Whitney Houston at Madison Square Garden in her first concert appearance here since the fall of 1985.Photo:Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty
Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty
On what would’ve beenWhitney Houston’s 60th birthday, PEOPLE is remembering the legendary singer with a feature published on Dec. 8, 1985 where recalls conversations with none other than Aretha Franklin and opens up about her early modeling career. The “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” singerdied on Feb. 11, 2012when she accidentally drowned in a hotel room, the day before the Grammy Awards.
Whitney Houston climbs out of her black stretch limo and strides into the hilltop headquarters of Philadelphia’s WUSL at 4:40 p.m., right on time for her fourth live radio interview since 2 that afternoon, her 250th since June. Sporting a loose-fitting brown leather jacket, pegged jeans and dark glasses, a garland of black curls framing her delicately featured face, the rangy 5'8" former model personifies casual elegance: a 22-year-old Nefertiti who carries herself with frightening self-assurance.
Whitney Houston at the Chicago Recording Company in Chicago, Illinois, February 20, 1985.Paul Natkin/Getty
Paul Natkin/Getty
After posing for pictures with radio station brass, Whitney heads for the hotel, digging into a brown-bag dinner of deli sandwiches, barbecue chips and soft drinks. With Whitney due to perform at Philly’s Tower Theater in less than three hours, there’s no time for a classier repast. A typical day in the life of this rising star.For her father, John Houston, 56, who has come along for the limo ride, this is history repeating itself. Whitney’s mother is Cissy Houston, 52, founder of the Sweet Inspirations, the pop-gospel quartet that arranged and sang backup vocals for Aretha Franklin and others during the ’60s; Dionne Warwick is Whitney’s first cousin.
“You can’t remember the first time you were in a recording studio, because your mother was pregnant with you,” says John, laughing at the memory. Cissy spent the summer of 1963 in Atlantic Records' New York studio before delivering her daughter in August.“Yeah,” answers Whitney, the youngest of three. “Mommy said the producers were real jittery, but she just told ‘em to quit worrying and get on with it.“In 1968 when Cissy cracked the Top 20 with her group’s single, “Sweet Inspiration,” Whitney, then 5, was there to witness that and countless other recording sessions, her shoulder-length braids bobbing in time to some of the most whoopin’, scoldin' harmonizing ever heard. (“Still nobody to beat those Sweet Inspirations,” beams John.) “I’d have all kinds of conversations with Aretha and Wilson [Pickett],” Whitney says. “I just remember being in an atmosphere of total creativity.”
Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Even before graduating in 1981, she began doing backup vocals for Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls and the Neville Brothers. Three years later Arista Records signed her, and her career exploded. “Whitney is an industry,” personal manager Eugene Harvey chortles. “The phone never stops ringing.”
According to Whitney’s own calculations, it’ll be another 10 years before she can seriously consider raising a family. And as far as love interests go, “I don’t have the kind of time it takes to nurture a relationship the way I’d like to right now, and I’d never attempt to jump into one unless I had that time. Besides, I’d always be worried about what he was thinking when I was gone.” In the meantime she draws a protective circle of family around her. Her older brother Gary, 28, and cousin Felicia Moss, 22, are backup vocalists in her band. Brother Michael, 24, is her constant companion on the road.For her mid-November concert at Carnegie Hall, her six-piece group is dressed in black tuxedos. Except for the synthesizers and other elaborate musical gadgetry, they look more like a society band than a pop-soul group. Whitney is clad in an eye-popping low-cut number. “Let’s make a deal,” she tells her audience, “you give me some of yourselves, and I’ll give you all of me.” More than a few young men melt into their seats.
Her 90-minute set is a mix of pop, soul, gospel and romantic ballads in which she engages in vocal sparring matches with Gary. A high point of the evening occurs when Cissy mounts the stage and sings “You Are My Dream” to her little girl. Another is Whitney’s cover of “I Am Changing,” from the showDreamgirls. Halfway through the tune Whitney pauses for a dramatic few moments, back arched, face uplifted, eyes tightly closed. She gathers her full force for a gospel-inspired progression of notes that pulls her 2,800 admirers to their feet. “Sing it, Whitney, honey,” screams one ecstatic fan. “Sing us the truth.”
source: people.com
