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Whitney Houston

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1963, the daughter of the gospel and soul singer Cissy Houston. Dionne Warwick was her cousin. From the age of five she sang in the choir of the New Hope Baptist Church, and her mother taught her to sing. As a teenager she sang in her mother's band and as a backing singer for, among others, Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. She also worked as a fashion model and was one of the first Black women on the cover of the magazine Seventeen. In 1983 she signed with Arista Records, where Clive Davis took his time to find the right material for her.

Music and breakthrough

Her debut album Whitney Houston was released in 1985 and produced hits such as Saving All My Love for You, How Will I Know and Greatest Love of All. The second album, Whitney (1987), opened with I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me), and with it she had seven consecutive number one hits in America. In the 1990s she appeared in films such as The Bodyguard (1992), with I Will Always Love You. Drug use and a difficult marriage overshadowed her later years. She died in Beverly Hills in 2012.

Influence

Houston was called The Voice: a powerful, clear voice, formed in the church, which she deployed in polished pop and ballads. She broke barriers for Black artists; the video for How Will I Know was played often on MTV, when that channel still showed few Black artists. In this way she brought the vocal art of gospel to the biggest stages of pop.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to I Wanna Dance with Somebody and notice the contrast between the cheerful synthesizers and drum machine and Houston's voice. Hear how, towards the end, she adds more and more embellishments and flourishes, like a gospel singer in church.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: ArtistsContemporary R&B