WHITNEY HOUSTON--REFLECTIONS

Wow.

Was riding mass transit Sat. eve., heard a passenger casually mentioned that Whitney Houston died.

....??!!

Floods of memories flew by. For me, the second album, eponymously titled, "Whitney", made me an instant fan, and in my opinion, was her strongest effort. A friend played the whole LP (yes, once upon a time, there was vinyl). It was the strongest and most flavorable top 40 pop LP I had heard in a while.

My favorite: "Just The Lonely Talking Again", a jazzy ballad arrangement of the Sam Dees composition. She just put me into convulsions.

Then there was the duet with her mother, Cissy called "I Know Him So Well." Solid.

Another ballad that made me melt, the opener on side B "Where You Are". What control. She could throw it into over-drive, or pull it back into first gear. Just gorgeous.

I broke out of my my dance shell with "So Emotional", "Love Will Save The Day", and "I Just Want To Dance With Somebody". I practiced swing dancing to "Love Is A Contact Sport." I could not stay seated when these tunes were spun. 1987 was the heyday of melodic, flavorable, listenable songs. Along with Taylor Daynes efforts, that was it for me.

I'm fully aware there was a plethora of material after this release, along with film acting, and of course, she blew the roof off on "The Star Bangled Banner". But for me, this 2nd LP, simply titled, "Whitney" (not to be confused the eponymously titled "Whitney Houston", two years prior) ranks as my fav of all of her work. Going forward, it seemed like she tried to adjust to trends, starting with 1990's "I'm Your Baby Tonight".

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So where did it all go wrong? This is not the first, nor will it be the last superstar to lose their life prematurely.

Not looking forward to all the tabloids flooding us with conspiracy theories and psuedo-scientific nonsense, not to mention the mere gossip ad nauseum.

I feel for her mother, to be pre-deceased by your daughter. Can't fathom what that feels like.

I  caught Whitney's act at the Garden State Arts Center coinciding with the release of the second LP. Live performance was not her forte, at least not then. I sat behind her mother, who walked out mid-way.

But for pure voice, strength, fluidity, power, control, octave range, she was indeed one of a kind.

May this gifted yet tortured soul find peace and be reunited with her maker