Why Whitney Houston Matters

I've been struck by the different reactions to Whitney Houston's death, and the accompanying media coverage, that I'm hearing from friends, family, and acquaintances.  Many comments are mornful but others are dismissive.  Why the difference?

Some is old/young or a difference in musical tastes.  Houston was THE crossover artist of my generation.  And even then she never acheived critical acclaim on the same scale as her popularity.  She used that magnificent voice to touch hearts more than heads.
Some is black/white.  It's hard for us in the dominant culture to realize the enormity of her impact. We tend to focus on the struggles (marraige, substance abuse), as though we need to take her down a peg instead of recognizing a common human frailty.
Here are some examples of why I think Whitney Houston matters, whether you like or don't like her music, whether you are offended by or sympathetic to her struggles.  I hope you'll read them through the lens of Black History Month.

Professional Achievement

*Only artist to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits.            

*Second only to Elton John (and only female artist) to receive two number-one “Top Pop Album” Awards.

*In 1985, her “Whitney Houston” debut album was the best selling debut by a female artist.

*”I Will Always Love You” was the best singing single by a female artist in music history.

*The soundtrack from “Body Guard” made Houston the first musician to sell more that a million copies of an album in one week and made her the top female act, number four overall, in the top ten selling albums of all time.

Inspiration

*As a teenager, Houston broke color barriers by modeling on the covers and layouts of mainstream fashion magazines.

*As a young adult, Houston broke color barriers by appearing on popular late night TV shows.

*She refused to appear in any agencies that did business with apartheid South Africa.

*IN the early days of music videos, “How Will I Know” made Houston the first African American woman to be be prominently featured on MTV

*Her stunning and respectful interpretation of the Star Spangled Banner was a unifying force for  the American public at the start of  the first Gulf War and became the top selling song as the second Gulf War broke out.  It created a new standard for interpreting the national anthem.

*Her film roles counteracted stereotypes of African American women.

She is credited with helping to create a new form of Pop music without sexualizing performances as did  other  pioneers of the genre.

*Despite her personal struggles, she was a professional inspiration for many of today’s top female artists of all ethnic backgrounds. 

Whitney Houston's fall from grace scares us.  From most perspectives she had it all:  a good upbringing by loving middle class parents, a church that cultivated her faith, friends who mentored and supported her; professional success that catapulted her to the stratosphere of popular culture and made her a role model for a generation of young women drawn to making the most of their talents in entertainment.  Maybe it's hard to breathe when you soar that far that fast.  It scares us that her faith didn't save her from heartbreak, hardship, or bad choices.  

We can treat her as "the exception that makes the rule" (whether the rule is an assumption about entertainers, african americans, women......) or we can be grateful for her gifts even as we mourn the brokeness and struggle that was exposed. 

Instead of chosing between seeing hers as a life wasted or a life to be celebrated, I'm choosing to see Whitney Houston as a gifted human sister reminding me how precious life is.