Whitney Houston
Year: 2012; Age: 48
The daughter of gospel singer
Cissy Houston, the cousin
of Dionne Warwick and
the goddaughter of Aretha
Franklin, Houston, blessed
with a once-in-a-generation
voice, became the ultimate
crossover artist. “Because
of her cousin Dionne, she
understood all those pretty-
ass melodies from Burt
Bacharach,” Narada Michael
Walden, one of Houston’s
producers, told Rolling Stone
in 2012. “But because she was
young and from the era of
Michael Jackson, Prince and
Madonna, she had soul in her
too – those rhythms. She had
both sides, Plus, she was so
damn gorgeous. You couldn’t
say no to her.” Beginning with
her self-titled 1985 debut,
Houston racked up 11 number
one singles (including “The
Greatest Love of All” and “I Will
Always Love You”), sold over
200 million albums, andwon
seven Grammys.
Houston’s cheerful facade
began falling apart after
the commercial peak of the
Bodyguard soundtrack in
1992: A volatile marriage to
Bobby Brown and serious
drug and alcohol addictions
led to an exploitative reality
show, disturbing interviews
(her “crack is whack” comment
to Diane Sawyer in 2002)
and the diminishment of her
once flawless instrument.
On the eve of the Grammys
in February 2012, she was
found dead in a bathtub in
her hotel room at the Beverly
Hilton; coroners ruled her
death as accidental, citing
heart disease and cocaine
use, with multiple drugs found
in her system. (Tragically,
her daughter, Bobbi Kristina
Brown, died three years later
at age 22 under eerily similar
circumstances). “She was the
ultimate legend,” Beyoncé told
Essence after Houston’s death.
“She was sincere and kind. Her
voice was perfect. Strong but
soothing.
“Inspired th
e
virtuosic li
kes of Mari
ah Carey,
Adele, Aria
na Grande
and
many other
s.”
Soulful
and classic. Her vibrato,
her cadence, her control. I, like
every singer, always wanted to
be just like her.” JR
iconz magazine
How do
Musical
Instruments
Generate Sound
An instrument creates
sound when part of it
vibrates rapidly. The
column of air inside a wind
instrument, the string of
a string instrument, or the
stretched skin of a drum all
vibrate when played. This
vibration produces sound
waves in the air, which we
hear as musical notes.
When a musician hits a key,
a hammer strikes a string
inside the piano. The string
vibrates, making a sound.
In a grand piano the strings
are arranged horizontally.
In an upright piano they are
arranged vertically, to save
space.