WASHINGTON, February 11, 2011 – Whitney Houston, the mezzo-soprano gospel and pop singer whose majestic voice and image were tarnished by drug use and her marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died.
She was 48.
Lt. Mark Rosen of the Beverly Hills (CA) Police stated that at 3:23 Beverly Hills Police received a medical aid call, responded to within two minutes. When officers arrived to the hotel room, hotel security had already began resuscitation measures, but at 3:53 pm she was pronounced dead, and positively identified by friends and co-workers. There are no obvious signs of criminal activity or intent.
Update: TMZ reports that prescription drugs were present in the hotel room and that Ms. Houston was removed from the bathtub by EMTs, leading to speculation that she may have drowned.
Whitney Houston was considered one of the golden voices of the music industry from 1980 through the 1990s, becoming one of the world's best-selling music artists. Her voice, which seemed so easy, came from a youth singing in the black churches where she began singing at the age of 11, however as an artist she was wholly embraced by the pop music genre.
Ms. Houston enjoyed seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits that included:
"Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know," "Greatest Love of All," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "Didn't We Almost Have it All," "So Emotional," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go."
Houston is well known for her 1992 film, "The Bodyguard" with Kevin Costner, starring as Rachel Marron, a star stalked by a fan who hires a bodyguard to protect her. The film's sound track had great success with the Dolly Parton penned "I Will Always Love You," which spoke to the class and race difference between the star and her bodyguard.
The Guinness Book of World Records reports Houston has garnered the most awards for a female artist including two Emmys, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, and six Grammy awards.
She sold over 170 milllion albums and won over 400 career awards.
Houston often spoke of her inspirations, which included soul singers such as her mom, Cissy Houston, and cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick. Aretha Franklin was the singer's godmother.
Houston appeared in numerous films including "Waiting to Exhale" with Angela Bassett and "The Preacher's Wife" with Denzel Washington and was getting ready to release the remake of "Sparkle," marking her comeback to the movie screen.
The Hollywood Reporter recently reported the singer was being considered for a seat on Simon Cowell's "The X-Factor."
For many, a memorable moment was Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in 1991. The song was such a hit, Houston re-recorded it as a charity effort to raise funds for the American Red Cross to benefit veterans and families from the Persian Gulf.
Houston was found at the Beverly Hilton Hotel where she was staying preceding the annual Clive Davis Grammys Party. Davis is the music mogul producer who first discovered the then teenaged Houston in the early 1980s, and guided her to stardom.
Reports from friends and industry insiders are that she was feeling strong and looked well the last week or so and there was great hope for her performance at the Grammys.
Tonight's traditional pre-Grammy party hosted by Houston's mentor Davis, attended to by the greats of the music industry, will become a defacto wake and a very different event due to this stunning news.
Houston served as an influence for many great diva singers that followed her including Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera. Houston has confessed to strong cocaine and marijuana abuse, and her continued abuse had taken its toll on her voice.
"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.
Once again we bid goodbye to an incredible talent, gone well before her time. We rejoice in the gifts she left us, and are saddened by the turmoils of her life.
She left us with the greatest love of all, the sound of her voice and the hope that her gospel beginnings gave to the songs and sounds she shared with us.
Houston is survived by her daughter Bobbi Kristina.
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