Whitney Houston’s talent has been called many things, but for me, she will forever be one of two singers on whom I bestow the title of “The Voice” (the other singer being the late Luther Vandross.) It’s not the “Star Spangle Banner,” the incomparable version of “I Will Always Love You” or the mega hits that I think of when I think of Whitney, but an often overlooked performance of “Home” (from “The Wiz”) on the Merv Griffin Show nearly a year before the debut album; an uncredited track on an album by Paul Jabara entitled “Eternal Love”; and the opening night set at Sweetwater’s when her album debuted — everyone packed in the house that night— from celebrity to average Joe— knew we were witnessing something extraordinary and a talent— whom many of us had seen at the same club with her mother and brother, now front and center as a soloist— that was going to be huge. The power and beauty of her voice was simply intoxicating. It was rare to hear such feeling, such maturity, and beauty from a voice so young. During this period, there were no dancers or extensive choreography; there was just a singer’s singer and the musicians who supported her. To see and hear Whitney Houston perform in person and in an intimate venue was a heavenly experience.
In the days since her passing, many in the media and the entertainment business have been behaving badly, speculating about the cause of her death, about what some did or didn’t do, about what could have been done differently during her life. But we live our lives in real time and there are no do-overs. We only see snippets of celebrity lives; there are lots of things we are not privy to which makes judgment a game of speculation. What we do know is: Whitney Houston had a precious gift that few get to share at the level that she was able to; she has left a body of work that is timeless; she changed the face and complexion of pop music; she influenced and inspired a generation of singers who came after her; and her work and her story— her entire life story— will continue to inspire and serve as a learning experience for many, for years to come.
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