It's 4:30am, Sunday morning
Can't sleep. Can't sleep
Tossing and Turning.
Eyes wide open.
Tears flowing, just thinking about her.
Hearing that voice.
Haunting. Can't sleep.
Ms. Whitney Houston passed away earlier Saturday afternoon.
Her death, hurt a little more than Michael Jackson's.
I had just enlisted in the Army, when I first heard "You Give Good Love".
A tall skinny woman with a set of lungs, like an opera singer.
Who knew right?
Hard to believe one of my favorites of all time, has passed on to that diva round table in the sky.
Ms Houston, couldn't dance worth crap. Didn't need to.
No voice theatrics.
No booty shaking.
No half naked costumes.
No over the top stage dramatics: dancers or gimmicks.
She had that one talent that mattered to me the most...Her voice.
Ms. Houston didn't need extra.
She stood on and rode that cape, that was her voice.
I prefer to remember Ms Houston's career starting in 1984, to her last great album, produced by Wyclef Jean.
Anything from then to 2009, I put myself in a self induced coma.
I awoke once she got her act together.
Because we're in the same age bracket, she was my generations ultimate.
Ms Houston belonged to us.
This was tragic. You always hoped for her the best right?
You want to see the person you think you've known personally to be okay right?
I wish young people would just watch her great performances.
Ms. Houston was old school.
Played the part of a diva.
Dressed from head to toe.
After singing, would acknowledge, blow a kiss, and then bow to her audience.
She was graceful, grateful, gracious, and a lady.
You can't buy that type of stage presence now.
There were two sides to her.
Ms. Houston was a diva, with a "B-Girl" mentality.
Whitney wore the most expensive gowns and carried herself as a lady, but if you wanted the bring it, she would take off her diamonds and she would whip a bitch's ass.
Tha't what made her so intriguing.
No secrets. You knew what you were getting with her.
There was one performance that stood out in my mind. Being a veteran, during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Ms. Houston sang the national anthem at Superbowl XXV. She wasn't singing, she actually recorded the song weeks earlier.
Didn't matter to me. That woman put her heart and soul into that performance.
My favorite video: "The Greatest Love of All".
My favorite songs: "I'll Always Love You" and "I'm Every Woman'.
When Ms. Houston covered a song, she took that shit, ran with it, and made it her own. You literally forgot they were remakes.
There's this round table of DIVAS that are living, or have passed on, that I'll remember for my life time.
Sarah Vaughn, Barbra Streisand, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Anita Baker and Ms. Whitney Houston.
She was the youngest and the last.
THE LAST DIVA STANDING.
