Whitney Houston: Tragic Diva the Epic Life and Shocking Death of Whitney Houston: The Epic Life and Shocking Death of Whitney Houston by David Cline Page A
Authors: David Cline
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and immediately bringing them to his office to sign her.
Whatever the case, the young Houston began working regularly as a fashion model, which ultimately led to appearances in Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, Glamour, and even a coveted cover spot on Seventeen magazine.
While it was rumored that Whitney wasn’t particularly fond of modeling due to its intense schedules, physical demands, and controlling executives, her appeal was undeniable and she nonetheless became one of the most in-demand young models of her time.
What was attractive to her about her success in modeling, however, were the opportunities it led to in acting. She appeared in commercials for products such as Canada Dry ginger ale and on television shows such as Silver Spoons and Give Me A Break, among others.
Whitney continued to have success and recognition in both television and modeling, but ultimately could not escape her true passion and calling: Music. She returned her focus to her blossoming singing career, contributing vocals and backups on record albums for other artists and appearing regularly with Cissy in nightclubs in New York. In 1983, music mogul and head of Arista Records Clive Davis caught Whitney’s impressive performance and offered her an international contract with Arista.
Though Cissy had previously influenced Whitney to decline several contracts feeling that the opportunities or timing were not right, important recommendations supporting Davis by close industry friends such as Aretha Franklin led to Cissy feeling comfortable and giving her approval. Whitney signed the worldwide agreement and the next step of her stardom began.
But not right away. Davis knew he had found something special in Houston and did not want to jeopardize losing her to another label, or squandering Whitney’s star-potential with inferior material on her debut album. So although she actually signed with Arista in 1983 and did have limited national exposure such as a televised debut with Davis on The Merv Griffin Show, and the hit duet single “Hold Me” with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984, it would still be nearly two years before her debut album, Whitney Houston, ever saw the light of day.
Chapter Three - “All At Once”
On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1985, Whitney Houston hit the shelves on the Arista label and though commercial success was somewhat slow at first, it began to gain momentum due to high critical praise. From The New York Times to Rolling Stone Magazine, the 21-year-old Whitney was being hailed as one of the most exciting new voices and talents of her time.
Davis and Arista were aggressive in their promotion of the album, both internationally and in the U.S., and Davis also exploited the relatively new trend of music videos, capitalizing not only on Houston’s incredible voice, but her stunning good looks as well. Her videos were incredibly popular and played and replayed heavily on music channels like MTV and later VH1. Whitney was praised as a fresh-faced newcomer with a truly gifted voice, yet possessing a soul and maturity beyond her young years.
“You Give Good Love” was the album’s first major U.S. hit, peaking in the Top 5 at Number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and pushed even further on the Hot R&B chart, reaching Number 1. The success of this song caused the album’s popularity to skyrocket.
Also, increased promotion and both live and televised performances by Whitney propelled the album even further. “Saving All My Love For You,” the second release from the album, became Houston’s first Number 1 single, followed closely by “How Will I Know?” and “Greatest Love Of All,” both of which also hit Number 1 and gave Whitney Houston the distinction of being the first album produced by a female singer ever to produce three Number 1 hits. The album also garnered Houston her first Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female for “Saving All My Love For You,” an Emmy award for her performance of
Whatever the case, the young Houston began working regularly as a fashion model, which ultimately led to appearances in Cosmopolitan, Young Miss, Glamour, and even a coveted cover spot on Seventeen magazine.
While it was rumored that Whitney wasn’t particularly fond of modeling due to its intense schedules, physical demands, and controlling executives, her appeal was undeniable and she nonetheless became one of the most in-demand young models of her time.
What was attractive to her about her success in modeling, however, were the opportunities it led to in acting. She appeared in commercials for products such as Canada Dry ginger ale and on television shows such as Silver Spoons and Give Me A Break, among others.
Whitney continued to have success and recognition in both television and modeling, but ultimately could not escape her true passion and calling: Music. She returned her focus to her blossoming singing career, contributing vocals and backups on record albums for other artists and appearing regularly with Cissy in nightclubs in New York. In 1983, music mogul and head of Arista Records Clive Davis caught Whitney’s impressive performance and offered her an international contract with Arista.
Though Cissy had previously influenced Whitney to decline several contracts feeling that the opportunities or timing were not right, important recommendations supporting Davis by close industry friends such as Aretha Franklin led to Cissy feeling comfortable and giving her approval. Whitney signed the worldwide agreement and the next step of her stardom began.
But not right away. Davis knew he had found something special in Houston and did not want to jeopardize losing her to another label, or squandering Whitney’s star-potential with inferior material on her debut album. So although she actually signed with Arista in 1983 and did have limited national exposure such as a televised debut with Davis on The Merv Griffin Show, and the hit duet single “Hold Me” with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984, it would still be nearly two years before her debut album, Whitney Houston, ever saw the light of day.
Chapter Three - “All At Once”
On Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1985, Whitney Houston hit the shelves on the Arista label and though commercial success was somewhat slow at first, it began to gain momentum due to high critical praise. From The New York Times to Rolling Stone Magazine, the 21-year-old Whitney was being hailed as one of the most exciting new voices and talents of her time.
Davis and Arista were aggressive in their promotion of the album, both internationally and in the U.S., and Davis also exploited the relatively new trend of music videos, capitalizing not only on Houston’s incredible voice, but her stunning good looks as well. Her videos were incredibly popular and played and replayed heavily on music channels like MTV and later VH1. Whitney was praised as a fresh-faced newcomer with a truly gifted voice, yet possessing a soul and maturity beyond her young years.
“You Give Good Love” was the album’s first major U.S. hit, peaking in the Top 5 at Number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart, and pushed even further on the Hot R&B chart, reaching Number 1. The success of this song caused the album’s popularity to skyrocket.
Also, increased promotion and both live and televised performances by Whitney propelled the album even further. “Saving All My Love For You,” the second release from the album, became Houston’s first Number 1 single, followed closely by “How Will I Know?” and “Greatest Love Of All,” both of which also hit Number 1 and gave Whitney Houston the distinction of being the first album produced by a female singer ever to produce three Number 1 hits. The album also garnered Houston her first Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female for “Saving All My Love For You,” an Emmy award for her performance of
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