WHITNEY HOUSTON: A story of dreams and disappointments

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Whitney Houston: The good, the bad and the ugly

By Samod Biobaku

Sixthsense34@yahoo.com

There’s no iota of doubt that American music queen, Whitney Elizabeth Houston is not Nigerian but what if she were? This would instantly change a whole lot of things about the singer whose career has seen her rise to the crest of global recognition yet plummet like a fallen giant.

As earlier noted, Houston is unarguably American but if the unseen hands of fate had preordained her with a Nigerian descent, a large chunk of her life would fit right into the hustle and bustle of the ‘Nigerian situation’ as many have tagged it.

Despite the avalanche of accomplishments, controversies and ugly episodes in her career, the chocolate-complexioned singer has simply refused to the silenced by the demons of her past.

For instance, the fact that she began performing at night clubs alongside her mother (Cissy Houston) at a very tender age is a situation most Nigerians would be familiar with.

Born on August 9, 1963, the R&B/Pop singer, actress and former fashion model began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age eleven; an age when the average Nigerian girl child begins to have a clear-cut idea of what she wants her chapters of adulthood to look like.

She was discovered by Arista Records label head, Clive Davies and has gone out to release studio albums and video soundtrack albums throughout her career; all of which have had diamond, multi-platinum, platinum and Gold certification.

While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she was a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single ‘Life's a Party.’ Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her young daughter to finish school first.

Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ‘The Merv Griffin Show.’

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 hit for herself on her monster-selling soundtrack album The Bodyguard. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson. In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother.

Houston relentlessly pursued her dream and released her debut album, ‘Whitney Houston’ in 1985. Her second album (Whitney) further heightened her crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV enabled several African-American female artists to follow in her success.

Not many Nigerian singers have been able to successfully merge a singing career with acting but Houston pulled it off in 1992 when she appeared in her first starring role in the feature film; ‘The Bodyguard.’

She continued to star in feature films and contributed to soundtracks including ‘Waiting to Exhale’ (1995) and ‘The Preacher's Wife’ (1996). After the release of her fourth studio album, ‘My Love Is Your Love’ (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records in 2001. She subsequently released her fifth studio album, ‘Just Whitney,’ the following year with a Christmas album, ‘One Wish’: The Holiday Album, being released in 2003.

Amidst widespread media coverage of personal and professional turmoil, Houston ended her 14 year-old marriage to Brown in 2006.

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star, Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B singer, Bobby Brown (formerly of New Edition) at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. Nearly a year later, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her first and only child, his fourth, on March 4. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time. With the huge successes of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston’s first film role was in The Bodyguard, released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston plays Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. USA Today listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years.

Quite a number of her fans might have frowned at the dislocation of her marriage but the singer put this episode behind her and simply poured her heart into her passion.

However, the recent spate of failed celebrity marriages is one item that has silently blown a hole of worry in the fairy tale lifestyle many would have wished for.

In Nigeria, the likes of Eucharia Anunobi, Monalisa Chinda, Chiege Alisigwe, Fathia Balogun, Keffi, Saheed Balogun, Segun Arinze, Toni Payne, Alec Godwin, Shan George, Fred Amata, Bukky Wright, Stephanie Okereke,  Ann Njemanze and Sandra Achums and 9ice are just a few of the many celebrities who have bitten the pie of marital discord.

In the case of Houston, she understood the implication of crying over spilled milk and gradually focused on opening a new page in her career. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album, ‘I Look to You.’

Having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide, Houston is considered one of the world’s best-selling artistes.

Although she has released relatively few albums, she is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artiste in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. She has been listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Similarly, she was ranked as one of the Top 100 Greatest Artistes of All Time according to VH1.

She won her first Grammy award for 'Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female' for "Saving All My Love for You".

Though Houston was seen as a ‘good girl’ with a perfect image in the '80s and early '90s, during the late '90s her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated.

On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaiian airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against her and Brown, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but did not attend. Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach. Though her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation, many speculated it was drugs. In his book The Big Show: High Times And Dirty Dealings Backstage At The Academy Awards, author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant," and that while Houston was to sing "Over The Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the next month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. Less than a month later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support.

Hers is a story of filled with inherent lessons not just for Nigerian celebrities but for artistes, model, actors, dancers, movie directors and all showbiz personalities across Africa and the rest of the world on the fleeting nature of life and how fast the tables could turn.