Pop Music Has Lost its Queen: Whitney Houston 1963-2012

Make no mistake about it: Whitney Houston was, is and will be one of the biggest stars the music world has ever seen.

Whitney was the last in the long line of elite – key word ELITE – singers who came out of the Black church to achieve worldwide stardom. Her vocal talents lived up to, or transcended those who came before her (Gladys, Etta, Martha, Melba, Marva) and her contemporaries who stood beside her (Jennifer Holliday, Phyllis Hyman, Vanessa Williams).

One of the great interpreters of song, Whitney’s extraordinarily gifted voice fit in any genre – gospel, standards, R&B, and even experimental jazz-funk (her first recording as a lead vocalist was on the 1982 ‘One Down’ by the group Material, see below). She respected the lyrics and the arrangement and was comfortable enough with her skills to let a song breathe, without falling in the vocal gymnastics trap that plagues so many singers.

But where Whitney Houston truly excelled was in pop music. One of the few Black artists groomed specifically for pop (as opposed to having go through the R&B mill in order to ‘crossover’), she bridged generational and genre gaps. Her music can be heard on pop stations, urban, adult contemporary, and dance (via the remix of course).

Whitney’s influence on pop culture cannot be denied. Without Whitney, there’s no Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Brandy, Monica, Britney, Christina, Aguilera, Missy Elliott, the list goes on and on.  And with her breakout role in the film Waiting To Exhale, she proved that a Black actress can carry a drama centered on the lives of Black women.

In a era where style trumped substance and where female artists had to practically show their ass to sell records, Whitney Houston achieved success on a worldwide scale with a level of grace, dignity and of course, exceptional talent.

While everyone will be focusing on the seedier side of her life and death, take pause to really look at what Whitney Houston added to the game.