upon folks. However, every once in a while, the death of a super star feels like a kick in the emotional gut. It happened with the loss of Elvis, Lewis Grizzard, and now, Whitney Houston.
No, I didn’t swoon over Whitney. She was a fair actress and beautiful woman. What made her stand out above most was that incredible voice. She had a knack for taking a song and elevating it to something more than music. Each crystal clear note drove the words deeper into the listener’s life. When she reached for those high notes, no one doubted that she would nail them in a way that sent chill bumps down all of our arms.
Whitney Houston had that rare ability to sing any kind of song. One of her most famous ones came from Dolly Parton. She hit the charts with pop songs like “I Want to Dance with Somebody.” Then she gave us gifts with ballads like “One Moment in Time” and “Greatest Love of All.” She managed to have the number one song on the Billboard Top 100 seven consecutive times, and all of her ten top hits reached the number one position.
Still, nothing defined Whitney Houston more than the hymns that she sang. In “The Preacher’s Wife, her renditions of “I Love the Lord” and “Joy to the World” brought fans just a little closer to their God. Videos of her singing in church as a young girl easily gave proof to the fact that she was a star of the future.
What hurts fans most about Whitney is not her death. Instead, they grieve for her destruction in life. It’s speculated that much of the blame for her downfall can be laid at the feet of her former husband, Bobby Brown. Over the years, reports of abuse and marital discourse surfaced. He was arrested for battery against Whitney, failure to pay child support, brawling in a Disney World nightclub, and substance abuse. Many believe that the man took Whitney’s hand and dragged her down the swirling waters of this kind of life.
That might be true, but in the end, the blame for falling into a life of drug abuse lies squarely on the shoulders of Houston. She surely wasn’t brought up to idolize drugs. It was something in her make up that led her to falling prey to them. Perhaps she wasn’t nearly as confident in herself as others thought. Maybe the demands of the life of a star caused her to look for a crutch. It’s a secret that most likely left with Whitney.
What seems to be the biggest shame of all is the loss of such an angelic voice. God blessed her with a special talent that she shared for several years. Then the drugs and smoking and abuse too their tolls, and she was gone even before she died. It hurt to watch her stumble through performances with that ruined, damaged voice. Fans wanted to shake her out of the stupor and tell her that she needed to value and protect her talents. In the end, Whitney was unable to get rid of her demons, and they defeated her.
Now, fans listen to the old hits that she sang and wonder what might have been. They feel cheated that no more songs will be sung by their favorite singer.
I’m much the same way. Whitney Houston is another sad case of the effects that drugs and abuse have on millions of people. Without her and that precious voice, the silence is deafening.
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