Forums » Pearl's Cafe
Chronicles of Greatness (11) Whitney Houston
-
WHITNEY HOUSTON (1963-2012)
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born August 9, 1963 to Cissy and John Russell Houston in Newark, New Jersey. Her mother Cissy Houston, Cousin Dionne Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all legendary figures in American gospel, soul and pop music.
Whitney's mother was the Choir Minister at New Hope Baptist Church and that was where Whitney started.
At age 15, Whitney performed often with her mother and also aiming to get her own record deal. Around that sametime she was discovered by a photographer who was mesmerized by her natural beauty. In no time, she became extremely sought-after as a teenager and one of the first African-American women to appear on the cover of Seventeen magazine.
At age 19, Whitney was discovered in night club by the renowned Clive Davis of Arista Records, who immediately signed her and took through her career as she made transition from gospel to pop stardom.In 1983, she made her debut on national television appearing on the Merv Griffin Show to sing “Home” from the musical Th Wiz. She and Davis spent the next two years to work on her debut album to find the best producers and songwriters available to express her vocal talent.
In 1985, Whitney released her debut album Whitney Houston. The next year, her hit singles "Saving All My Love for You" and "How Will I Know" helped the album reach the top of the charts, where it stayed for 14 non-consecutive weeks.
In 1986, she won a Grammy for "Saving All My Love for You" presented to her by her cousin - Dionne Warwick.
In 1987, she released her second album which also won awards and a grammy for the single "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)."In 1992, she crossed over into acting and featured in the wildly know Movie – The Bodyguard. That same year,Whitney Houston had become famous. She married Bobby Brown – Former R&B Singer of New Edition and that phase marked a major turn around in her life. . They were engaged for three years before they got married. Their marriage kicked of with so much fire of love but as the years progressed, their love turned sour due to battle with substance abuse which led to emotional abuse and domestic violence.
In 1998, She released My Love Is Your Love, her first non-soundtrack studio album in many years which won her Grammy for the single "It's Not Right But It's Okay."
Her collaboration with Mariah Carey in the animated film The Prince of Egypt produced a hit single, "When You Believe," which won an Academy Award.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Houston's unsettled life threatened to derail her career. She cancelled several concerts and she struggled in her career.
In 2004, Bobby Brown began filming a reality show for Bravo entitled Being Bobby Brown. This show featured the real life of Whitney and her husband which brought down Whitney's reputation.In spite of her troubled relationship, Houston was still celebrated as a singer, being named the most-awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records in 2006.
Houston attempted to repair her marriage and to break her drug habit, but after several relapses her mother Cissy had to step in.
After almost a decade of struggling with her personal life, Houston seemed to pull herself together. She released a new album, I Look To You, in 2009. The recording received a warm welcome from music fans, making it to the top of album charts. Her live shows, however, garnered mixed reviews, with some complaining about the quality of her voice.
In early 2012, Houston was rumored to be experiencing financial trouble, but she denied this claim.
Whitney Houston died at the age of 48 on February 11, 2012, in Los Angeles at a Beverly Hilton hotel where a Grammy party was being held by Clive Davis. Houston had been seen out in the days before her death, including at one of the pre-Grammy parties. According to a report released by the Los Angeles County coroner's office on March 22, 2012, the official cause of her death was accidental drowning. The effects of heart disease and cocaine found in her system were contributing factors as well. Whitney is survived by a daughter who she left her inheritance for alongside her mother - Cissy
Filmography: Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher's Wife, The Bodyguard, Sparkle.
Awards/Works: Already mentioned in Biography.
Outstanding Attributes: Ability to make a fresh start, Determination, Passion, Diligence.
Supporting Attributes:Resilient Persistence and self – motivation to turn her trials to triumphs.
Whitney Houston. (2015). The Biography.com website. Retrieved 10:03, Apr 09, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/whitney-houston-9344818.
Copyright © 2015 [Adebola A. Ayoade]. All Rights Reserved.