The essential Whitney Houston

It always happens. A celebrity dies and there is this mad scramble among the public to learn all they can about the popular departed and to possess a memento of the former idol’s life. More so when the death is sudden and controversial. That was how it was when Michael Jackson died three years ago. And that is why there is now this rush to buy copies of the albums recorded by Whitney Houston.

Whitney, a ravishing combination of beauty, sex appeal and an incredible voice, made her album debut when she was 20 years old. She would go and sell over 140 million records in her lifetime, but she later became plagued by problems with drugs and alcohol. She was found dead in the bathroom of her Beverly Hills hotel suite last Feb. 10. 

She was 47 years old and, sad coincidence, she died on the eve of the 2012 Grammy Awards, the most important annual event for the music industry. The circumstances of her death were tragic and made news all over the world. So once again as it was decades ago, Whitney is a big-selling artist everywhere.

One of her Greatest Hits compilations is No. 6 in the US Top 20 albums hit list. The soundtrack CD of the Whitney box-office blockbuster The Bodyguard is at No. 15. I Look To You, her last studio album from three years ago, is at No. 16. There are also special screenings scheduled of The Bodyguard to commemorate the film’s 20th anniversary and to celebrate Whitney, the movie star. Hereabouts, the hit CD of the moment is The Essential Whitney Houston, a two-disc set of her biggest hits. I do not have the figures from everywhere, but I have a feeling that people feel no different about Whitney and her songs.

I heartily recommend the Essential if you want a Whitney CD and are watching your budget that comes with a well-annotated booklet. Okay, it does not have Hold Me, her gorgeous duet with the late Teddy Pendergrass, but it has the Seoul Olympics theme One Moment In Time and Babyface’s Exhale (Shoop Shoop) from the movie Waiting To Exhale that other collections do not carry. It also has Could I Have This Kiss Forever with Enrique Iglesias, All At Once, If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful, a duet with Jermaine Jackson, If I Told You That, a duet with George Michael and lots more.

A bit pricey but worth it is the Whitney Houston Greatest Hits. This is almost complete with 36 cuts and comes with a DVD containing her music videos, selected TV appearances and her rendition of The Star Spangled Banner at the Superbowl. Definitely a must is the soundtrack of The Bodyguard, 1992. The movie is cheesy but most enjoyable. The album contains what may be her best recordings: I Have Nothing, Run to You, Queen Of The Night and the unforgettable I Will Always Love You.

Then, there are the first and second albums. Whitney Houston, 1985 with Saving All My Love For You, Greatest Love Of All, How Will I Know; and Whitney, 1987 with Didn’t We Almost Have It All; Where Do Broken Hearts Go, I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me). I Know Him So Well, a duet with her mother Cissy Houston. I think of her third release as optional but it also has its moments I’m Your Baby Tonight, 1990. All The Man That I Need and We Didn’t Know, a duet with Stevie Wonder.

The true Whitney fan should also have the soundtrack of The Preacher’s Wife, a Christmas movie she did with Denzel Washington in 1996 that has I Believe In You And Me, Step By Step, Joy To The World and the heartfelt Who Would Imagine A King. I Look To You in 2009 was her final album. The singing is not as solid as before but the inspirational title track is a beauty and she has a nice duet with Akon, Like I Never Left.

She was working on a movie and recording the soundtrack at the time of her death so we can expect another big album release from Whitney soon.