At that time we were dancing, and at that time, 12:55 AM, across the ocean, the news of the death of the Queen of Pop, Whitney Houston, was being announced. She was only 48 years old and was in Los Angeles at the Beverly Hilton Hotel; by a twist of fate, she passed away the day before the start of the Grammy Awards ceremony, which in the 1980s elevated her to the Olympus of international music greats! We therefore feel it is our duty to pay tribute to her, not by recounting the cause of her death, but by remembering a truly great artist.<\/p>\n
Her story is unfortunately the tragedy of a woman who spent years at the top of the charts, loved and revered by millions of fans, moving in just a few years from the heaven of success to the hell of drugs and depression.
\nBorn in the suburbs of New Jersey, Whitney was the cousin of pop star Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of the great Aretha Franklin, with whom she sang in church Gospel choirs from a young age. She reached the peak of her success at a very young age, thanks to her wonderful voice of immense intensity and power.
\nIn 1986, she won a Grammy and dominated the scene for years with numerous global hits. On the Billboard Hot 100, she managed to place seven consecutive singles at number one, breaking the record of five held by stars of the caliber of Diana Ross and even the Beatles! Along with Michael Jackson, she holds the record for the most successful Black artist. It is estimated that in her short but incredibly intense career, she sold approximately 190 million records, including 45 million copies of the soundtrack for the film “The Bodyguard,” in which she starred alongside Kevin Costner\u2014a film that gained enormous popularity in the 1980s.
\nWith her music and sex appeal, she influenced a generation of young singers, such as Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey, to name just two!
\nIn 1992, she married singer Bobby Brown. Their marriage, which was stormy and lasted fourteen years, ended in 2007 after memorable scenes and the beatings Bobby inflicted on her for years, for which he was also prosecuted. That was the beginning of the end.
\nAfter the years of success came the collapse and despair: she had long been abusing cocaine, marijuana, and various pills. In a 2002 interview, she said: “The biggest devil is me. I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy.” And perhaps she had chosen to be her own worst enemy.<\/p>\n
Farewell, Queen of Pop; we remember you with a line from perhaps your most famous song, “I Will Always Love You”: “…Bittersweet memories \u2013 that is all I’m taking with me. So goodbye. Please don’t cry…”<\/p>\n
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