About
Although she came to mostly make news for the drama in her private life, Whitney Houston was the first of the modern R&B divas, one of the
most successful singers in the history of popular music. Houston got her
start singing gospel with her mother, Cissy, while her pop chops were
influenced by cousin Dionne Warwick. Whitney began her professional
music career with the experimental jazz ensemble Material. When Clive
Davis offered her a contract in 1983, the woman who would become the
first artist to have seven consecutive No. 1 singles finally launched
her pop career. By 1987's Whitney, Houston was a full-fledged
star. After 1990's I'm Your Baby Tonight, she virtually abandoned
an album career in favor of phenomenally successful singles, some (like
the Dolly Parton cover "I Will Always Love You") attached to films in
which Houston starred, and some the kind of stuff only she could pull off
(who else could make "The Star-Spangled Banner" a hit single?). By the
end of the '90s, Houston had gotten together with (and split from)
husband Bobby Brown several times, stopped showing up for gigs and spent
time in rehab. Fans still hoped for a comeback, even after 2009's "comeback" album I Look to You flopped. But sadly, Houston passed away on February 11, 2012, just a day before the Grammy Awards, which she was scheduled to attend.
- RDEVITT
