Governor Chris "Krispy Kreme" Christie did New Jersey right by lowering the flags to half mast last Saturday.
We'll Remember Her Bright DignityBy JIM FUSILLI
Whitney Houston, who in the mid-1980s and early '90s was a pre-eminent talent in R&B and pop, died Saturday afternoon in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 48 years old. Though her misadventures and struggles with drugs characterized her latter years, Houston's extraordinary voice and professional effervescence warranted the accolades and fan loyalty she received.
Whitney Elizabeth Houston had a flawless pedigree for a versatile and emotive vocalist: She was the daughter of soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston, cousin of Dionne Warwick and goddaughter of Aretha Franklin. Raised in the company of such extraordinary talent, a preteen Houston began demonstrating gifts of her own in her church's gospel choir in Newark, N.J. Like her mother, who had sung backup to Ms. Franklin, Mahalia Jackson and Elvis Presley, Houston toured as a young singer with Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. She was 18 years old when she sang lead on "Memories," a gorgeous ballad that also featured jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp on the band Material's "One Down" album. She also worked as a model, appearing on the cover of Seventeen and on the pages of major fashion magazines.
Houston signed with Clive Davis's Arista Records in 1983. Prior to the release of her self-titled debut in 1985, she scored a hit with soul stylist Teddy Pendergrass, singing on his duet "Hold Me."
With Arista's marketing prowess and savvy guiding it, her debut disc, "Whitney Houston," generated several hit singles; she had her first No. 1 song with "Saving All My Love for You," a jazz ballad in which she demonstrated the beauty of her instrument and the intelligence behind it as she shifted effortlessly from smooth to gritty, conveying the meaning of a lyric without unnecessary ornamentation. With "How Will I Know," Houston and the label broke through an implicit policy at MTV—a force in the industry at the time—which in effect limited the number of African-Americans and other minority artists in its rotation. The pop song's video found an audience on the cable channel and it too became a No. 1 hit; so did the triumphant ballad "Greatest Love of All," which presented her as a superior soul singer. Houston thus became the first female artist to score three Top-10 hits from a single album. It's reported that "Whitney Houston" went on to sell in excess of 25 million copies world-wide.
Houston's second album, "Whitney," generated four No. 1 hits: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "So Emotional," "Didn't We Almost Have It All" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," giving her an unprecedented seven consecutive No. 1 hits. The album closes with a mother-daughter duet, with Cissy Houston joining her on "I Know Him So Well."
Following her third album, Ms. Houston sang "The Star Spangled Banner" to start the Super Bowl in January 1991; her rendition proved so popular that it was released as a single. She donated her proceeds, said to approach $500,000, to the American Red Cross. Later that year, she performed at a naval base in Virginia for troops returning from the first Gulf War; HBO broadcast the event live.
Now a global star, Houston shifted to a career in film, starring in "The Bodyguard." Her soaring version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" for the film's soundtrack became an iconic hit, showing that Houston's voice had lost none of that thrilling power, despite what seemed an overcrowded schedule. She went on to act in several more films, in each case singing impressively on the soundtrack albums, including "The Preacher's Wife," the best-selling gospel album.
The first public recognition of Houston's troubles with drugs surfaced in early 2000. She missed performances and couldn't marshal her talent at times when called to sing. In a televised interview, she made the unfortunate comment that she was too wealthy to smoke crack, seen as a street drug, though later she admitted to drug use. As if to shatter her previously pristine image, Houston often appeared in an unflattering light when she surfaced on her husband's reality TV program "Being Bobby Brown." The couple divorced in 2007 after 15 years of marriage, with Houston granted custody of their daughter Bobbi Kristina, who was born in 1993.
Despite several attempts, Houston failed to make music with the same glorious authority of her early years. Two days before she died, she appeared briefly with R&B singer Kelly Price at the Los Angles nightclub Tru. Though she was scheduled to attend Mr. Davis's annual pre-Grammys party Saturday night, she wasn't slated to perform.
Houston's lasting legacy will soon obliterate memories of her decline. The quality of her recordings, the at-times-joyous, at-times-anguished performances of great songs that she made her own, and the bright dignity with which she carried herself in public during her most productive days will define her for decades to come.
