I’m watching the 20/20 special on Whitney Houston, which I taped last night. Over the past week, I’ve enjoyed listening to her music, and also hearing the accounts about her faith, her kindness to people, her down-to-earth quality, and the things that made her human (i.e., her shyness). The 20/20 documentary talks about how she was the first African-American model for certain high-profile magazines, and how she blazed the trail for other African-American musicians. In terms of why I have long liked her music, a lot of the reason is that it is powerful, and sometimes even defiant.
Here’s a good article about Whitney Houston’s friendship with actor Kevin Costner.