[invest7manager]

Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies



ASSOCIATED PRESS
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY
AP Music Writer
February 11, 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like "The Bodyguard" and "Waiting to Exhale."
She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

"The time that I first saw her singing in her mother's act in a club ... it was such a stunning impact," Davis told "Good Morning America."

"To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine," he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with "Whitney Houston," which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. "Saving All My Love for You" brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. "How Will I Know," "You Give Good Love" and "The Greatest Love of All" also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, "Whitney," came out in 1987 and included hits like "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody."

The New York Times wrote that Houston "possesses one of her generation's most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity."

FULL STORY

© 2012 The Associated Press.

[xtrslots]

At her best she was the best of the modern r&b singers. Anita Baker a close second. She could sustain one long note instead of warbling, which seems to be the crappy norm these days & passes for r&b. I was so glad when she dumped that bastard of a husband of hers. She looked & sounded really good & seemed to be enjoying life again. Then she started going downhill again, & I told my sister I hoped she wouldn't end up one of those tragic female singers. I'm just floored. Dammit.

Rest in melody.

[SeftyJokipl]

But wait...she's already reincarnated!

[poekfpojoibien]

dlisted had a picture of her from last night at an event and there was blood running down her leg. ************************************************** **************************Whitney Houston Seen “Disoriented” and Possibly Bleeding the Night Before Her death.
In a report published Friday, The Sun described a disheveled and “disoriented” Whitney Houston out on the town in Los Angeles. According to the News Corp. owned tabloid Ms. Houston was seen exiting a nightclub with her daughter Bobbi Kristina and “appeared to have blood dripping down her leg and a long scratch on her wrist.” Celebrity gossip site The Insider published a similar report, describing the superstar as “dazed” and exhibiting an “aggressive attitude” as she left the venue, where she’d attended an R&B Grammy party. The Insider also echoed the disturbing report Ms. Houston may have been bleeding at the time.The Los Angeles Times reports Whitney Houston was found in the Beverly Hilton:She was found in the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where emergency medical personnel were called sometime Saturday, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the investigation is ongoing.Whitney Houston was in Los Angeles for a tribute scheduled Saturday night in honor of music mogul Clive Davis.

[Intockatt]

Rest in Peace...

[hoconnor6605]

I saw her at the Bottom Line in 1983. Her mother had a show there and she bought Whitney out to sing Tomorrow from Annie and she bought the house down. What a voice!!!!!!!!!!!

[duceswild]

Rousing tribute to music legend Whitney Houston at star-studded funeral
Published: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 7:02 AM Updated: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 7:24 AM

By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger

Enlarge Star-Ledger Staff About an hour before the funeral for Whitney Houston is scheduled to begin, fans begin to sign a gigantic card as part of the scene on Sussex Avenue near Jay Street. Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger Whitney Houston funeral photos: part 2 gallery (39 photos)

• 

NEWARK — In a service by turns rousing and poignant, family members, friends and luminaries of the entertainment world Saturday celebrated the life of Whitney Houston, a gifted pop princess who enchanted millions with her talent and yet struggled with the demands of outsized fame.
Nearly 1,500 people streamed into Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church for Houston’s funeral, a 3½-hour "home going service" that blended gospel strains and scripture with personal anecdotes and soaring musical performances.
Houston, a Newark native who died last week at age 48, sang in the junior choir at New Hope as a child. And despite calls for a public funeral, it was at New Hope where Houston’s mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, insisted her daughter be given her farewell.
The Rev. Marvin Winans, a close family friend and Houston’s eulogist, thanked Cissy Houston for her decision, calling it courageous.
"You brought the world to church today," Winans told her.
Houston is to be buried today at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.

Stevie Wonder sings special rendition of 'Ribbon in the Sky' at Whitney Houston's funeral Musician Stevie Wonder sings a personalized version of his song "Ribbon in the Sky" at Whitney Houston's funeral at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. (Source: AP Pool) Watch video
Hundreds of fans, some from as far away as Florida, gathered in the streets near New Hope, outside a perimeter set up by police to give the family privacy. Inside the soaring church, it was an assembly befitting one of the top-selling female vocalists of all time.
Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, R Kelly and gospel singer Bebe Winans performed during the service. Others in attendance included Mariah Carey, Spike Lee, Forrest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Cicely Tyson, pop singer Darlene Love, filmmaker Tyler Perry, Roberta Flack, Mary J. Blige and actor Kevin Costner, Houston’s co-star in the 1992 film "The Bodyguard."
Singer Bobby Brown, with whom Houston shared a tempestuous 14-year marriage, arrived at the church shortly before noon but left some 20 minutes later after a dispute about seating for his entourage. He later blamed the altercation on security officers, a claim Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio denied.
"He was informed very clearly that he did not have to leave," said DeMaio, who personally handled the situation.
A handful of celebrities who had been invited to the service didn’t make it. Among them were Elton John, David Bowie, Rod Stewart and Aretha Franklin, Houston’s godmother, who said in a statement she was ill.
But the absences did little to dim the star power or emotion in the church.
Houston’s daughter, 18-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown, sat next to Cissy Houston, often with her arm around her grandmother’s shoulders. Nearly all of the performers and speakers stopped by, before or after they walked onto the altar, to kiss and embrace the two.

Enlarge Star-Ledger Staff Pallbearers place the casket of Whitney Houston into a hearse after the rousing funeral service at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. (Noah K. Murray/The Star Ledger) Whitney Houston funeral photos: part 4 gallery (45 photos)

• 

Houston’s casket, heaped with purple and white flowers, lay before the altar. Large matching flower arrangements sat on each side.
A white-clad choir, featuring more than 100 members of the New Hope Mass Choir and the New Jersey Mass Choir, sat on one side of the stage, with dignitaries, dressed in black, on the other. A seven-piece band led by Rickey Minor, Houston’s longtime music director, accompanied some of the singers.
Dionne Warwick, Houston’s cousin, introduced each singer and speaker.
Throughout the service, there were moments of levity and moments of palpable grief.
Near the end, as Houston’s casket was carried out to the sound of her biggest hit, "I Will Always Love You," Bobbi Kristina began crying, and the sobs of Houston’s mother rang throughout the church.
"My baby!" she wailed.
Speaker after speaker lauded Houston as a unique talent whose range and power reached into people.
Music producer Clive Davis, who discovered Houston and guided her career, recalled hearing her sing for the first time in 1983.
"You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime," Davis said. "You wait for a smile like that — a presence like that — for a lifetime and when one person embodies it all, it takes your breath away."

Enlarge Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger Walking with an unidentified woman, Bobby Brown, ex-husband of Whitney Houston, leaves the New Hope Baptist Church where Houston's funeral is being held today. Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger Whitney Houston funeral photos: part 3 gallery (23 photos)

• 

But for all the success she would build over decades, selling more than 50 million records in the United States alone, Houston struggled with her own confidence.
In a moving speech, Costner recalled Houston was terrified before her screen test for "The Bodyguard" and feared she would be rejected.
"The Whitney I knew ... still wondered, ‘Am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me’
"It’s the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble at the end," Costner said.
He concluded his talk with a note of encouragement for her even today.
"So off you go, Whitney, off you go, escorted by an army of angels, to your heavenly father," Costner said. "And when you sing before him, don’t you worry. You’ll be good enough."
It was a week ago Saturday when Houston was discovered dead, submerged in the bathtub at a Beverly Hills Hotel. While bottles of prescription pills were found in her room, authorities have yet to determine a cause of death.
Houston’s on-again, off-again struggles with alcohol and drug addiction have been well documented. But in recent weeks, she told friends she was working hard to stay on a healthy path ahead of the upcoming release of her new movie, "Sparkle," a remake that tells the story of a mother raising three musically inclined daughters. The movie is due out in August.
Davis, the music producer, said he spoke with Houston just days before her death.
"I’m getting in shape. I’m swimming an hour or two a day. No cigarettes," he said she told him.
Houston’s brother-in-law and bodyguard, Ray Watson, also spoke of those final days, saying Houston talked about the Bible and the future.
"She laid her head on my shoulder and she said, ‘We’re gonna be all right,’ " he recalled Saturday.

Whitney Houston's casket brought out to 'I Will Always Love You' Her hit song, "I Will Always Love You", was the final song played concluding the private funeral ceremony for Whitney Houston as pallbearers carried the casket out of the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. (Source: AP Pool) Watch video
Keys, her voice catching with emotion, said Houston’s death is a loss for an entire generation of young performers, noting the superstar had been a mentor to young women, offering guidance and support.
Houston, she said, "made us feel strong and capable and loved. She’s an angel to us. And just been a beautiful human being."
The funeral brought out not only celebrities but a handful of politicians.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a one-time presidential candidate, paid his respects first at Whigham Funeral Home and again at New Hope.
"We have no idea the depths of her pain," Jackson said. "What we mostly knew about her is she sang so beautifully."
Inside the church, Gov. Chris Christie sat beside Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who welcomed the gathering with a brief speech as the service opened.
"God is in Heaven, and with him is one of our angels, Whitney Houston," Booker said.
Cissy Houston did not speak during the ceremony. But the service’s program contained a personal note from mother to daughter, the girl she and other family members called "Nippy."
"I never told you that when you were born, the Holy Spirit told me that you would not be with me long, and I thank God for the beautiful flower He allowed me to raise and cherish for 48 years," Cissy Houston wrote.
"God said it’s time Nippy; your work is done. ... Thank you for being such a wonderful daughter. Rest, my baby girl, in peace; you’re now in the arms of Jesus."

Kevin Costner evokes laughter, sad silence from the church with moving tribute to Whitney Houston Actor Kevin Costner, known for his role alongside Whitney Houston in the movie, "The Bodyguard", took to the podium at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark and regaled stories about his friendship with the pop star and budding actress and delivered a touching tribute that ended with a standing ovation. (Source: AP Pool) Watch video
After the service, Houston’s casket was placed in a gold hearse, and family members filed into limousines. Later, they gathered for a repast at the Newark Club restaurant, inside a downtown office building closed off to the public for the day.
Fans shouted "I love you Whitney" while Oprah Winfrey and Jay-Z quietly walked up a narrow red carpet and whooshed through revolving doors.
Newark police — who were out in force on foot, motorcycles and horseback — reported no problems with the event.
Around the church, members of the media — some from as far away as Australia and Japan — far outnumbered fans, who were told days ago they would not have a view of the celebrities.
Old Bridge resident Michelle Johnson, 50, didn’t need the full-on view. All she wanted was a glimpse of Houston’s hearse.
Clutching two photos of Houston and standing behind police barricades, Johnson finally the chance shortly after 4 p.m., when the hearse passed along Newark Street.
"I’m complete," Johnson said. "Now Whitney’s at rest, so now I can go home and rest."

Star-Ledger staff writers Jessica Calefati, Victoria St. Martin, Jay Lustig, David Giambusso, James Queally and Lisa Rose contributed to this report

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...ds_and_fa.html

[PIORARMADDERI]

[Wmshyrga]

I first thought they were Good n' Plenty.....

[WertyNtont]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...ertainment_pop

Posted at 06:11 PM ET, 03/22/2012 Whitney Houston’s official cause of death: drowning, heart disease andcocaine use

By Jen Chaney
The cause of singer Whitney Houston’s death has been determined.
The L.A. County Coroner’s office issued a toxicology report this afternoon that said the official cause of the pop diva’s death was “drowning and effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”
Under the section “How injury occurred,” the report — issued to multiple media outlets, including the Post — stated: “found submerged in bathtub filled with water; cocaine intake.” The manner of death was deemed accidental.
Houston died at the age of 48 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11, a night when she was expected to appear at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy party.
Given Houston’s previous, publicly acknowledged addictions, speculation immediately arose about the role drugs may have played in her passing. This report confirmed that they were indeed a factor.
In addition to cocaine, the toxicology report states that other drugs — illegal, prescription and over-the-counter — also were found in Houston’s system.
“Cocaine and metabolites were identified and were contributory to the death,” the document states. “Marijuana, alprazolam (Xanax), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril) and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) were identified but did not contribute to the death.”
Houston was buried on Feb. 19, the day after a funeral service at which friends and colleagues including Kevin Costner, Tyler Perry and Davis paid tribute to her. During his eulogy, Davis indicated that Houston was healthier and working toward recovering her once-stadium-filling vocal powers.
“Clive,” her mentor recalled her telling him just a week before her death, “I’ll be ready by August.”
By Jen Chaney | 06:11 PM ET, 03/22/2012

[engideNedmupe]

I just don't understand it. The med examiner is saying she had cocaine, a stimulant, in her system which contributed to her death. The others, which are more of a sedative, did not. How could she slip under water under the influence of cocaine & not wake herself up, unless those sedatives were a factor? How many deaths would there be if people dozed off & slipped under water simply from falling asleep? We always can wake ourselves up. I don't see how the other drugs couldn't have been a factor.

[JJascaxal]

Unless it was the cocaine that caused heart problems, making her fall in the water and drown.

The other stuff was probably taken 12/24 hours prior and was in low concentrations.

I think that they DID play a part in her demise, they were just not the ones that pushed her off the cliff.

[Muesrasrs]

I just don't understand it. The med examiner is saying she had cocaine, a stimulant, in her system which contributed to her death. The others, which are more of a sedative, did not.

The full report by the coroner's office hasn't been issued, but I think you're misreading the statement that the cocaine in her body was immediately contributory to her death; and even if it was, it doesn't mean the drug made her pass out and drown.

She may have had heart failure.

Dr. Michael Fishbein of the UCLA Medical Center, who spoke with ABC News regarding the coroner's office report, explained the short- and long-term effects that cocaine has on the heart, and speculated about what might have happened in Houston's final moments.

"The immediate effect of cocaine is that it interferes with the electrical system of the heart," Fishbein said. "An analogy might be a swimming pool pump. You can have a perfectly good pump, but if you cut the electrical cord, the pump stops working. If the heart stops pumping blood, and all the organs are deprived of oxygen. The tissue dies and the person dies."

Cocaine also increases the demand for oxygen, as it increases heart rate and blood pressure.

"The long-term effect is that cocaine causes the heart to be enlarged, which increases the risk of sudden death," Fishbein said. "It also causes scarring in the heart, which increases the risk of a sudden cardiac death, and it causes accelerated atherosclerosis, or a hardening of the arteries, which we associate with high blood pressure and smoking."

When occlusion in the arteries reaches 75 percent narrowing, it is typically considered dangerous, but, Fishbein says, 60 percent occlusion for a woman of 48 is above average.

Repeated cocaine use has been proven to raise the risk of heart attack risk, according to a 2008 report from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. Ten percent of heart attacks in people 18 to 45 years old were associated with more than 10 uses of cocaine over their lifetime.

The study led the American Heart Association to issue a statement urging doctors to consider the use of cocaine in young people with unusual cardiovascular or lung complaints.

Although Houston had been a chronic cocaine user throughout her life, as noted Thursday by the chief coroner, Fishbein said even a person with a normal heart can die of cocaine use and that if someone takes too much cocaine, he or she can die from even one exposure.

Perhaps the biggest mystery still surrounding Houston's death is whether the singer died before or after she was submerged underwater in her hotel bathtub: was she incapacitated and alive when she went under water, or was she already dead?

Medical examiners tend to say that someone has died of drowning if they are found in the water, and it is likely that water was found in Houston's lungs. In the report released Thursday, the coroner lists drowning first.

Fishbein says there are two possibilities in Houston's case.

"People can have what is called agonal respirations. That is, you can have a gasping breath, even after the heart is stopped. There are two possibilities: that she was incapacitated and alive when she went under the water, or she was basically dead, and the water got in with these respirations."

"How does someone die in a bathtub?" he asked. "It's not like they're swimming the English Channel. So she had to have been incapacitated. And I think that was due to the cocaine causing an abnormal cardiac rhythm."

Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction specialist and host of "Dr. Drew" on HLN, says that while the official cause of death was drowning, he believes Houston died from addiction.

"The cocaine probably caused some sort of cardiac arrhythmia or damage to the heart muscle, which resulted in her losing blood pressure and consciousness, and slipping into the water and drowning," Pinsky said.

It is still possible that these questions will be answered, and much of the mystery surrounding the star's death might still become clear, when the final coroner's report is released. It is expected within the next two weeks.

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