Unforgettable Whitney

It was as a freshie on Freshers' Day in college 23 years ago that I first heard Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)." The foot tapping music had me hooked, less for the music itself and more because it matched so perfectly the electric atmosphere on that bright June morning.  And so it has been with Whitney - a career that created a perfect song for every phase in a woman's life with unfailing faithfulness that said "I'm Every Woman" and here's the perfect song for you, for now...Anyone could sing with Whitney, anytime, anywhere in the world. Every one of her songs was poignant and hopeful at the same time. Every one of her songs was a woman. When you listen to "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", "I Will Always Love You", or "The Greatest Love of All," you'll never know what you feel, but you will know that you have been touched in a way that you cannot possibly articulate into words.  They are deeply moving renditions of the human condition that linger and haunt long after the last note has been played and the last word has been sung - a hidden promise of something unspoken and something unknown.


It's difficult to think of Whitney as an "entertainer" though it was a treat to watch her sing. She sang with complete honesty - something no "entertainer" can afford to do. Her songs seemed to come from deep inside her soul bursting out of her being with a magnetic power that was startling in its effortlessness.  Her controlled, neat, minimalistic movements on stage were gracefully dignified but not delicate.   She showed up so completely in her songs that she seemed to live every human experience, every emotion in every song that she sang. As she stood still and sang with her entire being, the audacity of her naked vulnerability exuded a restrained power that was fascinating to watch.

A Diva with a monkey on her back. Thank you for the music, Whitney.