RIP Whitney Houston

That's 1A on my list.

 

I've only heard one song by her, but it was a good one.

 

We've always had singers who were "Divas-in-Chief" or whatever the male version is. Diana Ross, Streisand, Aretha, Whitney, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, now it seems to fall to Jennifer Hudson and John Legend, people you trot out at significant moments with wide appeal to add a measure of gravitas to an event.

 

She doesn't have ballads to belt and show off, but in terms of vocal range, Regina Spektor is probably my favorite of musicians still making new music, though she hasn't in a few years. She's also an incredible pianist whose arrangements are really good.

In terms of having being able to show off with her voice, Florence from Florence and the Machine is a personal favorite.

 

I am completely fine in announcing that I simply don't get her.

 

Comparing the two was crazy in the first place. Phil Collins doesn't have the pipes Whitney had. Houston wasn't a percussionist, passable on the piano, an music arranger or worked within a band setting.

How those two got compared was completely nuts.

 

They weren't compared.

 

How the thread got Phil-jacked, then. I had no intention of going as far as I did - and to those who might be upset as a result - I do apologize. But I'm getting the impression it went off the rails long before a poster or two did the same ...

 

Mavis Staples is right at the top of my personal favorite female singers list - another gospel singer who transitioned into pop, albeit without ever totally abandoning her gospel roots.

 

Bobby Brown is taking a fucking beating online. The best thing this guy can do is disappear for a while. If the media doesn't pick his bones clean, her fans will.

 

Put down the pipe Yankee Fan. Whitney Houston had six Grammys and sold more than 200 million albums. That's big. The people you have mentioned are talented but Houston in her prime was better. She had crossover appeal and the backing of Clive Davis. I'll wait for you to rattle off someone with the same quality in such short a time. Aretha has done it and you can even throw in Diana Ross. And both of them continue to do it.
Saying Pat Benatar, Delores O'Riordan and Sinead O'Connor had at least as good of pipes is insane. If they dreamt of sounding as good as Houston they should wake up and slap themselves.

 

People say the same thing, and correctly, about Barbra Streisand.