Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9, 1963 in East-Orange, New Jersey. Her mother used to be a successful gospel singer. As a child, Whitney was a member of a church choir and when she reached her teen years she became a photo model. In 1983, Houston signed a contract with Arista Records. Hold ME was one of her first singles and took little time to enter Top 50. This motivated the young performer to spend the whole of the following year in the studio preparing the debut full-length record. Named after the singer, the album arrived in March 1984 and within less than a year reached the top of the American charts. It could hardly be possible without the support provided by such beautiful singles as You Give Good Love, and Saving All My Love For You.

Whitney Houston won her first Grammy in 1987 with the composition Saving All My Love For You. The same year she released the single I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) to conquer the charts in the US as well as in the UK. These songs helped the singer set a new record as her second long player, Whitney (1987), became the first record by a female performer to debut from the first position in the US charts. The only single from this album that failed to reach the top was Love Will Save The Day, which, however, did not spoil the general impression from Houston’s unsurpassed breakthrough. The subsequent studio work, I’m Your Baby Tonight, released in 1990 had moderate results in comparison with the predecessors, yet its third position in the charts would be a dream to an overwhelming majority of other performers.

1990 also appeared the year of Whitney Houston’s debut in cinematography as she played a big part in The Bodyguard. She recorded four songs as soundtrack to this motion picture, including the legendary I Will Always Love You that remained a leader in the States for as long as fourteen weeks. Whitney spent the largest part of the nineties acting in films none of which reached the peak once possessed by The Bodyguard. In 1998, she delivered another studio album, My Love Is Your Love, featuring her collaborations with several celebrities. Despite the warm welcome of the single When You Believe, the whole record’s sales were far from the expectations.

In 2002, the singer took another effort to win back the title of the world’s best pop-performer with a very impressive album called Just Whitney. It received the platinum certificate in a number of European countries. In a year, Houston prepared a collection of remakes united under the title One Wish: The Holiday Album. Still, it was clear that Whitney was unable to gain the shape she was in during the eighties. The mass media speculated much on the reasons of Whitney’s loss of her well-known skills. The most widespread suggestion was her marriage with Bobbi Brown. She became his wife in 1992 refusing to listen to her family and friends who tried to keep her away from a life with an alcoholic and abuser. Whitney’s tolerance lasted for fifteen years until they divorced in 2007. Seven years after the release of her previous album, the singer issued her new studio work in the autumn of 2009. The record is called I Look To You. In 2010 the record Whitney Houston (The Deluxe Anniversary Edition), devoted to the anniversary of the singer’s debut album release was issued. That record includes not only the songs from her album of 1985, but also many bonus tracks and remixes.