Whitney Houston

Singer and actor

• Born: August 9, 1963
• Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey
• Died: February 11, 2012

Best known for her strong, soulful singing voice, Houston inspired a generation of entertainers. She was one of the most popular singers of the 1980s and 1990s, and her Arista Records releases attained classic status. She also acted in several popular films. In later years, however, her reputation was damaged by allegations of drug abuse and a tumultuous marriage.

Early Life

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963, in Newark, New Jersey, to Cissy and John Houston. While pregnant with Houston, Cissy sang with the group Sweet Inspirations, which backed such legendary artists as Mahalia Jackson, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, who became Houston’s godmother. Houston’s family moved to East Orange after the 1967 Newark riots. She and her two older brothers, Michael and Gary, were raised in a highly structured Christian household.

Cissy inspired her daughter to hone her musical skills. At age eleven, Houston had her first solo performance at New Hope Baptist Church, singing “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” with the junior gospel choir. In 1978, fourteen-year-old Houston was spotted by a Vogue photographer while singing a duet with her mother at Carnegie Hall. A modeling career followed, during which Houston appeared in Vogue, Seventeen, and Glamour. In 1980, she was one of the first women of color to appear on Seventeen’s cover. After she graduated from Mount St. Dominic’s Academy, Houston signed her first recording contract with Arista Records in 1983.

Life’s Work

Houston’s self-titled debut album, which included hits such as “You Give Good Love” and “The Greatest Love of All,” was released in February, 1985. It has since been listed among Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Definitive 200. The New York Times called it “an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent.”

In 1986, Houston was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. Her first Grammy, for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, was awarded for “Saving All My Love for You.” She sang the song during the award show, and the performance garnered an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Houston went on to win seven American Music Awards in 1986 and 1987.

When she released her second album, Whitney, in 1987, Houston’s impressive run of hits continued. Between her first two albums, she released a record-setting seven consecutive number-one singles. Her third album, I’m Your Baby Tonight (1990), cemented her reputation as one of the most popular singers in the United States. That album’s title song and “All the Man That I Need” both went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Houston parlayed her music-industry success into a starring role in the film The Bodyguard (1992), in which she played a celebrity singer pursued by a dangerous stalker. The film, costarring Kevin Costner as Houston’s love interest, was a commercial success, and its soundtrack added to Houston’s series of hits. In particular, the film’s signature song, “I Will Always Love You,” (written and originally recorded by country and pop star Dolly Parton) spent a record fourteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Houston’s recordings, concerts, and film grosses made her the third-highest-earning female entertainer of 1993–94, according to Forbes magazine. Premiere magazine named her one of its “100 Most Powerful People in Hollywood.” In 1995, Houston led a star-studded cast of African American actors in a film adaptation of Terry McMillan’s novel Waiting to Exhale. She also contributed to its well-received soundtrack. She followed that project with the film The Preacher’s Wife (1996) and the Disney television film Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997).

In 1992, Houston married singer Bobby Brown. They had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, the next year. Houston and Brown’s marriage brought them notoriety as allegations of drug use and domestic violence surfaced throughout the years.

In the late 1990s and 2000s, Houston’s popularity waned as her behavior became increasingly erratic. She was fired from a scheduled performance at the Academy Awards in 2000 and frequently canceled or arrived late to concerts and appearances. In 2004, her mother obtained a court injunction to force Houston to enter a drug rehabilitation facility. She and Brown separated in 2006 and finalized their divorce the next year. Houston spent the end of the 2000s mounting a modest comeback, releasing the album I Look to You in 2009.

After touring worldwide in 2010, Houston's final project was a film. She served as an executive producer and a star of the 2012 remake Sparkle. On February 11, 2012, she died at the age of forty-eight following what the subsequent coroner's report deemed an accidental drowning in a Beverly Hills, California, hotel room. Heart disease and cocaine use were considered contributing factors in her death.

Houston was subject to numerous posthumous tributes. Several of her biggest hits returned to the charts and saw significant spikes in play counts on streaming services in the wake of her death. Posthumous compilation albums were also released. In 2015 the television film Whitney was released by the Lifetime network to mixed reviews, with Yaya DaCosta portraying Houston. In 2020 Sony Pictures purchased the rights to an authorized musical biopic based on Houston's life, and Naomi Ackie was cast in the film's lead role the following year. Also in 2020, a tour featuring a holographic image of Houston performing some of her hits was launched in Europe. While some observers criticized the show as tacky, it proved successful enough that a residency in Las Vegas began in 2021.

Significance

Houston was one of the signature entertainers of the 1980s and 1990s, a singer whose talent brought her crossover success in pop music as well as rhythm and blues and soul. Her gospel-influenced phrasing and wide vocal range influenced a generation of singers and made her an international star nicknamed "The Voice." Although personal struggles derailed her career, she continued to record and perform into the 2000s and beyond, becoming one of the best-selling musical artists ever. In recognition of her legacy in the music industry, she was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2020. Houston continues to be widely regarded as a cultural icon and one of the greatest singers of all time.

Bibliography

Busnar, Gene. The Picture Life of Whitney Houston. New York: Franklin Watts, 1988.

Gonzales, Erica, and Quinci Legardye. "An Authorized Whitney Houston Biopic Is Coming." Harper's Bazaar, 21 Sept. 2021, www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a32267200/whitney-houston-biopic/. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.

Greig, Charlotte. “Whitney Houston.” In Icons of Black Music: A History in Photographs, 1900-2000, edited by JoAnn Padgett and Elizabeth McNulty. San Diego, Calif.: Thunder Bay Press, 1999.

Houston, Cissy, and Jonathan Singer. How Sweet the Sound: My Life with God and Gospel. New York: Doubleday, 1998.

Lynch, Joe. "Clive Davis Reacts to Whitney Houston's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction." Billboard, 15 Jan. 2020, www.billboard.com/articles/news/awards/8548136/clive-davis-whitney-houston-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-induction. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.

Parish, James R. “Whitney Houston.” In Hollywood Divas: The Good, the Bad, and the Fabulous. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 2003.

Sonneborn, Liz. “Whitney Houston.” In A to Z of American Women in the Performing Arts. New York: Facts On File, 2002.

Zeitchik, Steven. "Nine Years After She Died, Whitney Houston Is Back to Entertain You." The Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/29/whitney-houston-hologram-concert-innovations/. Accessed 20 Dec. 2021.