With the recent tragic news of the death of Whitney Houston at 48, how does one begin to reflect on the life and career of a black woman who has had such an impact on the music industry? I don’t think I could do her justice by relying on idle expressions like ‘It’s such a loss’ or ‘She will be missed’ even though they are all true.
Instead, I can only write from a personal point of view. I was born in the 80’s and I grew up dancing to Whitney Houston’s Wanna dance with somebody and crying to her rendition of I will always love you. I absolutely loved The Bodyguard and I still have a copy to this day!
She started out as a church singer and I always thought that it showed in her music which was very powerful and soulful. She reached the peak of her career in the 80’s and 90’s winning numerous awards.
Even with her later career overshadowed with her very public struggle with drugs, she is no doubt one of the most celebrated artists of our time and has both touched the lives of her legions of fans as well as influenced a whole host of younger singers.
I only wish she had been able to re-establish her position as number 1 music diva.
In the 80’s big hair was so in and all I dreamt of was being grown up and wearing my hair just like Whitney Houston’s. She never did favor long locks opting rather for her classic curly shoulder length do. Unfortunately for me by the time I grew up, big hair was out and I had to move with the times but every now and again, I enjoy revisiting the big curly hair look!
We all get the urge to sing into our ‘hairbrush microphone’s’ from time to time and for me, more often than not, it will be a Whitney song that I will attempt to recreate. That in itself shows how much she has influenced me personally. Without further ado here are some of her hairstyles through the years.
All these images are in the public domain
