Whitney Houston..... The greatest voice of our time

I remember when I was still a kid, I used to sing my heart out to Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All". My dad was the one who taught me this song and he used to sing it with me in family gatherings. Then, way back in highschool, "Where do broken hearts go" was one of my favorite. Who will forget the songs "I Will Always Love You" and "I Wanna Run To You"? It was like a national anthem in 1992, these songs were heard in every singing auditions and contests as well. But no matter how others tried to imitate her, no one has been gifted with the voice as glorious as Whitney Houston's.

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963- February 11, 2012), was born in Newark, New Jersey, to a musical family: she was the daughter of the gospel star Cissy Houston, a cousin of Dionne Warwick and goddaughter of Aretha Franklin. She began singing in her church choir at the age of 11, and as a young teenager occasionally performed at her mother's concerts. Her voice attracted attention, and when she was 15, she and Cissy sang backup on Chaka Khan's 1978 hit I'm Every Woman. She was one of the world's best selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide.

Houston often gravitated to dramatic songs with lyrics about triumphing over the odds, and has been credited with inventing the "pop diva" genre that has inspired singers to the present day. She was also the first black woman to break through the colour bar at the all-important MTV, which beforetime had played white artists almost exclusively. The station's heavy rotation of her videos made her a familiar face to Middle America, and her mix of glamour, talent and approachability made her an aspirational figure for millions of teenage girls.

In 1992, she married ex-boy band member Bobby Brown, who came to be widely blamed for her downward spiral. The marriage produced her only child, Bobbi Kristina, but Brown was jealous of his wife's success and was emotionally abusive. Her drug use began around that time, and by 1996 she was a daily user. As the decade went on she was photographed looking dishevelled and frighteningly haggard. Even in a decade in which celebrities regularly suffered humiliating falls from grace, Houston's was shocking. Narcotics and her toxic relationship with Brown ravaged her looks and robbed her voice of its ability to soar. Her mother forced her into rehab in 2006, and the following year Houston divorced Brown.

Last autumn she returned to acting for a remake with the American Idol winner Jordin Sparks of the 1976 film Sparkle. Filming of the story was completed recently.

February 11, 2012, Houston was found dead in the bathtub of her hotel room in Los Angeles, where she had gone for Davis' pre-Grammy party. Los Angeles County Coroner officials confirmed that the singer did not die from drowning, but rather from what appears to be a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol.

The "being" may have left us, but her spirit and voice is alive and well! 
Let's celebrate the life of Ms. Whitney Houston.