Rest in Peace Whitney Houston



Whitney Houston bio.com

Last night I was shocked, as I am sure a lot of people were, to learn about the passing of Whitney Houston. Whitney was a living legend. I remember watching a video in the 80s at my uncle's house repeatedly of Whitney Houston's greatest hits. I probably saw that video 50 times at least. Whitney was just a part of the soundtrack of my childhood much like Michael Jackson. When I was growing up Whitney was a fashion and beauty icon for myself and other young black girls growing up. She always looked amazing and she had confidence and a megawatt smile that made you want to be her friend. So I was in disbelief last night as I sat watching TV after getting in from the store and there was a special report that scrolled across the bottom of the screen that said that Whitney had died in Beverly Hills at age 48. As I wrote last year when Amy Winehouse died, you are never ready for these kinds of moments. I gasped and I thought to myself, "That this cannot be true." It was really just too much to take. There have been so many famous African American singers and artists that we have lost too early too recently. Michael Jackson, Don Cornelius, Etta James, Luther Vandross, Heavy D, Isaac Hayes just to name a few. So I was just really amazed that I was hearing this news and it was true. Also within the last week there had been reminders of Whitney going on in my life, which is weird now that I think about it. On February 3, I was substituting for a music teacher at a nearby elementary school. I sat down at the teacher's desk and saw that he had a music biography card on the chalk tray for Whitney Houston. On the front was a picture of Whitney and on the back it told of her rise to fame and several of her musical achievements. I stared at the picture for a little bit because it was of a young, vibrant Whitney in her prime. I thought to myself, "Nothing compares to old school Whitney Houston." The following Sunday I was grocery shopping for my mom and I and her song "I Get So Emotional" came on while I was looking through the deli section. I just hummed along feeling good at hearing what was one of my favorite songs to hear her sing. Then this past week there were several stories floating around about her in the press. One story said she was broke, another said she was dating Ray J, and another said that she looked strung out while coming out of a club on Thursday evening. I dismissed all of these and did not pay them any attention because I saw them as attempts to just cause drama and look for dirt to dish on her. So imagine after a week of little Whitney reminders popping up in my week on Saturday I hear the news that she has died. I was truly heartbroken. I, like so many others, was hoping for a major comeback for Whitney Houston. I felt the same way about Michael Jackson. I wanted for them to be able to finish their story on top and to have that moment of triumph over the hardships and difficulties that both of them had faced. And not only that but I feel so sad for her daughter and her mother because I know that they are feeling a very intense loss. But I will always remember Whitney Houston as an early part of my life because when I was growing up she was just everywhere and to me there was not another female pop star who was bigger than Whitney. Also when I was little they made us sing "The Greatest Love of All" and "One Moment in Time" in my school choir, which I am sure was extremely common for a lot of kids in the early 90s. But she was just such a part of that time of my life that is makes me extremely sad to see her pass away so prematurely. I pray that she is in Heaven and that her soul is at peace.