Whitney Houston, Dead at 48

[jlymonstone]

they give her the "sniff", so she would come back for the "base".

[wealthhound]

Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies

By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY | Associated Press – 7 minutes ago

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Whitney Houston, who ruled 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. She was 48.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

News of Houston's death came on the eve of music's biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It's a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to case a heavy pall on Sunday's ceremony. Houston's longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."

She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America."

"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," ''You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the "Soul Train Awards" in 1989.

"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she told Katie Couric in 1996. "You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.

"When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place," she told Rolling Stone in 1993. "You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that's their image. It's part of them, it's not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody's angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy."

It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America's sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with "The Bodyguard." Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You," which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy's record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the "Bodyguard" soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife." Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, "My Love Is Your Love," in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut "It's Not Right But It's Okay."

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time "The Preacher's Wife" was released, "(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ... I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ... I wasn't happy by that point in time. I was losing myself."

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown's reality show, "Being Bobby Brown," was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared "crack is whack," was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album "I Look To You." The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on "Good Morning America" went awry as Houston's voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

Gosh, it is always so very sad to hear of someone passing...

I really enjoyed reading the "histiry" you posted...THE BODYGUARD is one of my favorite movies, and that song"I Will Always Love You" is a very beautiful one....so sad....

[captl1]

There is no true way to express our feelings however mixed they may be...We all have our vices to overcome..no one is without them...The world lost an incredible singer ....children lost a mother...family lost a loved one...Rest in Peace Whitney and thank you for the music you gave us.

[watercop]

I dont think anybody especially whitney or her family want your pity, so who cares whether you have it or not.

But I would say this I pity people like you, who would take the occassion of the death of someone to give the comments you did. just my opinion. shows a real lack of everything decent , that a person can have. But with a user name like yours, you truely are a machine for truth, something that does not have a heart.

I don't think you should be so hard on Machine. I don't think anyone couldn't love her and her beautiful voice music. She was a beautiful person. What we are angry against is the drugs and what they do to people and their families. I hate and double hate DRUGS, the bad ones that get people so addicted that they can't care about anything else. We love Whitney and our other loved ones that are messed up but we hate what messes them up.

[bodeen]

http://hospitalityandtravelnews.blogspot.com/2011/06/top-ten-hotel-celebrity-deaths.html

[BrokeNoMore]

to be honest all I can say is ...... she was beautiful & she had an amazing voice ........ but she was a victim of her own success, I have no pitty or sympathy for any drug addict.

bash me if you want, its just my opinion

There isn't any way to measure pain. I think it must be more painful to be successful and to expect on the way there that it will bring joy, only to arrive and live in the pain anyway, while everyone else in the world looks at you and wonders what is wrong with you; why can't you be happy.

I have huge sympathy and sorrow for a drug addict. I can't imagine the pain people must be trying to escape to abuse their bodies and end their lives at the half way point, regardless of status or success. Yes, they make their choices, but what makes anyone think success makes any of it easier.

JMO.

[R2d2dc]

Whitney was blessed with a talent so wonderful and shared it with us all. I for one will not stand in judgement of her, especially at the end of her life. She blessed us with her voice and struggled with her personal life. I would wish that people could celebrate her gifts and allow her, her issues. What is it people say, cast no stones.

May the Lord bless her family in this very difficult time.

r2

[billjr]

to be honest all I can say is ...... she was beautiful & she had an amazing voice ........ but she was a victim of her own success, I have no pitty or sympathy for any drug addict.

bash me if you want, its just my opinion

Hope and pray that no one close to you ever falls into the grips of addiction. Nobody wants your pitty. Your lack of understanding of drug addiction is evident. I am positive she did not choose or enjoy being a drug addict. I can say this because I have been clean and sober for over 17 years. Rest in peace Whitney.

[wealthhound]

There isn't any way to measure pain. I think it must be more painful to be successful and to expect on the way there that it will bring joy, only to arrive and live in the pain anyway, while everyone else in the world looks at you and wonders what is wrong with you; why can't you be happy.

I have huge sympathy and sorrow for a drug addict. I can't imagine the pain people must be trying to escape to abuse their bodies and end their lives at the half way point, regardless of status or success. Yes, they make their choices, but what makes anyone think success makes any of it easier.

JMO.

Yeah BrokeNoMore,

I can only imagine the negatives that someone with success like she had deals with, something I am realizing, greater and greater as I age, EVERYONE HAS A STORY!

Usually we only are aware of half or less of it!!

Hope and pray that no one close to you ever falls into the grips of addiction. Nobody wants your pitty. Your lack of understanding of drug addiction is evident. I am positive she did not choose or enjoy being a drug addict. I can say this because I have been clean and sober for over 17 years. Rest in peace Whitney.

bill,

I feel your sentiment, and I mean no disrespect to you, God Bless you for your 17 years, BUT, let's be honest, WE ALL CHOOSE OUR PATHS...

I'm not disputing the severity of her situation, hell I only know what the media puts out there, but YOU PLAY YOU PAY...Tha's life...If anything I would imagine that Whitney would have access to help, ..

[betty1970]

Hope and pray that no one close to you ever falls into the grips of addiction. Nobody wants your pitty. Your lack of understanding of drug addiction is evident. I am positive she did not choose or enjoy being a drug addict. I can say this because I have been clean and sober for over 17 years. Rest in peace Whitney.

Very well done Bill.

I have counselled many addicts, they have no choice, Whitney did not choose to become and addict. Very sad, beautiful girl who has left behind a grieving daughter and family.

The Machine if you want to have a go, try doing something to stop the pushers, and the media encouraging the young that it's cool to be wasted on alcohol, a legal drug that takes far more lives and destroys more families than illegal ones. Rant over.

God Bless Whitney.

[mojack]

What a great voice and smile!!! She was a pure entertainer!

Whitney Houston was taking Xanax ... evidence shemay have fallen asleep in the bathtub where she died ... TMZ has learned.

Family members of Whitney tell us the singer had aprescription for the drug, which is commonly used to treat anxiety anddepression.

We told you yesterday ... the night before Whitney died,she had been drinking a lot. Xanax mixed with alcohol can cause severesedation, which could cause someone to fall asleep in a bathtub.

As TMZ first reported, Whitney was found in thebathtub and removed before EMTs arrived. The L.A. County Coronerwill perform an autopsy -- possibly today -- to determine if Whitney died fromdrowning, and OD or other causes.

As we previously reported, Beverly Hills cops obtained asearch warrant and found various prescription bottles -- but, as faras we know, no illicit drugs.

Edited February 12, 2012 by mojack

[BrokeNoMore]

Very well done Bill.

I have counseled many addicts, they have no choice, Whitney did not choose to become and addict. Very sad, beautiful girl who has left behind a grieving daughter and family.

......

Really? They have no choice? Somebody pins them to the wall and forces them to use? I could not more vehemently disagree.

It is a choice from the first use. It's also a choice to stop. And yes, it's that simple. That doesn't make it easy, however.

If I had made choices in my life that led me to drug addiction, or any other position of victimization, I would not want to be counseled by someone who would tell me it wasn't my fault, and that I couldn't help it.

That takes away all my power, and leaves me without hope.

The people who recover and thrive are the people who accept responsibility for poor decisions and make better ones. The people who accept their weakness, and recognize they even need new people in their lives, and get rid of old and bad influences. To go to a place where they can see straight, and get support. Good support. It's all about choices. Freedom to choose is a God-given right. A God-given responsibility.

[umbertino]

Hope and pray that no one close to you ever falls into the grips of addiction. Nobody wants your pitty. Your lack of understanding of drug addiction is evident. I am positive she did not choose or enjoy being a drug addict. I can say this because I have been clean and sober for over 17 years. Rest in peace Whitney.

Thanks.

[betty1970]

Really? They have no choice? Somebody pins them to the wall and forces them to use? I could not more vehemently disagree.

It is a choice from the first use. It's also a choice to stop. And yes, it's that simple. That doesn't make it easy, however.

If I had made choices in my life that led me to drug addiction, or any other position of victimization, I would not want to be counseled by someone who would tell me it wasn't my fault, and that I couldn't help it.

That takes away all my power, and leaves me without hope.

The people who recover and thrive are the people who accept responsibility for poor decisions and make better ones. The people who accept their weakness, and recognize they even need new people in their lives, and get rid of old and bad influences. To go to a place where they can see straight, and get support. Good support. It's all about choices. Freedom to choose is a God-given right. A God-given responsibility.

BrokenoMore you obviously have no idea of the condition of addiction, but it is your opinion and you stick with it. There are many addicts who are in recovery and have accepted responsibility and gone on to great things. On of the first steps is to accept responsiblity, it's nothing to do with whose fault it is. In recovery an addict has to face their misdeeds, and accept the consequences. If you think that my way negates responsibility you a very wrong.

I have no desire to take this any further, and I hope that your perfect world will never lead you and yours into addiction. Freedom of choice is not the luxury of many you should take a look at the world from the comfort of your pedestal, God forbid you ever have to get off it.

[BrokeNoMore]

Wow. getting negged after getting personally insulted. Lovely.

[dinarbeleiver]

This is probbly going to get me shot but people who take drugs do so because they like the effects the drugs gives them. I should know I was addicted to cannabis skunk for a long time. The only reason I smoked it was because I loved the effects of the drug not because someone made me do it. After some years about 4 years go I decided to stop and have remained clean ever since. It was my choice and wasnt due to peer pressure or someone forcing me. I have tried most drugs and the only reason I tried or did them for a while was I loved the effects. There is nothing wrong with me I am a mech engineer and I had a good upbringing and I am completely responsible for my own actions

Edited February 12, 2012 by dinarbeleiver

[BrokeNoMore]

This is probbly going to get me shot but people who take drugs do so because they like the effects the drugs gives them. I should know I was addicted to cannabis skunk for a long time. The only reason I smoked it was because I loved the effects of the drug not because someone made me do it. After some years about 4 years go I decided to stop and have remained clean ever since. It was my choice and wasnt due to peer pressure or someone forcing me

It probably will get you shot. Seems like the popular opinion is that people can't help it, it's not their fault.

While there are some exceptions to drug use, not having a choice is not the exception. JMO.

By the way, for all of Whitney's faults, it does not look like she died of a drug overdose. It looks like she took Xanax, which was prescribed most likely for depression and anxiety, after drinking, and most likely drowned in the bathtub in the hotel. I don't remember where I read that this morning.

Such a sad loss. She was an amazing artist, and will be deeply and sorely missed. She was just a little older than me. I can't imagine only having 2 years left. We imagine our lives to go into the misty gray future...uncertain, but joyful.

[dinarbeleiver]

I do have a current addiction and that is checking this site and buying iraqi dinar

[carlablum]

[billjr]

Respectfully to those who do not suffer from addiction. We do take responsiblity for our actions but we are not responsible for our addiction. This was never a choice. To truely understand you need to understand what it is to be powerless. If you would look out your window on a bright sunny day and would agree that the sun is shining. And I would look at you and simplly say " Well make it stop". That is powerless! Out of 100 addicts entering rehap for the first time, only 3 will remain clean and sober for the first year. And of the 3 only one will achieve long term sobriety. The sad truth is if you are not one of the one percent the result is always jails, institutions, and death.

[bamagirl]

I am gonna weigh in and speak only from personal experience....I was on a very powerful drug for almost a year of my life, I remember to this day the decision to use that first time...I was in my right mind and thinking crystal clear, I was just very bored with my life...at first it was just on weekends but then it turned into having to have it just to function every day....I remember the last time I used it and making the CHOICE not to use again.....I made that choice still WANTING another hit but I wanted my LIFE back more......I still smell it sometimes and still want that feeling again but I want to live MORE.....I judge no one and just pray for anyone that uses....Love to all.

[littlefeet]

Some Demons are harder to fight than others............some won't let go..........those that do make you feel like you have a chance do right again

LF

[BrokeNoMore]

I am gonna weigh in and speak only from personal experience....I was on a very powerful drug for almost a year of my life, I remember to this day the decision to use that first time...I was in my right mind and thinking crystal clear, I was just very bored with my life...at first it was just on weekends but then it turned into having to have it just to function every day....I remember the last time I used it and making the CHOICE not to use again.....I made that choice still WANTING another hit but I wanted my LIFE back more......I still smell it sometimes and still want that feeling again but I want to live MORE.....I judge no one and just pray for anyone that uses....Love to all.

Thanks for posting your story.

It is interesting that on a board like this you can see perspectives that you never see in conversations that happen in RL. People don't tend to just say what they think about issues like these.

I just might take my money post RV and start a private drug rehab clinic. Try a new approach. Try the "what do you want?" approach. Suck it up and do the work or get out. Include funding for addicts to start a new life in a new place with a new support group. That could suck up a whole fortune really quick, couldn't it?

I'm really glad that when I hit this bump in my life that I refused to believe I couldn't win. I needed to believe that I could make choices that would lead me to a better life. Now I have it. I almost didn't. Part of it involved firing a therapist that wanted to keep me wallowing in the addiction. I never went to a rehab clinic. I think I'm glad I didn't. I just thought I couldn't afford it. Maybe I couldn't. In more ways than one.

I think if the success rate on helping addicts that want help is only 1-3%, then something is wrong with the methodology. I've considered higher rates of success than that pure failure.

I'm not actually trying to offend anyone. I believe in the fundamental responsibility to choose more than any other value I can think of right now. I know it's a bloody horrible battle. But it's a battle you can win. It's entirely up to you.

Some Demons are harder to fight than others............some won't let go..........those that do make you feel like you have a chance do right again

LF

And believe it or not, I believe that when demons are involved that the solution needs to include a "name of Jesus" exorcism. Really. You think the government would shut me down if my protocols included exorcism, even if we aren't taking their money?

[bamagirl]

Broke, I never went to a rehab or even had professional help...I made a promise to God and the only reason I did is I knew He was the only one I wouldn't break a promise to...and yes I think it's a demon but it's one you invite in yourself....I can only speak as an adult because I wasn't a child the first time....I know it's different for everyone so I am only speaking of my experience.

[umbertino]

Quote

It looks like she took Xanax, which was prescribed most likely for depression and anxiety, after drinking, and most likely drowned in the bathtub in the hotel. I don't remember where I read that this morning.

End Quote

Yes.. Read that myself....And I'm sure most of us have at least a friend or a relative who takes Xanax.

As for taking away an addiction.. .. Personally I have never been into drugs ( not for any special reason just cos I'm a naturally afraid of the unknown kind of Person which saved my butt more than once so it's just luck on my part.. nothing more..)

Ok... going back to taking an addiction away... I have been biting my fingernails since age 4.....I was successful in stopping at times also for long periods... But then I'd regularly fall into it .. When I'm very nervous or stressed for any reason I'd put one of my fingers into my mouth and bite almost by default... I do want to stop that and again I was successful some times in achieving that.. But it's not that easy and I'm talking nails- biting...

Edited February 12, 2012 by umbertino