Work Lessons From Whitney Houston

You Never Really Know What Someone is Going Through

We all have a public persona and a private persona. Through music; Whitney Houston had fifteen years where she could do no wrong. Her second album was a retread of the first although it sold very well. She seemed like a product when the songs sounded the same. The next album had different producers and then:

Cut the Filler

Listening to the first Whitney Houston album: the singles are enjoyable. The other songs are piffle. It was almost a throwback to albums before The Beatles which had two good songs and the rest might as well have been static.

The Bodyguard has Whitney Houston songs on Side One and various artists on Side Two who are worth flipping the record over. It would not surprise me if some never listened to side two of Yellow Submarine. Instrumentals from George Martin should be interesting to hear.

Play To Your Potential

Many spoke of how great Whitney Houston's voice was. With lightweight songs it did not matter. I took my sister to basketball practice. Waiting for her in the game room a song came on the radio. It began acapella. That only happened once in the history of music. As I was shooting pool as poorly as ever I was introduced for the very first time to I Will Always Love You.

I did not know this was a Dolly Parton song originally. Linda Rondstadt, Michael Bolton and Laura Branigan had covered it previously. No one owned the song nor will they ever the way Whitney Houston made it hers. Hearing it last night randomly on the radio cause me to stop and listen.

Command the Attention of Your Audience

Some songs are just there. Others are nice to have on in the background. A select few demand your undivided attention. If you are in a bad mood or frustrated about something a song like this can take you out of your thoughts and when it ends you are no longer dwelling on what now seems silly to upset you.

Do Well on Many Fronts

I have never written a definitive article on Madonna. I could go in so many directions I could justify starting a newsletter. I would not have much to say about her movies. Whitney Houston made movies as good as her music. Not many performers can say that.

If Something is Amiss There is Probably an Issue

Soon after 9/11 there was a Michael Jackson television special. She came on to sing Wanna Be Starting Something. It sounded as you would expect. She looked emaciated and almost ill.

In other news, Sting sold his publishing rights today. In Whitney Houston terms? "Don't want to read about the love you make. Don't want to read about the drugs you take." That song was about Rod Stewart and the private lives of performers are not what should resonate. I could not care less about who Whitney Houston fooled around with in the moment.

The drugs were always there. The only thing more tragic than what happened ten years ago tonight at The Beverly Hilton was her final tour.

The Show Must Go On

With a diminished voice and too much heartbreak- some say she truly died of a broken heart- she was booed at a concert in Australia. She did not lip synch. If Britney Spears blew out her voice, who would know? Do as much as you can for as long as you can.

Remember the Good Times

I felt duped when Whitney Houston died. The obvious comparison was to Billie Holiday. My favorite song of hers became the Thunderpuss remix of It's Not Right but It's Okay. I believed she held the note after "You were making a fool of me". Maybe she could. In the remix the note was stretched out.

The Sadness Was Always There

I Will Always Love You is a beautiful song. It's a great song if you want to embarrass someone in public. It is also about a breakup. Dolly Parton was leaving The Porter Waggoner Show and wrote this song. After Whitney Houston passed it felt like there was another breakup.

The only more emotional example was Smokey Robinson singing Never Can Say Goodbye, another sad yet beautiful song, after Michael Jackson's passing. There is no modern equivalent to this level of star power. We are stuck with Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. No one else.

Popular music needs new blood, not different people singing the same collaboration from Max Martin and an algorithm. I never mentioned how The Greatest Love of All carried me through one of the greatest periods of upheaval best left unsaid.

"I decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow

If I fail, if I succeed

At least I lived as I believed

No matter what you take from me

You can't take away my dignity"

I wrote that from memory. Should I check Google to see if I misquoted? I checked. Word for word. I could not memorize in school, killing any hope of furthering education. Recalling song lyrics had more value. Thank you, Whitney- even if it were written by someone else.