idea that everyone owned one of her albums (let alone her debut album specifically) is preposterous. She recorded a couple of excellent pop songs; I found most of the rest of her work decent at best.

I did have her debut album on vinyl for a while - but I didn't buy it (it was a promo copy). After a while, my opinion was: marvelous voice, but the material didn't excite me upon repeated listening - so I eventually got rid of it.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

The fact that she had a great voice is tough to dispute. The idea that everyone owned one of her albums (let alone her debut album specifically) is preposterous. She recorded a couple of excellent pop songs; I found most of the rest of her work decent at best.

I did have her debut album on vinyl for a while - but I didn't buy it (it was a promo copy). After a while, my opinion was: marvelous voice, but the material didn't excite me upon repeated listening - so I eventually got rid of it.

Great voice, but a mixed bag of material? Well, that shouldn't be surprising, since Whitney wasn't a songwriter. Not uncommon at all for non-songwriting performers to put out recordings that ebb and flow with the material that is fed to them. No less a celebrated singer than Dionne Warwick went through some tough times when she no longer had the services of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

[LikaNui]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Okay, I'll probably get blasted by a few folks but here's what I think.
First, it's sad that she died and sad that her daughter is left without a mother now.
But.
She was a singer. That's all. A great singer once upon a time, for sure. But her life for at least the past decade has been nothing but massive drug and alcohol usage, and that includes legal and illegal drugs. (Including two charges against her right here in Hawaii.) She has not only NOT been a good role model to the public, she was a horrible role model to her own teenage daughter who is now publicly acknowledged to be addicted to drugs and alcohol. Because of her mother.
So yes, she had a great voice but a great voice did not automatically make her a great person, obviously. So I'm tired of hearing all the so-called praise and adulation by other performers and the public in general. Hell, even the governor of New Jersey wants to fly all state flags at half mast!

[Kalalau]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

And I will get in trouble for...you know how, when someone dies skiing or surfing or mountain climbing people always say, "well, at least they died doing what they loved". And so it is with drugs and alcohol. The person wouldn't be doing it so much if they didn't sincerely enjoy it. A needless early death on a mountainside is no holier than drowning in a bath tub.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

It's going to be sad to watch the reality series of Bobby & Whitney if they decide to release it on DVD.

[mel]

Re: Whitney Houston: R.I.P.

Hell, even the governor of New Jersey wants to fly all state flags at half mast!

I think Governor's of a performer's home state like to do that. Here in Hawaii remember when Brother IZ died... he had a "state" funeral ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. Stuff like this is not all that uncommon.