Whitney Houston was born on 9th Aug 1963 in Newark, New Jersey. She released her debut album aged 22 and scored three favorite singles. She released four more, and won her 1stGrammy Award in 1987. She lost the limelight for some time after her wedding to singer policeman Brown in 1992. She made a comeback with “I Look to You” in 2009. Whitney Houston died on 11thFeb 2012.
Early Years
Whitney Houston seemed destined to be a singer from birth. Her mother Emily Houston, first cousin Dionne Richard Neville and godparent Aretha Franklin were all legendary figures in Yankee gospel and soul music. Emily Houston was the choir minister at New Hope Protestant denomination, and it was there that young Whitney got her beginning. Even as a baby, Whitney was ready to wow audiences; Whitney Houston later told enquirer Diane Sawyer that a joyous response from the congregation at New Hope had had a robust impact upon her. By the time she turned fifteen, Whitney was performing with her mother and attempting to push through a record deal of her own. At around the same time, Whitney Houstonwas discovered by a creative person who was awed by her natural beauty. She became a very sought-after adolescent model, one of the first African Yankee girls to be seen on the quilt of Seventeen magazines. However music remained her true love.
When Whitney Houston was nineteen, she was discovered during a nightspot by the notable General Davis of Appendage Records, who signed her on and stood at the helm of her career as she navigated from gospel to pop high status. In 1983, Houston made her debut on national TV, singing “Home” on “The Mervin Mythical Monster Show”. Whitney Houston and Davis spent the next 2 years working on her debut album, finding the most effective producers and songwriters on the market to showcase her superb vocal talent. In 1985, Whitney Houston released her debut album “Whitney Houston” and became a smash pop sensation. Over the next year, her hit singles "Saving All My Love for You" and "How can I Know" helped the album reach the top of the charts, where it stayed for fourteen non-consecutive weeks. Whitney Houston won a Grammy in 1986 for "Saving All My Love for You"; the award was conferred to the singer by her first cousin Dionne Richard Neville. Houston followed up the monumental success of her 1st album with a second release, “Whitney”, in 1987, which became a Platinum Record and won her further Grammy Awards.
In spite of those growing personal troubles,
Whitney Houston continued to progress in her career, adding to her success by venturing into acting in 1992, appearing opposite Kevin Costner in the widely popular “The Bodyguard”. With this flick, Whitney Houston set a trend for films to follow: in every film she would release a successful single, making sensational record sales for the soundtracks. Her smash single from “The Bodyguard”, a remake of Dolly Patron’s 1974 "I can invariably Love You," turned out to be her biggest hit ever, remaining a record 14 weeks on top of the charts. The album went on to win her 3 Grammies, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. Later on in the 90s, Houston had hits in “Preacher’s Married Person” and “Waiting to Exhale”.
Troubled Times
In 1998 Whitney Houston released “My Love Is Your Love”, her 1st non-soundtrack studio album in several years, and it earned her another Grammy. However, it couldn't match the chart performance of her previous albums. Whitney Houston collaborated with Mariah Carey for “When You Believe” in the animated film“The Prince of Egypt”.
Oscar & Whitney Houston
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Houston's progressively rocky wedding, struggles with medication and health issues threatened to derail her career. Many concert cancellations and an infamous TV interview with Diane Sawyer in 2002 during which she appeared way too skinny and in terribly poor health led many to conclude that she was on the verge of a breakdown. In 2004 Whitney Houston received substantial airtime via the reality show “Being Bobby Brown” with husband Bobby Brown. The show aired during the worst years of the couple's crumbling marriage; drug use, excesses and dangerous behaviour were all caught on tape and Houston's name hit new lows.
Death and inheritance of Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston died on 11thFeb 2012 at Beverley Hills. According to the coroner’s report, the official reason behind her death was accidental drowning. The consequences of her heart condition and hard drugs found in her system were contributory factors. With her passing, the music world has lost one of its most legendary stars. Whitney Houston’s old supporter and mentor General Davis once said that Houston "is within the nice tradition of nice, nice singers, whether or not it's river Horne or vocalizes or wife Vaughn or Gladys Knight."
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