Whitney Houston 1963-2012

This is shaping up to be a Black History Month we'll never forget and in a sad way.  We've lost in this month Etta James, Don Cornelius and now the 'Queen of Pop' Whitney Elizabeth Houston.

Was shocked to learn that the 48 year old Houston was found in her hotel room in Los Angeles and pronounced dead at 5:55 PM CST after paramedics performed 20 minutes of CPR on her  

Cause of death as I write this is still unknown.

Whitney not only was an iconic singer and actress who came from a musical family, but was a modeling trailblazer as well.  She was the first African-American woman to grace the cover of Seventeen magazine.

Her mother was R&B and gospel singer Cissy Houston, her cousins were Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick and her godmother was none other than the 'Queen of Soul' Aretha Franklin.   

She sold 170 million records, won 2 Emmys, 6 Grammys, 22 American Music Awards and 30 Billboard Music Awards just to name some of the over 400 awards she's won for starters.

She was also in the midst of a comeback and had completed the remake of the movie Sparkle that will be released later this year.

You know like everyone else who enjoyed her music I have all her CDs in my expansive collection and one of those songs, her remake of Chaka Khan's classic song 'I'm Every Woman' she recorded for The Bodyguard movie soundtrack got me through some rough patches during my transition.


The heavenly choir has just gained another singer, and those of us left here on Planet Earth are mourning the loss of a trailblazing musical icon on the eve of the Grammy Awards and pondering her ginormous legacy.

RIP Whitney.  You've left us way too soon.