My Respect for Whitney Houston

The man and I were absolutely flabbergasted this past Saturday night when we found out (via Twitter of all media) that Whitney Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hills Hilton, where she was scheduled to attend Clive Davis' Pre-Grammy party. It actually, truly and honestly, bummed me out. No, I did not know Whitney personally, nor did I have any real connection to her...but her music, well her music really was a huge part of my formative years.


As a young child, I can remember Whitney Houston. In those years where things you remember are few and far between, I have vivid memories of borrowing cassette tapes (yes, cassette tapes) from my friends at school and then making my own copy of them. Whitney's first album was one of those tapes. "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "So Emotional"  were staples of my young music loving career. 


The early 90's and middle school years brought The Bodyguard soundtrack that I, to this day, listen to. "I Will Always Love You", "Queen of the Night", "Run to You", geesh, all of her songs of that album were hits. I can remember my sister and I trying to since just like Whitney Houston on this album.  Just last week, this album still sneaked itself into a Twitter conversation, a banter back and forth naming songs off this album.

In high school, my family absolutely could not get enough of The Prince of Egypt soundtrack. We loved the movie and we loved all the music from said movie. This included the Whitney and Maria Carey duet, "When You Believe". Two divalicious performers and one great tune... you couldn't go wrong. This is still a family favorite as I am sure it will be for a very long time.

I can remember being a junior/senior and one of two CDs could be found in my car.  Either Brandy's Never Say Never or Whitney Houston's My Love is Your Love. "It's Not Right But It's OK", "My Love is Your Love" and "Heartbreak Hotel" were amongst my faves from that album. I have fond memories of getting my license, hoppin' in my little black Mazda and jammin' with Whitney on my way to school.

In college, her Greatest Hits album was still on my playlist and I got to revive my love for Whit. She really did  voice some of my favorite tunes over the years. There were so many other songs and albums that I did not mention but these were the ones that meant something to me. She had a stunning voice, timeless actually. It is a shame that things shook down the way that they did. I am hoping that she will be remembered for the fantastic things she did vocally and not her infamous statements and behavior. I will always love you, Whitney Houston and that is no lie.