The Death of Whitney Houston

Late yesterday afternoon the news broke that singer-actress Whitney Houston had died at the young age of 48. For me, this is one of those celebrity deaths that takes your breath away for a minute. I grew up listening to Whitney sing. In fact, any female singer probably held a hairbrush in her hand at some point, belting out "I Will Always Love You".

She clearly had a very public struggle with addiction and drugs. In recent years, her performances have been ragged and incoherent. Sadly, I have a feeling that when her official cause of death comes out, it will either be some sort of overdose or some sort of drug related heart attack. The hardest part of all of this for me is the waste of her voice and her talent.

In her short life, she accomplished many things, including being the most awarded female artist of all time (according to the Guinness Book of World Records). She was awarded 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She paved the way for singers such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and many others.

I leave you with Whitney in better times - singing what I consider to be the all time best performances of the National Anthem. Rest in peace, Whitney.