All of us would remember where we were and what we were doing last Saturday, or Sunday, when we were struck with the shocking news of Whitney Houston’s sad passing. The 48-year-old singing celebrity was discovered dead Saturday at 3:40 p.m. in aCaliforniahotel room.
The talented “queen of pop music” left behind a legacy that, in my view, cannot be matched by any other female artiste in the secular singing arena. Among other complimentary titles, she was referred to as the “song-bird” of pop. But whether it was pop, R&B, or just slow flowing ballads, like “Didn’t We Almost Have it All” or “One Moment in Time” or “The Greatest Love of All”, Whitney made her mark of prominence in the singing and recording arena with excellent charm and great distinction.
Whitney’s specialty was “love songs”. Her pristine voice had the ability to exquisitely render her intricate high notes like only she could – and with the simplest of ease. She was blessed with the kind of voice that could ignite the spark in any romantic relationship. In my view, her tone and voice-control were second to none. It is ironic that Whitney would pass away on the weekend just prior to Valentine’s Day 2012, and no doubt her music would have caused U.S. radio charts to spike with tributes and dedications of her popular “love songs” on that special day.
Like many secular female singing artistes, Whitney Houston began her career in a church choir. From her home inNewark,New Jersey, she propelled herself as a brisk and confident singing performer, and in 1983 she was discovered by producer Clive Davis while singing inNew Yorkwith her mother, Cee Cee Huston. Davissigned her up and the rest is history – a stellar streak of thirty-years of captivating music and song.
The trend seems to be that several singing artistes in the entertainment industry get captured by substance abuse. Like Shaka Con and the late Michael Jackson, Whitney was forced to take time off from her career to fight the subtle plague of drug addiction. Though she had been apparently bouncing back, after a long episode of depravity and drug dependency, her fight came to a silent end that fateful Saturday afternoon leaving her unconscious under water in a bath tub. Later, pop’s female “superstar” would be pronounced dead.
The wise man Solomon of old once said, “There is a time for everything under the sun… a time to be born and a time to die.” See, I can faintly remember 1963. I had just begun school in “Junior Standard” then, but that was the year that Whitney was born. That year she entered this world as a little innocent infant to make her mark of notoriety and fame. Today, after 48 years, it’s amazing to think how suddenly this special “song-bird” was whisked off the scene without the slightest warning. By fate’s decree her fight was over, and she had no other choice but to leave.
Soon she’ll be laid to rest. But as we say good-bye to her, I’d take the liberty, on behalf of all Anguilla, to tender our sincerest sympathy to all her loved ones there inNewark,New Jersey. Particularly, to her Mom, Cee Cee; her husband, Bobby; and to her promising eighteen-year-old gem of a daughter, Bobbi Christina, we extend our deepest condolences.
May her soul rest in peace!
