AT HER PEAK, from the mid-80 s to the late 90s, Whitney Houston was one of the best-selling artists, wowing audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.
However, her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like her godmother Aretha Franklin drew the ire of critics who saw her as playing down her black roots to reach white audiences.
This would become a constant refrain through much of her career.
"Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?" she once said.
"You're not black enough for them. I don't know. You're not R&B enough. You're very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them."
Her success carried her beyond music to movies. She starred in hits like 'The Bodyguard' and 'Waiting to Exhale'.
Houston had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise. She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey.
By the end of her career, Whitney Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use
By the end of her career, Whitney Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use
But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use.
The hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances.
Her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.
"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," she said in an interview to ABC in 2002.
She seemed to be born into greatness. In addition to being Franklin's goddaughter, she was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick.
Houston went to rehab twice before she declared herself drug-free to Oprah Winfrey in 2009.
But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.
She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. (AP)
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