Natosha Hubbard
Staff Writer
Grammy Award winning singer Whitney Houston was found dead in her Beverly Hills Hotel room on Feb. 11, 2012. The multi-talented Houston was born on Aug. 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey. According to Biography.com, She began singing in the choir at The New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. By the age of 15 young Houston was singing back up vocals professionally with her mother on Chaka Kahn’s 1978 hit, ‘I’m Every Woman’. She went on to provide backing vocals for Lou Rawls, Jermaine Jackson and her own mother and worked briefly as a model, appearing on the cover of ‘Seventeen’ magazine in 1981.
Students at Jackson State University joined the world in expressing their love for Houston.
“She had more number one hits than any other female singer. She was a model, vocalist and actress and her talent was immeasurable,” said Kenneth Loggins an interdiciplinary studies senior from Jackson, Miss.
“She had a unique non-competitional voice. It made music sound real and you believed every word that came out of her mouth,” said Errica Pierce a senior accounting major from Clinton, Miss.
Houston worked as a featured vocalist for the New York-based funk band Material. Her vocal work with the band attracted the attention of Clive Davis and major record labels, including Arista with whom she signed in 1983 and where she stayed for the rest of her career.
Houston’s self titled debut album was the best selling debut album by any artist. She had seven consecutive number one hits beating out the Beatles previous record. ‘Saving All My Love For You’, ‘How Will I Know’, ‘You Give Good Love’, and ‘The Greatest Love of All’ were all released from that album. The album sold 3 million copies in the U.S. 25 million worldwide.
The grammy winner’s sophomore titled ‘Whitney’ in 1987 was a great success and it led her right into the her first movie roll in 1992’s ‘The Bodyguard’. Her roll and the film was praised, but according to IMDB.com, it was the soundtrack album and her cover of the Dolly Parton’s song ‘I Will Always Love You’ that catapulted her to super stardom. The single and album topped the charts for months and sold 44 million copies around the world.
Latara Taylor a senior mass communications major from Jackson, Miss. said, “She paved the way for all of today’s stars. She set an example of poise for singers such as Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce’ and even Adele. She was an inspiration for the way singers hone their talent today,” Biography.com reports Houston as the only female artist to have three albums sell over nine million copies each: “Whitney Houston” (1985), “Whitney” (1987), and “The Bodyguard” (1992).
She has 14 gold singles in the United States, behind only Madonna and she holds the record for winning the most American Music Awards with 26. Houston has earned more than 150 awards and accolades spanning her career.
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