Whitney Houston 1963-2011

By Kara Sprague

11 Number Ones on the Billboard Chart, including seven in a row at one point.
12 more songs in the Top Ten.
48, 3:55 p.m. Central Time.
Those last numbers, sadly, are the ones that stick out tonight.
Whitney Houston, seemingly omnipresent on the charts for years, was found dead in her room at the Beverly Hilton today (Saturday, February 11).
Details are scant at this point, so it's unknown as to what the actual cause of death was.
Just listen to any one of those classic singles -- "Saving All My Love For You", "The Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "I Will Always Love You"....any of them. And the voice is THE thing that stands out.
Total command of multiple octaves. Seemingly total assurance at a young age. She wasn't even 22 when her first big chart hit -- 1984's "You Give Good Love" was released.
But sadly, what also stands out is that today's tragic news is not the surprise it should be when someone so famous passes away at so young an age.
Houston's last Top 10 single was her version of the "Star Spangled Banner" from the Super Bowl 11 years ago, with no Top 40 singles since as her personal life took center stage and her music faded into the background.
A generation ago, it was easier for a celebrity to have their personal lives kept somewhat out of the public eye.
Then the tabloids became more popular, to point where more traditional news outlets copied them. It got to the point where the line between "tabloid" and "traditional" weren't blurred so much as left obliterated entirely. Then came "reality" shows which allowed some celebrities to basically become their own tabloid reporters.
Houston's marriage to Bobby Brown, already tabloid fodder, was laid out for public display on a televised reality show on Bravo back in 2005.
The show lasted one season, but between moments on that show and the other tabloid reports of marriage woes and substance abuse, Houston became less famous for that golden voice and more for being something of a public trainwreck.
Those classic songs would still come up on the radio, but there was the poorly received tour (complete with reports that the once-golden voice was in rough shape), the odd "crack is wack" denial to Diane Sawyer.
Sadly, at some point, Houston had turned from guaranteed hitmaker to guaranteed punchline.
Substance abuse casualties are nothing new to the business. Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin all dead at 27. Judy Garland, like Houston, gone at 48.
It's unknown at this writing whether substance abuse played a part, directly or indirectly, in Houston's death. But seeing so many casualties before and given her history, it's the easy path to wonder if it did.
it's impossible to be as shocked to the same degree that one was when John Lennon was gunned down in cold blood or Buddy Holly perished in a plane crash.
It doesn't mean that one can't be shocked and saddened. One would have to be made of stone not to be moved by this loss, one that took away Cissy's daughter and Bobbi's mother.
Compounding the tragedy is that Houston sought treatment for her addictions last year. Reports were more positive about her. She was set to star in a remake of the '70s cult film "Sparkle."
Whatever the specific nature of her addictions was, she was apparently fighting them and working to stay clean.
But unlike so many inspirational stories on celluloid, Houston didn't get the third act happy ending. She didn't get the triumphant comeback with the strong voice.
And that's what makes today so painful. Not only are fans mourning what they know they lost, but they are also mourning what could have been, both in the last decade and the decades worth of quality music.
Just as with Amy Winehouse in 2011 and Michael Jackson in 2009, the mourning is mixed with the hope that somehow, someone else will avoid those pitfalls, so that we aren't lamenting another loss.
But while Houston is gone, there will always be the songs and that voice.
And that is the No. 1 thing to remember about her.