Whitney Houston's success was written in the stars, Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in Newark, New Jersey. Her greatest legacy is known as one of America's Greatest Pop Icons. She was the daughter of renowned singer Cissy Houston (who made a name for herself through the gospel music circuit) and would perform back up for Aretha Franklin. Not only was her mother a musical success, but her cousins Dee Dee and superstar Dionne Warwick graced the world with their musical talents as well.
Whitney Houston started singing in the church as a child. In high school, she worked as a model for fashion magazines and sang backups for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. By the time she was 19, she signed her first contract with Arista Records, whose president, Clive Davis, prepared a young Whitney for successful pop crossover.
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In 1983, she made her debut on National Television, appearing on The Merv Griffin Show to sing "Home" from the musical "The Wiz". She and Davis worked on her debut album for another two years, but the pair were looking to find better producers to showcase her extraordinary vocal prowess. By 1985, her self-titled debut album had three number one hits in the United States. “The Greatest Love of All”, which became his signature; "Save all my love for you" and "How do I know." This album set the record straight: Whitney Houston was significant new recording artist. The album sold more than 13 million copies in the United States and even more overseas making her the biggest selling debut artist.
Her 1987 Album entitled Whitney had four more number one hits. She won a Grammy Award for I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Houston made history as the first female artist to hit the Billboard album charts at No. 1. The new album surpassed platinum 10 times.
Whitney came into some trouble with her personal life in the 1990s. In 1992 Houston married Former New Edition R&B singer Bobby Brown after a three year engagement. At first, marriage was passionate and loving, but things took a turn for the worse over the last decade. Both Brown and Houston were increasingly struggling with substance abuse. Houston later referring to Brown's emotional abuse and domestic violence.
It was also during the 1990s Houston made her acting debut with Body Guard in 1992. Her hit single from The Bodyguard, a cover version of Dolly Parton's 1974 song "I Will Always Love You", and it became Houston's best song and spent a record 14 weeks on the US charts. She also starred in Waiting To Exhale and The Preacher's Wife during the 1990s as well. Then in 1997 Houston starred in the made for T.V. Roger's and Hammerstein version of Cinderella produced by Disney where she costarred with Brandy.
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By 1998 Houston's career began to decline and by the 2000s she was essentially retired. There was a small period of time in 2009 where Houston began to make a comeback with new music that was received well by the critics. Her album I Look to You was released in August of 2009 and included her hit song Million Dollar Bill that was written by Alicia Keys. Tragically in 2012 Houston died from an accidental drowning in her hotel room. Official reports listed causes including heart disease and cocaine use. In 2020 Whitney Houston was inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame.
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