Whitney Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American pop/R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of the gospel singer Cissy Houston and the cousin of the popular singer Dionne Warwick.
Before her debut solo recording, Houston appeared on records by singer Chaka Khan, jazz flautist Herbie Mann, The Neville Brothers, and a song on One Down, a 1982 album by Material, a shifting collective led by bassist Bill Laswell.
Whitney Houston was introduced to the world by Clive Davis (founder of Arista) in 1985, during a nationwide television broadcast. She had, in her teens, backed up Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls. She also appeared in her mother's stage show and showcased at a Manhattan nightclub. At this club, she was talent-spotted by Clive Davis, and soon afterwards, she was singing to the nation on the Merv Griffin TV show.
Houston has released several albums, many of which have 'gone platinum' by selling more than ten million copies. She landed her first major movie role in the hit romantic film, The Bodyguard, starring alongside Kevin Costner. She also sang the soundtrack for this movie, which sold millions of copies around the world.
In the year 2000 era Houston's public image became tarnished when it was revealed that she had been battling spousal abuse with her husband, performer Bobby Brown. Additionally she had clearly lost a great deal of weight and this, coupled with shaky (if not cancelled) public performances gave way to rumours of cocaine addiction.
In 2002, Houston admitted in a television interview to abusing cocaine, marijuana and various other drugs. She claimed to have stopped using illegal drugs, but was seemingly making this admission to address the rumours circulating about her lifestyle. During said interview, Houston's comment about having never used crack cocaine because it was "for poor people," caused a new uproar.
Recently, Houston released a double-CD, 'Whitney- The Greatest Hits'. It included 35 of her most popular hits, including:
- The Greatest Love of All
- I Have Nothing
- I Will Always Love You
- All At Once
- I'm Every Woman
- You Give Good Love
- Saving All My Love For You
