RIP Whitney

Do you remember where you were when you heard Micheal Jackson died?  Or Elvis Presley?  Or Princess Diana?  Or Kurt Cobain?  Or INXS’ Micheal Hutchence?  Or Heath Ledger?  Well, I’ll probably forever remember when I heard the news that Whitney Houston died.  I was completing my fourth gallbladder/liver flush, and while sitting on the toilet, I received a text from BFF:  “Whitney Houston died”.   My first thought was that it was a hoax because the day before, I had seen a photo of her at a pre-Grammy's party then all I could think about was her daughter.  Her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, was born the same year as my daughter.  Her child, at the young age of 18 years old, has lost her mother.   So very sad!

BFF and I exchanged texts on our memories of Whitney, and we decided we would have a girls’ night dedicated to Whitney.  We’ll watch Waiting to Exhale and The Bodyguard with some dance breaks to some of our favourite Whitney songs.   

Over the years, I bought her music on vinyl, cassettes, cds and iTunes.  I feel like I grew up with Whitney as so many moments and milestones in my life are educed upon hearing Whitney songs.  Slow dancing with a boy to one of Whitney’s songs.   Heartbreak alleviated by Whitney’s songs.   Dancing to “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” at a school dance or wedding.    As tacky as it sounds, when I hear some of her songs, I feel them inside of me.  Such a beautiful and talented woman!!! 

She reminded us of life's greatest lesson "learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.   Sadly, it seems she struggled with loving herself. 

I know this sounds strange but I'm also grateful for Whitney's profuse sweating.   As a teenager who often found herself sweating at the most inopportune times (making a presentation in front of the class!), I was so grateful to see Whitney sweating during her performances.  Sure, she had hot, bright lights shining on her but the sweat on her face made her seem human, and made me feel okay about myself, and about my excessive sweat problem.  Thanks Whitney :)

So I spent the rest of my night pooping flushing and listening to Whitney songs then I decided to write this blog post.  

My creative homage to Whitney

Impressive Whitney Facts and Stats:

·     In 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman," a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on The Bodyguard soundtrack album.

·     In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time.  Her list of awards includes two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010.

·    Houston was also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide

·    Houston was the only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits: "Saving All My Love for You", "How Will I Know", "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"

·    Her second studio album Whitney (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.  

·    All 4 singles from her Whitney album peaked at number one on the US Hot 100 chart which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees.  Houston became the first female artist to generate four number-one singles from one album.

·    Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film The Bodyguard (1992). The lead single from the movie soundtrack "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history.  With the album, Houston became the first act to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period.

·    The movie soundtrack from The Preacher’s Wife is the largest selling gospel album of all time.

Discography:

Houston's debut album, Whitney Houston, was released in 1985.  Her first single was “You Give Good Love”, her second was “Saving All My Love For You”, her third was “How Will I Know” and her final single from that album was “Greatest Love Of All”.  In 2010, her debut album, was re-released in a special edition entitled Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition.  I loved all of those singles (and the entire album!) but my favourite song was “All At Once”.  

Her second album, Whitney, was released in 1987.  The album's first single was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," then the next three singles were "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go".  Again, I loved every song on that album and it’s very difficult to choose a favourite so I think I'll go with "Where Do Broken Hearts Go". 

In 1988, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time".

Her third studio album, I'm Your Baby Tonight, was released in 1990.  The first two singles were "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and "All the Man That I Need" then the next singles, although not #1 hits, were "Miracle", "My Name Is Not Susan" and "I Belong to You", and "We Didn't Know”.   My favourite song from that album was “All the Man That I Need”.

In 1991, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV.  Due to overwhelming response to her rendition, it was released as a commercial single. 

Houston’s first film role was in 1992 in The Bodyguard.  The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You," written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974.  Follow-up singles from the soundtrack were "I'm Every Woman," a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing".    My favourites are "I Will Always Love You" (who doesn't love this song?!?), "I'm Every Woman" and "I Have Nothing". 

In 1995, Houston starred in her second film, one of my favourite movies, Waiting to Exhale.   The movie’s soundtrack was produced by Houston and Babyface.  The album not only featured Whitney but also Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy.  Hits from the soundtrack include “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", "Count On Me," and "Why Does It Hurt So Bad”.    I love this movie and this song!!!

In 1996, Houston starred in The Preacher's Wife with Denzel Washington.  Hits from the movie soundtrack include "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step”.    My favourite songs from this album are "I Believe in You and Me" and "You Were Loved". 

In 1998, Whitney released her first album in eight years, My Love Is Your Love.  Hits included "When You Believe", a duet with Mariah Carey for The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, "Heartbreak Hotel" featuring Faith Evans and Kelly Price, "It's Not Right But It's Okay", "My Love Is Your Love" and "I Learned from the Best".   My favourite song from the album was “When You Believe” (hello....Whitney and Mariah!!!). 

In 2000, Whitney: The Greatest Hits was released.  She included four new songs on the album: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", a duet with Enrique Iglesias, "Same Script, Different Cast", a duet with Deborah Cox, "If I Told You That", a duet with George Michael, and "Fine," along with three hits that have never actually appeared on a Whitney album: "One Moment in Time," "The Star Spangled Banner," and "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful”,  a duet with Jermaine Jackson.   My favourite new release was her duet with Enrique. 

In 2002, Whitney released her fifth studio album, Just Whitney....  Sadly, I don’t even remember this album nor do I recognize any of the songs.  According to Wikipedia, the four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the Billboard Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits.

In 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album One Wish: The Holiday Album.  To this day, “One Wish” is still a Christmas favourite. 

In 2009, Whitney released her newest album, I Look to You.   What a comeback!!!  The album's first two singles were "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill."  This might be my favourite Whitney album because I love every song on the album and it has an awesome mix of ballads and upbeat songs.  My favourites are “I Look to You”, “Million Dollar Bill”, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”, “Worth It”, “Like I Never Left”, “For The Lovers” and “I Got You”.   “Million Dollar Bill” and “For The Lovers” are great workout songs, while “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” is my go-to “need to cry” song or my “need strength” song. 

My all-time favourite Whitney song:  "I Didn't Know My Own Strength":

I think it’s easy to say that “with great talent, comes great responsibility”.  Thank you, Whitney, for sharing your life and your talent with us!   Hopefully your life will be a lesson to others.   I'm thankful that you chose to share your music with us; music that makes me dance, makes me sing, makes me cry, makes me think, makes me remember, and makes me believe.