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Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9,
1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress,
producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the
most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was also one of the world's
best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles
and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie
soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or
gold certification. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music
charts, as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How
Will I Know", influenced several African-American female artists to follow
in her footsteps.
Houston is the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot
100 hits. She is the second artist behind Elton John and the only female
artist to have two number-one Billboard 200 Album awards (formerly "Top
Pop Album") on the Billboard magazine year-end charts. Houston's 1985
debut album Whitney Houston became the best-selling debut album by a
female act at the time of its release. The album was named Rolling Stone's
best album of 1986, and was ranked at number 254 on Rolling Stone's list
of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Her second studio album Whitney
(1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on
the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film The
Bodyguard (1992). The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award
for Album of the Year. Its lead single "I Will Always Love You", became
the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. With the
album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to
sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period
under Nielsen SoundScan system. The album makes her the top female act in
the top 10 list of the best-selling albums of all time, at number four.
Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to their soundtracks,
including the films Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher's Wife
(1996). The Preacher's Wife soundtrack became the best-selling gospel
album in history.
On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in her guest room at the
Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, of causes not
immediately known. News of her death, the day before and after the 2012
Grammy Awards, featured prominently in American and international media.
1963–1976: Early life
Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighborhood in
Newark, New Jersey, the second child of Army serviceman and entertainment
executive John Russell Houston, Jr. (September 13, 1920 – February 2,
2003), and gospel singer Cissy Houston (née Emily Drinkard). She was of
African American, Native American and Dutch descent. Her mother, along
with cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, godmother Darlene Love
and honorary aunt Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel,
rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. She met her honorary aunt at age
8, or 9, when her mother took her to a recording studio. Houston was
raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After
the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle-class area in East
Orange, New Jersey, when she was four.
At the age of 11, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and
started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope
Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her
first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".
When Houston was a teenager, she attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy, a
Catholic girls' high school in Caldwell, New Jersey, where she met her
best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she described as the "sister she never
had". While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her
how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was
also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack,
most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer
1977–1984: Early career
Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her
mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and
perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she became a backup singer on the
Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". In 1978, at age 15, Houston
sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a
song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her
monster-selling The Bodyguard soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on
albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson.
In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a
photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She
appeared in Seventeen and became one of the first women of color to grace
the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages
of Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, and appeared in a Canada Dry soft
drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her
one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she
continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers
Michael Beinhorn, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were
spearheading called One Down, which was credited to the group Material.
For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories", a cover of a
song by Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice
called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever
heard". She also appeared as a lead vocalist on one track on a Paul Jabara
album, entitled Paul Jabara and Friends, released by Columbia Records in
1983.
Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael
Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981), however her mother declined
the offers stating her daughter must first complete high school. In 1983,
Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records, saw her
performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed.
He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston
perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording
contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national
televised debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show.
Houston signed with Arista in 1983, but did not begin work on her album
immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the
singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and
producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the
project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy
Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, Love Language.
The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of
success, becoming a Top 5 R&B hit. It would also appear on her debut album
in 1985.
1985–1986: Rise to international prominence
With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada
Michael Walden, Houston's debut album Whitney Houston was released in
February 1985. Rolling Stone magazine praised Houston, calling her "one of
the most exciting new voices in years" while The New York Times called the
album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional
vocal talent". Arista Records promoted Houston's album with three
different singles from the album in the US, UK and other European
countries. In the UK, the dance-funk "Someone for Me", which failed to
chart in the country, was the first single while "All at Once" was in such
European countries as the Netherlands and Belgium, where the song reached
the top 5 on the singles charts, respectively.
In the US, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love" was chosen as the lead
single from Houston's debut to establish her in the black marketplace
first. Outside the US, the song failed to get enough attention to become a
hit, but in the US, it gave the album its first major hit as it peaked at
No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot R&B chart.
As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued
promotion by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on
late-night television talk shows, which were not usually accessible to
unestablished black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You"
was released next and it would become Houston's first No. 1 single in both
the US and the UK. She was then an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne
on his nationwide tour. "Thinking About You" was released as the promo
single only to R&B-oriented radio stations, which peaked at number ten on
the US R&B Chart. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not
playing enough videos by black, Latino, and other racial minorities while
favoring white acts. The third US single, "How Will I Know", peaked at No.
1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video.
Houston's subsequent singles from this, and future albums, would make her
the first African-American female artist to receive consistent heavy
rotation on MTV.
By 1986, a year after its initial release, Whitney Houston topped the
Billboard 200 albums chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks.
The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at
the time after peaking No. 1 and remaining there for three weeks on the
Hot 100 chart, which made her debut the first album by a female artist to
yield three No. 1 hits. Houston was No. 1 artist of the year and Whitney
Houston was the No. 1 album of the year on the 1986 Billboard year-end
charts, making her the first female artist to earn that distinction. At
the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a solo artist.
Houston then embarked on her world tour, Greatest Love Tour. The album had
become an international success, and was certified 13× platinum (diamond)
in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies
worldwide.
At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards
including Album of the Year. She was not eligible for the Best New Artist
category due to her previous hit R&B duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass
in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance,
Female for "Saving All My Love for You". Houston's performance of the song
during the Grammy telecast later earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an
MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the
1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of
the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is listed as one of Rolling
Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall of
Fame's Definitive 200 list. Houston's grand entrance into the music
industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25
years, according to USA Today. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors
were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet
Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on
MTV.
1987–1991: Whitney, I'm Your Baby Tonight and "The Star Spangled Banner"
With many expectations, Houston's second album, Whitney, was released in
June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and
Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the
material was too similar to her previous album. Rolling Stone said, "the
narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is
frustrating". Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became
the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the
Billboard 200 albums chart, and the first artist to enter the albums chart
at number one in both the US and UK, while also hitting number one or top
ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first
single, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", was also a massive
hit worldwide, peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topping
the singles chart in many countries such as Australia, Germany and the UK.
The next three singles, "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional",
and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100
chart, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits,
breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee
Gees. Houston became the first female artist to generate four number-one
singles from one album. Whitney has been certified 9× Platinum in the US
for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million
copies worldwide.
At the 30th Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards,
including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for Best Female Pop
Vocal Performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)".
Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989, respectively,
and a Soul Train Music Award. Following the release of the album, Houston
embarked on the Moment of Truth World Tour, which was one of the ten
highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tours during
1986–87 and her two studio albums ranked Houston No. 8 for the highest
earning entertainers list according to Forbes magazine. She was the
highest earning African-American woman overall and the third highest
entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.
Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement.
During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who
did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. On June 11, 1988,
during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to
perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned
Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley
Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert
raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to
apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison
Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert
that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College
Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988
Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US,
while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her world tour
continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning
entertainers for 1987–88 according to Forbes magazine.
In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a
non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children
around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with
cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of
her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover
superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all
demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out".
They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during
her live concerts.
At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out
for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself
against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career,
there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of
it". Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, I'm
Your Baby Tonight, released in November 1990. She produced and chose
producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and
collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie
Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough
rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were
mixed. Rolling Stone felt it was her "best and most integrated album".
while Entertainment Weekly, at the time thought Houston's shift towards an
urban direction was "superficial".
The album contained several hits: the first two singles, "I'm Your Baby
Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart; "Miracle" peaked at number nine; "My Name Is Not
Susan" peaked in the top twenty; "I Belong to You" reached the top ten of
the US R&B chart and garnered Houston a Grammy nomination; and the sixth
single, the Stevie Wonder duet "We Didn't Know", reached the R&B top
twenty. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on
to be certified 4× platinum in the US while selling twelve million total
worldwide.
In 1990, Houston was the spokesperson for a youth leadership conference
hosted in Washington, D.C. She had a private audience with President
George H. W. Bush in the Oval Office to discuss the associated challenges.
With America entangled in the Persian Gulf War, Houston performed "The
Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV at Tampa Stadium on January 27,
1991. Due to overwhelming response to her rendition, it was released as a
commercial single and video of her performance, and reached the Top 20 on
the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a
pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached No. 50 in
November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the
American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund. As a result, the singer was named to
the Red Cross Board of Governors.
Her rendition was considered the benchmark for singers and critically
acclaimed. Rolling Stone commented that "her singing stirs such strong
patriotism. Unforgettable", and the performance ranked No. 1 on the 25
most memorable music moments in NFL history list. VH1 listed the
performance as one of the greatest moments that rocked TV. Following the
attacks on 9/11, it was released again by Arista Records, all profits
going towards the firefighters and victims of the attacks. This time it
peaked at No. 6 in the Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the Recording
Industry Association of America.
Later in 1991, Houston put together her Welcome Home Heroes concert with
HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Persian Gulf War and their families.
The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia
in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so
that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its
highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the I'm Your Baby Tonight World
Tour.
1992–1994: Marriage to Bobby Brown and The Bodyguard
Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football
star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then
met R&B singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a
three-year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. On March 4,
1993, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown,
her only child, and his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins
with the law, including some jail time.
With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in,
including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee;
but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston's first film role was in
The Bodyguard, released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston
played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a
bodyguard to protect her. USA Today listed it as one of the 25 most
memorable movie moments of the last 25 years in 2007. Houston's mainstream
appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind.
Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's advertising intentionally
hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial relationship. In an
interview with Rolling Stone in 1993, the singer commented that "people
know who Whitney Houston is – I'm black. You can't hide that fact."
Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. The
Washington Post said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston,
comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an
undertaking", and The New York Times commented that she lacked passion
with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely
successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S.
and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in
film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100
due to rising ticket prices since the time the film was released.
The film's soundtrack also enjoyed big success. Houston executive produced
and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack
album. Rolling Stone said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and
urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You",
written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Houston's version
of the song was acclaimed by many critics, regarding it as her "signature
song" or "iconic performance". Rolling Stone and USA Today called her
rendition "the tour-de-force". The single peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the
R&B chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult
Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top
those three charts simultaneously for five weeks.
The single was certified 4× platinum by the RIAA, making Houston the first
female artist with a single to reach that level in the RIAA history and
becoming the best-selling single by a female artist in the US. The song
also became a global success, hitting number-one in almost all countries,
and one of the best-selling singles of all time with 12 million copies
sold. The soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 chart and remained there for
20 non-consecutive weeks, the longest tenure by any album on the chart in
the Nielsen SoundScan era, and became one of the fastest selling albums
ever. During Christmas week of 1992, the soundtrack sold over a million
copies within a week, becoming the first album to achieve that feat under
Nielsen SoundScan system. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a
Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both reaching the top five, Houston
became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 11
simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the US alone, with
worldwide sales of 44 million, making The Bodyguard the biggest-selling
album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling
albums, topping Shania Twain's 40 million sold for Come On Over.
Houston won three Grammys for the album in 1994, including two of the
Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In
addition, she won a record 8 American Music Awards at that year's ceremony
including the Award of Merit, 11 Billboard Music Awards, 3 Soul Train
Music Awards in 1993–94 including Sammy Davis, Jr. Award as Entertainer of
the Year, 5 NAACP Image Awards including Entertainer of the Year, a record
5 World Music Awards, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the
project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour, The Bodyguard
World Tour, in 1993–94. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made
her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–94, just behind
Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to Forbes magazine. Houston
placed in the top five of Entertainment Weekly's annual "Entertainer of
the Year" ranking and was labeled by Premiere magazine as one of the 100
most powerful people in Hollywood.
In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the
White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela.
At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South
Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This
would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified
and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The
concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated
to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the
nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela".
1995–1997: Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher's Wife, and Cinderella
In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and
Lela Rochon in her second film Waiting to Exhale, a motion picture about
four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston played
the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married
man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for
the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals
and as caring mothers". After opening at number one and grossing $67
million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide, it proved
that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to
success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as How
Stella Got Her Groove Back and the Tyler Perry movies that have become
popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black
women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The
reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. The New York Times
said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal
of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated
for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture",
but lost to her co-star Bassett.
The film's accompanying soundtrack, Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack
Album, was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally
wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she
"wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus
gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go
along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album
featured a range of contemporary R&B female recording artists along with
Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti
Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at No. 1, and
then spent a record eleven weeks at the No. 2 spot and eight weeks on top
of the R&B Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top
10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the
Top 30. The album debuted at No. 1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the
United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack
received strong reviews as Entertainment Weekly said "the album goes down
easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston
tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense"[
and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. Later
that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1
Honor for all the charitable work.
In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy The Preacher's Wife, with
Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney
B. Vance). It was largely an updated remake of the 1948 film "The Bishop's
Wife" which starred Loretta Young, David Niven and Cary Grant. Houston
earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest-paid
actresses in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African
American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American
cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the
U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. The
San Francisco Chronicle said Houston "is rather angelic herself,
displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same
time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when
praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice". Houston was again
nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A
Motion Picture.
Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's
accompanying gospel soundtrack. The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack
Album included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded
at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted
with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies
worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step
by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album
received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of USA Today,
noted the presence of her emotional depth, while The Times said "To hear
Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir
struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made
for".
In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse
Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show
aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to
the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in
film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake
of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. In addition to co-producing,
Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy,
Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was
initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects
intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and
nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the
special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received
seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy,
while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy
Special.
Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy
Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African
American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told
with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the
project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid
tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne
Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert
Classic Whitney, live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over
$300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund. Houston received The Quincy
Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of
entertainment at the 12th Soul Train Music Awards.
1998–2000: My Love Is Your Love and Whitney: The Greatest Hits
After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures
and their soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years,
the critically acclaimed My Love Is Your Love, was released in November
1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful
of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length
studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it
featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott.
The album debuted at number thirteen, its peak position, on the Billboard
200 chart. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw
Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B, reggae, torch songs,
and ballads all with great dexterity.
From late 1998 to early 2000, the album spawned several hit singles: "When
You Believe" (US No. 15, UK No. 4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998's
The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, which also became an international hit as
it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award for
Best Original Song; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US No. 2, UK No. 25) featured
Faith Evans and Kelly Price, received a 1999 MTV VMA nomination for Best
R&B Video, and number one on the US R&B chart for seven weeks; "It's Not
Right But It's Okay" (US No. 4, UK No. 3) won Houston her sixth Grammy
Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance; "My Love Is Your Love" (US
No. 4, UK No. 2) with 3 million copies sold worldwide; and "I Learned from
the Best" (US No. 27, UK No. 19). These singles became international hits
as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one
hits on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart. The album sold four
million copies in America, making it certified 4× platinum, and a total of
eleven million copies worldwide.
The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. Rolling Stone
said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice" and The Village Voice
called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999,
Houston participated in VH-1's Divas Live '99, alongside Brandy, Mary J.
Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her
70 date My Love Is Your Love World Tour. The European leg of the tour was
Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year. In November 1999,
Houston was named Top-selling R&B Female Artist of the Century with
certified US sales of 51 million copies at the time and The Bodyguard
Soundtrack was named the Top-selling Soundtrack Album of the Century by
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She also won The
Artist of the Decade, Female award for extraordinary artistic
contributions during the 1990s at the 14th Soul Train Music Awards, and an
MTV Europe Music Award for Best R&B.
In May 2000, Whitney: The Greatest Hits was released worldwide. The double
disc set peaked at number five in the United States, reaching number one
in the United Kingdom. In addition, the album reached the Top 10 in many
other countries. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album
features house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits. Included
on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet
with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah
Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine", and
three hits that had never appeared on a Houston album: "One Moment in
Time", "The Star Spangled Banner", and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful",
a duet with Jermaine Jackson from his 1986 Precious Moments album. Along
with the album, an accompanying VHS and DVD was released featuring the
music videos to Houston's greatest hits, as well as several hard-to-find
live performances including her 1983 debut on The Merv Griffin Show, and
interviews. The greatest hits album was certified 3× platinum in the US,
with worldwide sales of 10 million.
2000–2005: Just Whitney, and personal struggles
Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the 1980s
and early 1990s, by the late 1990s, her behavior changed. She was often
hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling
concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and
weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated.
On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both
Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the
two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive.
Charges were later dropped against them, but rumors of drug usage between
the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was
inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to
perform at the event, but failed to show up.
Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards
but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt
Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the
cancellation. In his book The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings
Backstage at the Academy Awards, author Steve Pond revealed that
"Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her
attitude was casual, almost defiant", and that while Houston was to sing
"Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston
later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time
executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's
management company.
In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history
with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six
new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an
appearance on Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special. Her extremely
thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said,
"Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is
under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second
performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's
rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the
September 11 attacks, with the proceeds donated to the New York
Firefighters 9/11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York Fraternal Order of
Police. The song peaked at No. 6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its
previous position.
In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston
Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her
career, it was actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner
filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost),
stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for
helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for
sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had
nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise,
John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in
February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was
awarded nothing.
Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her
then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television
interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on
topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the
ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing
straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's
get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is
wack." The line was from Keith Haring's mural which was painted in 1986 on
the handball court at 128th Street and 2nd Avenue. Houston did, however,
admit to using other substances at times, including cocaine.
In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, Just
Whitney.... The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown,
as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time that
Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top
management at BMG. Upon its release, Just Whitney... received mixed
reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart and it
had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released.
The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the
Billboard Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. Just Whitney...
was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three
million worldwide.
On a June 2003 trip to Israel, Houston said of her visit, "I've never felt
like this in any other country. I feel at home, I feel wonderful."
In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album One Wish: The
Holiday Album, with a collection of traditional holiday songs. Houston
produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled
"One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary
chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a
touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in
Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a
surprise performance at the World Music Awards in a tribute to long time
friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to
go into studio to work on her new album.
In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program,
Being Bobby Brown (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the
domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle,
Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much
screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in,
what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The Hollywood
Reporter said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series
ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck
nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time
slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television.
The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated that she
would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an
agreement for another season.
2006–2012: Return to music, I Look to You, tour and film comeback
After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown
in September 2006, filing for divorce the following month. On February 1,
2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was
finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's
daughter. On May 4, Houston sold the suburban Atlanta home featured in
Being Bobby Brown for $1.19 million. A few days later, Brown sued Houston
in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of
their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from
Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional
problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce
petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his
appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody
and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista
Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In
October 2007, Arista released another compilation The Ultimate Collection
outside the United States.
Houston gave her first interview in seven years in September 2009,
appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere. The interview was billed as
"the most anticipated music interview of the decade". Whitney admitted on
the show to using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown, who "laced
marijuana with rock cocaine". By 1996, she told Oprah, "doing drugs was an
everyday thing... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing
myself."
Houston released her new album, I Look to You, in August 2009. The album's
first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album
entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, with Houston's best opening-week sales
of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since The
Bodyguard, and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since
1987's Whitney. Houston also appeared on European television programs to
promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German
television show Wetten, dass..?. Three days later, she performed the
worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the
French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor
on The X Factor in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill"
on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap
in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She
later commented that she "sang herself out of her clothes".
The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was
variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop".
Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14
to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after
release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version
of The X Factor, performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to
excellent reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over
50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston
performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music
Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both
songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009,
"I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more
than one million copies in the United States. On January 26, 2010, her
debut album was re-released in a special edition entitled Whitney Houston
– The Deluxe Anniversary Edition.
Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing but Love
World Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was
announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and
rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston
canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative
reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and
performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.
In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for
Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for
Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You". On January 16, she
received The BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime
achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors
award was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. and aired on
February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of
her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from
the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International
Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper The Mirror reported that Houston
was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and wanted to
collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for
a collaboration.
Houston also performed the song "I Look to You" on the 2011 BET
Celebration of Gospel, with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the
Staples Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011.
Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne
Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011,
Houston enrolled in a rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient,
citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that
it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process".
In September 2011, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Houston would
produce and star alongside Jordin Sparks and Mike Epps in the remake of
the 1976 film Sparkle. In the film, Houston portrays Sparks' "not-so
encouraging mother". Houston will have executive producer credits on top
of acting credits according to Debra Martin Chase, producer of Sparkle.
She stated that Houston deserved the title considering she had been there
from the beginning in 2001, when Houston obtained Sparkle production
rights. R&B singer Aaliyah - originally tapped to star as Sparkle – died
in a 2001 plane crash. Her death derailed production, which would have
begun in 2002. Houston's remake of Sparkle was filmed in the fall of 2011,
and is set for release by TriStar Pictures in August 2012.
Death
On February 9, 2012, Houston visited singers Brandy and Monica, together
with Clive Davis, at their rehearsals for Davis' pre-Grammy Awards party
at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. That same day, she made
her last public performance, when she joined Kelly Price on stage in
Hollywood, CA and sang "Jesus Loves Me".
On February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in a suite at the Beverly
Hilton Hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, submerged in the bathtub. The
cause of death was not immediately known. Beverly Hills paramedics arrived
at approximately 3:30 p.m. and found the singer unresponsive and performed
CPR. Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. PST. Local police said there
were "no obvious signs of criminal intent."
Houston had an invitation-only memorial on Saturday, February 18, 2012, at
the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. The service was
scheduled for two hours, but lasted for four hours. Among those who
performed at the funeral were Stevie Wonder (rewritten version of "Ribbon
in the Sky," and "Love's in Need of Love Today"), CeCe Winans ("Don't Cry"
and "Jesus Loves Me"), Alicia Keys ("Send Me an Angel"), Kim Burrell
(rewritten version of "A Change Is Gonna Come") and R. Kelly ("I Look to
You"), interspersed with hymns by the church choir and remarks by Clive
Davis, Houston’s record producer; Kevin Costner; Ricky Minor her music
director; her cousin Dionne Warwick and Ray Watson, her security guard for
the past 11 years. Aretha Franklin was listed on the program and was
expected to sing, but was unable to attend the service. Bobby Brown,
Houston's ex-husband, was also invited to the funeral but he left before
the service began. Houston was buried on Sunday, February 19, 2012, in
Fairview Cemetery, in Westfield, New Jersey next to her father, John
Russell Houston, who died in 2003.
Reaction
The Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party that Houston was expected to attend, and
that featured many of the biggest names in music and movies, went on as
scheduled although it was quickly turned into a tribute to Houston. Davis
spoke about Houston's death at the evening's start: "By now you have all
learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney's passing. I
don't have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear
friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant
so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so
looking forward to tonight even though she wasn't scheduled to perform.
Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced
this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances
here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go
on and her family asked that we carry on."
Tony Bennett spoke of Houston's death before performing at Davis' party.
He said, "First, it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the
magnificent Whitney Houston". Bennett sang "How Do You Keep the Music
Playing?" and said of Houston, "When I first heard her, I called Clive
Davis and said, 'You finally found the greatest singer I've ever heard in
my life.'"
Some celebrities opposed Davis' decision to continue on the party while a
police investigation was being conducted in Houston's hotel room and her
body was still in the building. Chaka Khan, in an interview with CNN's
Piers Morgan on February 13, 2012, shared that she felt the party should
have been canceled, saying "I thought that was complete insanity. And
knowing Whitney I don't believe that she would have said 'the show must go
on.' She's the kind of woman that would've said 'Stop everything! Un-unh.
I'm not going to be there.' I don't know what could motivate a person to
have a party in a building where the person whose life he had influenced
so enormously and whose life had been affected by hers. They were like...
I don't understand how that party went on." Sharon Osbourne, on February
15 episode of The Talk, also condemned the Davis party, declaring "I think
it was disgraceful that the party went on. I don't want to be in a hotel
room when there's someone you admire who's tragically lost their life four
floors up. I'm not interested in being in that environment and I think
when you grieve someone, you do it privately, you do it with people who
understand you. I thought it was so wrong."
Several other celebrities released statements responding to Houston's
death. Dolly Parton, whose song "I Will Always Love You" was covered by
Houston, said, "I will always be grateful and in awe of the wonderful
performance she did on my song and I can truly say from the bottom of my
heart, 'Whitney, I will always love you. You will be missed'." Aretha
Franklin said, "It's so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn't believe what
I was reading coming across the TV screen." Mariah Carey said,
"Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend ... She
will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the
earth." Oprah Winfrey, who did an in-depth interview with Houston in 2009,
wrote on Twitter "To me Whitney was THE VOICE. We got to hear a part of
God every time she sang. Heart is heavy, spirit grateful for the GIFT of
her." Quincy Jones said, "I am absolutely heartbroken at the news of
Whitney’s passing. Ashford & Simpson first made me aware of Whitney when
she was just sixteen, and I always regretted not having had the
opportunity to work with her. She was a true original and a talent beyond
compare. I will miss her terribly."
Moments after news of her death emerged, CNN, MSNBC and Fox News all broke
from their regularly scheduled programming to dedicate time to non-stop
coverage of Houston's death. All three featured live interviews with
people who knew Houston including those that have worked with her,
interviewed her along with some of her peers in the music industry.
Saturday Night Live displayed a photo of a smiling Houston, alongside
Molly Shannon, from her 1996 appearance. MTV and VH-1 interrupted their
regularly scheduled programming on Sunday February 12 to air many of
Houston's classic videos with MTV often airing news segments in between
and featuring various reactions from fans and celebrities.
Houston's former husband, Bobby Brown, was reported to be "in and out of
crying fits" since receiving the news. He did not cancel a scheduled
performance and within hours of his ex-wife's sudden death, an audience in
Mississippi observed as Brown blew kisses skyward, tearfully saying: "I
love you, Whitney".
Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the 54th Grammy Awards announced that
Jennifer Hudson would perform a tribute to Houston at the February 12,
2012, awards. He said "event organizers believed Hudson – an Academy
Award-winning actress and Grammy Award-winning artist – could perform a
respectful musical tribute to Houston". Ehrlich went on to say: "It's too
fresh in everyone's memory to do more at this time, but we would be remiss
if we didn't recognize Whitney's remarkable contribution to music fans in
general, and in particular her close ties with the Grammy telecast and her
Grammy wins and nominations over the years". At the start of the awards
ceremony, a footage of Houston performing "I Will Always Love You" from
1994 Grammys was shown following a prayer read by host, LL Cool J. Later
in the program following a montage of photos of musicians who died in 2011
with Houston singing "Saving All My Love for You" at the 1986 Grammys,
Hudson paid tribute to Houston and the other artists by performing "I Will
Always Love You".
Houston was honored in the form of various tributes at the 43rd NAACP
Image Awards, held on February 17. A image montage of Houston and
important black figures who died in 2011 was followed by video footage
from the 1994 ceremony, which depicted her accepting two Image Awards for
outstanding female artist and entertainer of the year. Following the video
tribute, Yolanda Adams delivered a rendition of "I Love the Lord" from The
Preacher's Wife Soundtrack. In the finale of the ceremony, Kirk Franklin
and The Family started their performance with "Greatest Love of All." 2012
BRIT Awards, took place at London's O2 Arena on February 21, also paid
tribute to Houston by playing a 30-second-video montage of her music
videos with a snippet of "One Moment in Time" as the background music in
the ceremony's first segment. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that
all New Jersey state flags will be flown at half-staff on Tuesday,
February 21 to honor Houston.
Artistry and legacy
Voice
Houston was a mezzo-soprano, and was commonly referred to as "The Voice"
in reference to her exceptional vocal talent. Her vocal range extended
from G below middle C (G3) to high B-flat (B♭5); she could belt out to
treble F (F5). She was third in MTV's list of 22 Greatest Voices, and
sixth on Online Magazine COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a
score of 48.5/50. In 2008, Rolling Stone listed Houston as the
thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating, "Her voice
is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a
song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse
version of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You' is a tour de force."
Matthew Perpetua from Rolling Stone also eulogized Houston's vocal,
enumerating ten performances, including "How Will I Know" from the 1986
MTV VMAs and "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1991 Super Bowl. "Whitney
Houston was blessed with an astonishing vocal range and extraordinary
technical skill, but what truly made her a great singer was her ability to
connect with a song and drive home its drama and emotion with incredible
precision," he stated. "She was a brilliant performer, and her live shows
often eclipsed her studio recordings."
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times commented, "Her voice was clean and
strong, with barely any grit, well suited to the songs of love and
aspiration. Hers was a voice of triumph and achievement, and it made for
any number of stunning, time-stopping vocal performances." Mariah Carey
stated, "Whitney has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people
have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of I
Look to You, music critic Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times writes,
"Houston's voice stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century
pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of
millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators",
adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean,
cool mezzo-soprano".
Lauren Everitt from BBC News Magazine commented on melisma used in
Houston's recording and its influence. "An early 'I' in Whitney Houston's
'I Will Always Love You' takes nearly six seconds to sing. In those
seconds the former gospel singer-turned-pop star packs a series of
different notes into the single syllable," stated Everitt. "The technique
is repeated throughout the song, most pronouncedly on every 'I' and 'you'.
The vocal technique is called melisma, and it has inspired a host of
imitators. Other artists may have used it before Houston, but it was her
rendition of Dolly Parton's love song that pushed the technique into the
mainstream in the 90s. But perhaps what Houston nailed best was
moderation." Everitt said that " in a climate of reality shows ripe with
'oversinging', it's easy to appreciate Houston's ability to save melisma
for just the right moment".
Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music
industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during
the 1990s, commercially rivaling Mariah Carey and Celine Dion. Stephen
Holden from The New York Times, in his review of Houston's Radio City
Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer
highly, writing, "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars
of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer
whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of
tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston
would rather just stand there and sing." With regard to her singing style,
he added: "Her stylistic trademarks – shivery melismas that ripple up in
the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that
suggest an almost breathless exhilaration – infuse her interpretations
with flashes of musical and emotional lightning."
Elysa Gardner of the Los Angeles Times in her review for The Preacher's
Wife Soundtrack praised Houston's vocal ability highly, commenting, "She
is first and foremost a pop diva – at that, the best one we have. No other
female pop star – not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand
– quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone,
and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama."
Influence
During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received harsh criticism
for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson
breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the
same for black female artists. She became the first black female artist to
receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How
Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other
African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker,
were successful in popular music. Baker commented that "Because of what
Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations,
black women singers aren't taboo anymore."
Allmusic noted her contribution to the success of black artists on the pop
scene, commenting, "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary
ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary
soul with equal dexterity" and that "the result was an across-the-board
appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her
become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael
Jackson's wake". The New York Times stated that "Houston was a major
catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity
of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of Time
magazine commented on her initial success breaking various barriers:
Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse had to
fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed
in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music
audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. She was a
phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a
return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own
genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth
singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace.
Stephen Holden of The New York Times said that Houston "revitalized the
tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the
Los Angeles Times referred to the singer as a "national treasure". Jon
Caramanica, other music critic of The New York Times, called Houston
"R&B's great modernizer," adding "slowly but surely reconciling the
ambition and praise of the church with the movements and needs of the body
and the glow of the mainstream". He also drew comparisons between
Houston's influence and other big names' on 1980s pop:
She was, alongside Michael Jackson and Madonna, one of the crucial figures
to hybridize pop in the 1980s, though her strategy was far less radical
than that of her peers. Jackson and Madonna were by turns lascivious and
brutish and, crucially, willing to let their production speak more loudly
than their voices, an option Ms. Houston never went for. Also, she was
less prolific than either of them, achieving most of her renown on the
strength of her first three solo albums and one soundtrack, released from
1985 to 1992. If she was less influential than they were in the years
since, it was only because her gift was so rare, so impossible to mimic.
Jackson and Madonna built worldviews around their voices; Ms. Houston’s
voice was the worldview. She was someone more to be admired, like a museum
piece, than to be emulated.
The Independant's music critic Andy Gill also wrote about Houston's
influence on modern R&B and singing competitions, comparing it to Michael
Jackson's. "Because Whitney, more than any other single artist ― Michael
Jackson included ― effectively mapped out the course of modern R&B,
setting the bar for standards of soul vocalese, and creating the original
template for what we now routinely refer to as the 'soul diva'," stated
Gill. "Jackson was a hugely talented icon, certainly, but he will be as
well remembered (probably more so) for his presentational skills, his
dazzling dance moves, as for his musical innovations. Whitney, on the
other hand, just sang, and the ripples from her voice continue to dominate
the pop landscape." Gill said that there "are few, if any, Jackson
imitators on today's TV talent shows, but every other contestant is a
Whitney wannabe, desperately attempting to emulate that wondrous
combination of vocal effects – the flowing melisma, the soaring
mezzo-soprano confidence, the tremulous fluttering that carried the ends
of lines into realms of higher yearning".
Houston was considered by many to be a "singer's singer", who had an
influence on countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly,
Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious
technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban
soul singer – male or female – in her wake, and spawned a legion of
imitators. Rolling Stone, on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined
the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah
Carey to Rihanna". Essence ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50
Most Influential R&B Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all
divas".
A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence, including
Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, LeAnn Rimes,
Jessica Simpson, Nelly Furtado, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara,
P!nk, Ashanti, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Stacie Orrico, Amerie, and
Destiny's Child. Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said,
"Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told USA Today that
"none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a
record, or Whitney Houston hadn't." Celine Dion who was the third member
of the troika that dominated female pop singing in the 1990s, did a
telephone interview with Good Morning America on February 13, 2012,
telling "Whitney's been an amazing inspiration for me. I've been singing
with her my whole career, actually. I wanted to have a career like hers,
sing like her, look beautiful like her." Beyoncé told the Globe and Mail
that Houston "inspired her to get up there and do what she did". She also
wrote on her website on the day after Houston's death, "I, like every
singer, always wanted to be just like Houston. Her voice was perfect.
Strong but soothing. Soulful and classic. Her vibrato, her cadence, her
control. So many of my life's memories are attached to a Whitney Houston
song. She is our queen and she opened doors and provided a blueprint for
all of us."
Mary J. Blige said that Houston inviting her onstage during VH1's Divas
Live show in 1999 "opened doors for her all over the world". Brandy
stated, "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the
world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney, half of this
generation of singers wouldn't be singing." Kelly Rowland, in an Ebony's
feature article celebrating black music in June 2006, recalled that "I
wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest
Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress."
She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song. I learned it
backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you
wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God
will give you."
Alicia Keys, in an interview about her album The Element of Freedom with
Billboard magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from
the time I was a little girl". Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston
as her biggest musical influence. She told Newsday that she learned from
Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to
sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called "the new Whitney Houston", also
cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little
girl.
Awards and achievements
Further information: List of awards and nominations received by Whitney
Houston and Whitney Houston chart records and achievements
Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to
Guinness World Records, with two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30
Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415
career awards as of 2010. She held the all-time record for the most
American Music Awards of any female solo artist and shared the record with
Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year with eight
wins in 1994. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its fourth
ceremony in 1993. She also had the record for the most WMAs won in a
single year, winning five awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994.
In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest
Women of the Video Era", behind Madonna and Janet Jackson. She was also
ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons
of All Time". In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100
All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's 50th anniversary,
ranking Houston at number nine. Similarly, she was ranked as one of the
"Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" by VH1 in September 2010. In
November 2010, Billboard released its "Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the
Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went
on to earn eight number one singles on the R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but
also landed five number ones on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Houston's debut album is listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All
Time by Rolling Stone magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's
Definitive 200 list. In 2004, Billboard picked the success of her first
release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history.
Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25
musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today in 2007.
It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey's chart-topping vocal
gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was
renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and
Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist ever to be given a
BET Lifetime Achievement Award.
Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having
sold over 200 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she released
relatively few albums, she was ranked as the fourth best-selling female
artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of
America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone.
She held an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State
University, Louisiana. |
