RIP Whitney Houston

[starfish1113]

According to msnbc.com. No further info yet. Only 48!!!

[BackInTex]

Wow.

I just saw this on Yahoo.

Not too surprising, if you think about it. Sort of like hearing Jacko had died. Shock, but then, no.

[TheConfessor]

Here's where I first learned the news:
http://www.whosay.com/bobharris/content ... de=lkt1ppL

[Kazoo65]

A great voice, gone. I'm listening to her greatest hits CD now.

[littlebeast13]

Someone had Whitney going on their iPod during lunch last night.... unfortunately, it eventually got to the Bodyguard song....

Wow

lb13

[kayrharris]

Very sad, but not all that surprising. An unbelievable voice silenced.

Sort of getting to used to these premature deaths in big name entertainers. When will it end? Sigh....


kay

[Ritterskoop]

The Grammys people are scrambling.

[Vandal]

I heard her sing recently and her voice was pretty much shot. It's not like she had a whole lot else to fall back on.

Her famous quote comes all the way around: Crack is whack!

[Estonut]

I can't help but imagine how her life and career would be today, had she never met Bobby Brown.

RIP, Whitney.

[cindy.wellman]

A friend posted on FB that Whitney just finished taping the movie, "Sparkle" co-starring Jordin Sparks, and others. Filming just concluded in late November and it is due to be released later this year. I looked at a couple of stills from the movie and she did look better than she had in recent years.

I really liked her voice and a lot of her music. Like Vandal, I heard her singing recently too. Her voice was barely a shadow of what it once was.

RIP, Whitney

[lilclyde54]

I doubt anyone will ever top her rendition of the National Anthem.

[Ritterskoop]

I doubt anyone will ever top her rendition of the National Anthem.

I bought that on cassette single and played it over and over. It is the only Super Bowl score I know (20-19 Giants/Bills) and it was the first one where I was aware of the flyover for the troops for Desert Storm.

I am not such a fan of some of the embellishments, but it ain't braggin' if you can back it up, and she could.

[Ritterskoop]

A friend asked me why those of us in the sports department cared that Whitney Houston had died.

Easy.

The 1991 Super Bowl.

We were at war for the first time in a while, and nervous about it, and scared, and Houston stood there and sang that "Star-Spangled Banner" like it was the easiest thing in the world. And the planes flew over the stadium, and we were swept up in her living out the idea that it was OK to be patriotic.

And then there was just about the best Super Bowl ever (20-19), and they released the song as a single, and it sold like crazy (there were these newfangled cassette singles...). And she donated all of her profits to the Red Cross, and it was just too good to be believed.

If you haven't heard that version of the song, go listen to it now. We'll wait.



Astounding, right? It's the version everyone since has aspired to copy, or tried super hard to avoid. And the kicker is, they made her sing it beforehand and lip-sync it. The hooraw over that was overblown, because it was her own singing, and it is MUCH harder to lip sync later and make the movements match, than it is just to stand there and sing it,. But the sound people were worried about a technical glitch, and made her do it ahead of time.

So what? She was still awesome. She made it look like she could be skateboarding and eating Cheerios at the same time.

OK, that's not enough? Try the 1988 Olympics and "One Moment in Time," a song written for the Games and done to perfection by Houston. She did it live at the '89 Grammys, and that audience of cynical singers all stood to applaud. Go find that video, too.



The lyrics are perfect for sport, about being better than you thought you could be, and racing with destiny, and being part of eternity. Chilling, in a good way. And she pops those high notes and doesn't just hit them, but holds them. We are carried along with her.

It's just two moments, for me, in which Ms. Houston exemplified some of what can be magnificent about sport. But those moments are transcendent.

[ulysses5019]

A friend asked me why those of us in the sports department cared that Whitney Houston had died.

Easy.

The 1991 Super Bowl.

We were at war for the first time in a while, and nervous about it, and scared, and Houston stood there and sang that "Star-Spangled Banner" like it was the easiest thing in the world. And the planes flew over the stadium, and we were swept up in her living out the idea that it was OK to be patriotic.

And then there was just about the best Super Bowl ever (20-19), and they released the song as a single, and it sold like crazy (there were these newfangled cassette singles...). And she donated all of her profits to the Red Cross, and it was just too good to be believed.

If you haven't heard that version of the song, go listen to it now. We'll wait.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... 5H6aE&NR=1[/youtube]

Astounding, right? It's the version everyone since has aspired to copy, or tried super hard to avoid. And the kicker is, they made her sing it beforehand and lip-sync it. The hooraw over that was overblown, because it was her own singing, and it is MUCH harder to lip sync later and make the movements match, than it is just to stand there and sing it,. But the sound people were worried about a technical glitch, and made her do it ahead of time.

So what? She was still awesome. She made it look like she could be skateboarding and eating Cheerios at the same time.

OK, that's not enough? Try the 1988 Olympics and "One Moment in Time," a song written for the Games and done to perfection by Houston. She did it live at the '89 Grammys, and that audience of cynical singers all stood to applaud. Go find that video, too.



The lyrics are perfect for sport, about being better than you thought you could be, and racing with destiny, and being part of eternity. Chilling, in a good way. And she pops those high notes and doesn't just hit them, but holds them. We are carried along with her.

It's just two moments, for me, in which Ms. Houston exemplified some of what can be magnificent about sport. But those moments are transcendent.

Well said skoop.

[littlebeast13]

I doubt anyone will ever top her rendition of the National Anthem.

A matter of opinion. I didn't like it at the time, and it got worse for me every time I heard it replayed....

lb13

[christie1111]

A friend asked me why those of us in the sports department cared that Whitney Houston had died.

Easy.

The 1991 Super Bowl.

We were at war for the first time in a while, and nervous about it, and scared, and Houston stood there and sang that "Star-Spangled Banner" like it was the easiest thing in the world. And the planes flew over the stadium, and we were swept up in her living out the idea that it was OK to be patriotic.

And then there was just about the best Super Bowl ever (20-19), and they released the song as a single, and it sold like crazy (there were these newfangled cassette singles...). And she donated all of her profits to the Red Cross, and it was just too good to be believed.

If you haven't heard that version of the song, go listen to it now. We'll wait.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=en ... 5H6aE&NR=1[/youtube]

Astounding, right? It's the version everyone since has aspired to copy, or tried super hard to avoid. And the kicker is, they made her sing it beforehand and lip-sync it. The hooraw over that was overblown, because it was her own singing, and it is MUCH harder to lip sync later and make the movements match, than it is just to stand there and sing it,. But the sound people were worried about a technical glitch, and made her do it ahead of time.

So what? She was still awesome. She made it look like she could be skateboarding and eating Cheerios at the same time.

OK, that's not enough? Try the 1988 Olympics and "One Moment in Time," a song written for the Games and done to perfection by Houston. She did it live at the '89 Grammys, and that audience of cynical singers all stood to applaud. Go find that video, too.



The lyrics are perfect for sport, about being better than you thought you could be, and racing with destiny, and being part of eternity. Chilling, in a good way. And she pops those high notes and doesn't just hit them, but holds them. We are carried along with her.

It's just two moments, for me, in which Ms. Houston exemplified some of what can be magnificent about sport. But those moments are transcendent.

Well said skoop.

Ditto. Well done Skoop. What a waste of great talent.

[minimetoo26]

On Friday, Erin and I had gone through a photo gallery of the Top 30 Grammy gowns of all time. Her favorite was Whitney's. They interrupted Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown with the news, and I told her it was the blue dress lady.

In the I Want My MTV book they mentioned Robert DeNiro was practically stalking her when she first came onto the scene. I wonder if she'd be alive today if she dated him instead of ol' crackhead.

People my age shouldn't be dropping dead. Crack is indeed wack...

[Sistine Fanny]

That sound you hear is the Grammy people frantically whittling down the Amy Winehouse tribute.....

I think it would be cool if they could get Dolly to sing I Will Always Love You, but I don't think she was going to be there so it probably wouldn't work logistically.

I was never really a fan of the endless notes, hand waving, jaw quavering Whitney. I'll remember her dancing around singing "How Will I Know" with a ginormous bow on her head.....

[T_Bone0806]

Can't say I was much of a fan, either, but it WAS said to see the downward spiral here.

They keep statistics in hockey for assists. Credit the assist here to Bobby Brown. Jerkwad.

[Ritterskoop]

Jennifer Hudson will be featured in the Grammys tribute.

And Tuesday's episode of Glee includes Amber Riley performing "I Will Always Love You" (it's the Valentine's Day theme), and they may add a line of appreciation in the closing credits.

[Beebs52]

Skoop, thanks for posting that. I actually hadn't seen it. I was never a huge fan or anything but that was an awe-inspiring performance, clean and powerful and really beautiful.

[mellytu74]

1) Thanks, skoop.

2) A Whitney Houston song = a favorite memory of covering the Fresno Giants.

One night shortly after "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" came out, it was on the radio and going out over the speakers during batting practice. The pitchers in the outfield began to time their moves to the song. By the end of the song, they were all dancing and carrying on.

I could never hear that song without seeing that in my mind.

[Flybrick]

I can't help but imagine how her life and career would be today, had she never met Bobby Brown.

RIP, Whitney.

Please excuse me if I am misunderstanding your meaning here, but isn't she to blame for her actions and spiral into oblivon?

Don't get me wrong, my opinion of Bobby Brown is that of a human-sized breathing turd, but she was of age, apparently reasonably smart, and the more successful of the pair. She could have ended it and saved herself many times, many years ago.

It is a pity to see such talent wasted, but it seems to me to be on her.

Sad for her kids.

[Estonut]

I can't help but imagine how her life and career would be today, had she never met Bobby Brown.

RIP, Whitney.

Please excuse me if I am misunderstanding your meaning here, but isn't she to blame for her actions and spiral into oblivon?

Don't get me wrong, my opinion of Bobby Brown is that of a human-sized breathing turd, but she was of age, apparently reasonably smart, and the more successful of the pair. She could have ended it and saved herself many times, many years ago.

It is a pity to see such talent wasted, but it seems to me to be on her.

Sad for her kids.

Where did I say it wasn't her own doing? Of course the responsibility is hers. I said I was wondering where her life and career would be today, had she not been dragged down by that huge bag o'shit.

She only had one child.

RIP.

[Flybrick]

Where did I say it wasn't her own doing? Of course the responsibility is hers. I said I was wondering where her life and career would be today, had she not been dragged down by that huge bag o'shit.

She only had one child.

RIP.

I did ask for clarification.
thanks.