In the year 1963, 9^th of Agust Whitney Houston was born in Newark New Jersey. Whitney Houston was a daughter of the prominent gospel singer Cissy Houston, granddaughter of core celebrity Franklin Aretha and she becomes a star also in the music industry. Warwick (Cox, 1998). Her father nicknamed her “Nippy” when young for she was a naughty baby who kept on kicking her blanket off during winter times. At the age of 22, Whitney released the first album that had three songs in number. In 1987 Whitney gained a lot of fam because of her best songs she was singing. Song of the songs she released includes: today am your baby, and my love belonged to you in the year 1990 and 1992 respectively.

Other famous songs she released included, soundtracks to the bodyguard in 1992 and waiting to exhale in 1995. She was married to Bobby Brown, who was also a singer in 1992, and because of the effects of drugs his career got off track, but she eventually came back in time (Belmont & Belcourt, 2012). She started her education at the Franklin Elementary School in East Orange, New Jersey and proceeded with her knowledge to the Mount Saint High School in Cadwell New Jersey where she graduated. Her mother encouraged her in her music career and helped her get a record deal and get into the music industry (Cooper, 2017).In her poem “Woman and mother”, she expounded how the love of her mother aided her to achieve her musical goals. The church inspired her to get into singing, and it’s evident that she would not be a singer if it were not for the church and also a reason as to why she sings so well. Whitney did not acquire much musical training, but the support of her mother kept her moving all the time. Whitney Houston fame was felt not only in the US but also in the UK and the whole world as a whole.

One of her best-selling singles of the 1990s was “I will always love you”. In addition to her music career, Whitney Houston started working as a model. Due to these, she appeared on the cover of seventeen magazines an achievement for she was one of the first black women to do so. Whitney made an appearance in on the album one Down by Bill Laswell’s Avant funk material in 1982. In the early 1980s, when Whitney sang the ballad “Memories,” she was given multiple offers for recording contracts, but her mother declined and insisted that she would complete high school first (Belmont & Belcourt, 2012). One of the great executive music Whitney gives Clive Davis to do the recordings for her in her music which took place 1983 after he experienced her excellent presentation in the night club. Though Whitney Houston was a beautiful lady, she never allowed her beauty to ruin her character and career in terms of morals, and through this, her music attracted many audiences in many places during her presentations. Whitney claimed that “All my lovers should line up to please me”. Though Whitney Houston began her career through touring with her mother as a backup vocalist in 1978 at the age of 15, she grew to be one of the most prominent singers who acquired very many prizes (Cooper, 2017). Many of her tracks got a lot of support from the audience, but there was high anticipation for the second solo album”Wanna dance with anybody who loves me”. Upon its release in June 1987, some critics complained that the track was similar to the first one a fact opposed by the pop audiences (Cox, 1998). Whitney became the first recording artist to release seven consecutive singles that led the Billboard 100. Due to her successful concert tours, Whitney Houston got into the list of the top 10 moneymaking entertainers.

Whitney Houston died on 11th February 2102. Before she died, she cracked a joke that “I gonna make this line of coke disappear” Whitney died in a hotel of   Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills in California (Cox, 1998). It was reported that she had accidentally drowned into a bathtub and it was claimed that she suffered from a heart disease which was a result of Cocaine a claim which was adversely disputed by her husband Bobby Brown who argued that the famous musician did not die of drugs (Cooper, 2017). It is evident that Whitney Houston was the most famous black musicians in the land and she became the first black women to win many consecutive music awards as per the records were given by the Guinness.

Whitney established the Whitney Houston Foundation for children and incorporated a non-profit making organisation for aiding children with cancer, AIDS and homeless children. In her poem “My favourite thing”, she expressed how she loved helping the children and the needy in society. Houston participated in humanitarian organisations, for instance, the junior Diabetes finance, St Jude’s kids Hospital as well as the United Negro College Fund (Cooper, 2017). All the charitable organisations aided and funded by Whitney Houston were prosperous and achieved their goal and more specifically the children, the poor and the people who had critical diseases.  Houston enjoyed a successful career as an actress in essential roles for such movies like the Bodyguard and waiting to exhale and at the same time did most of the music for the soundtracks in these films (Cox, 1998). According to Houston, it was a fact that she was addicted to drugs, for instance, alcohol and Cocaine. However, she never allowed her public image tormented by crack, poverty, and blackness. She never admitted that drugs could lead to her failure in life under all circumstances and it’s evident that she lived in denial in one way or the other (Belmont & Belcourt, 2012). Her tracks continued to aspire many people throughout all of her life until she met her death.

References

Belmont & Belcourt (Firm). (2012). Whitney Houston: An authorised biography. Chicago: Belmont & Belcourt Books.

Cooper, J. (2017). The last word: Reviving the dying art of eulogy.

Cox, T. (1998). Whitney Houston. Philadelphia: Chelsea House.