>>>>>>>>
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/11/showbiz/whitney-houston-dead/index.html?hpt=hp_t1>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Sad. She was really talented.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Talented, as in one of the best vocalists of all time.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I'm not religious at all, but that woman had a God-given voice.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>A terrible loss.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>A sad postscript, linked from CNN's main page. Pictures of Whitney Houston at 17. You ask yourself how it could have gone so wrong.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
http://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/16/never-seen-photos-of-a-young-whitney-houston/?hpt=hp_c2>>>>>
>>>>>Ok, I guess I have to be the evil killjoy. I've never been a Whitney fan. I always thought she had a terrific voice and that she could have really been something if she'd ever learned to sing the song. I've always hated what I like to call the "Baying at the moon" school of singing. Somebody else (I'm horrified that I don't recall who - somebody around here I think) called it 'Tarzan singing'. Not a bad name for it. So regardless of her voice, I've never really liked anything she's done.
>>>>
>>>>Reasonable people can disagree. No problem. And you don't have to call yourself a killjoy. People make choices. They either solve their problems or they don't.
>>>>
>>>>I certainly like, probably prefer, nuanced singers like Billie Holiday. Then again, I also have a soft spot for the ones who can blow the roof off. k.d. lang comes to mind. In a way I hesitate to use the word but IMO Whitney's voice was God-given. 99.9% of us could never approach it. (Although I do offer a killer shower version of "Hound Dog," LOL).
>>>>
>>>>Some of the tributes in the past week did get out of hand. There was another singer, a friend, who described her voice as raspy. No, it was not raspy, not until she let drugs, alcohol, and tobacco ruin it. At her peak her voice was high and pure.
>>>>
>>>>Not that great artists have to have pure voices. The other day I was on a Johnny Cash kick, another singer who knew something about dissolution (and came through it to live to a ripe old age). I listened to some songs on YouTube -- for once I will spare you all the link ;-) -- and was struck by a number. The song "Hurt," a late career classic that is as raw as it gets, has been viewed over 30 million times. I don't think I have ever seen anything with that many views on YouTube. It isn't beautiful singing, it's pure heart.
>>>>
>>>>UPDATE: I misspoke. You get a YouTube video after all ;-) ---
>>>>
>>>>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHF9itPLUo4>>>>
>>>>If they ever make a CD of American music to drop on the moon, that song will be on it. It's from early in his career and is the one that made him a star. Nothing complicated, just a simple song with a propulsive rhythm. Johnny and June are the kicker. He had some dark chapters in his life; she was a member of country's royal family and somehow cracked the code. Their love for each other was beautiful. I would like to think they are reunited in heaven.
>>>
>>>There are lots of terrific singers who don't have great voices. Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday, Tom Waits, Steven Tyrell, Dr. John and on and on. Yes, Johnny Cash is a perfect choice. The thing is they all worked out how to sing the song so that the song mattered. Never did they sing as though the singer was all that was important. That was my problem with Houston. Same with Streisand, Dion, and others of that ilk. I just can't listen to them in spite of the fact that they all have wonderful vocal chords. I just don't find their renditions at all interesting. Boring, in fact. As far as I'm concerned, they may as well all be Barry Manilow. ;)
>>
>>
>>Put 'em up! Put 'em up! ;-)
>
>Whoa, sorry! Didn't know you were a Barry Manilow fan. ;)
>
Yes, it's my terrible secret ;-)
(NOT)
