Whitney Houston - my brief encounter many years ago

[iscooterliberally]

I got to meet Whitney Houston once. It was a fluke really. It was back in 1986. I was working a show in the old Boston Gardens. It was an earthquake benefit and there were lots of famous acts. I had already done my part and was waiting on the stage to see Heart perform. When I saw Whitney back stage earlier, you couldn't get anywhere near her. She had a huge entourage and was in the center of this mob of people on old fashioned giant cell phones. The stage doors opened behind me and some people walked in, but I didn't turn around to see who it was at first. When I did turn around Whitney Houston was standing behind me all by herself. Her entourage kinda dumped her there and went backstage. It was really dark because there wasn't much lighting on the back side of the stage. I said hello to her and she looked a bit nervous because she didn't know me. I told her who I was and broke out my flashlight so we could see our surroundings. I offered to lead her over to the monitor console and took her by the hand. There were large power cables everywhere and she had heels on. I told the monitor engineer that Whitney was here and he handed her a wireless mic. I got to hang out right there and watch her perform. Whitney was the real deal. I ran monitors for many famous and not so famous acts through the 80s and 90s, so I knew who could really sing and who was just out there posing. Whitney had a very powerful voice and her pitch was dead on. She sang our national anthem probably better than anyone who ever tried, and that's not an easy song to sing. I know she had issues with drugs, but I really think the fame did her in before the drugs did. I can't imagine trying to walk around with a huge mob of people stuck to you on all sides. It is a shame the way things ended for her. One would think that she had the world, but the world just ate her up. Rest in peace Whitney.

[cash__whatiwant]

1. i'm so saddened by her death

its still very shocking.

[TuxedoKat]

2. Thanks

for sharing this story.

[monmouth]

3. A lovely tribute and memory. Thanks for posting..n/t

[Arugula Latte]

4. It's too bad we can't turn back time and make it so she'd never meet Bobby Brown.

I think her life would have taken a much better path if she hadn't hitched her wagon to that guy.

[iscooterliberally]

8. I think her problems started before he came on the scene.

She became so famous so fast that IMHO she had no chance to live a 'normal' life. At this gig there were lots of famous people back stage, and I don't think any of them could get near her. That's why I was shocked when I turned around and it was just she and I. I thought some body guard (this was years before the Costner movie) would jump out of the shadows to kick my ass for being next to her. She seemed so vulnerable when I saw her. Back stage the crowd that moved with her was about 5 or 6 people deep in all directions. If I was her, I would have turned into Moe from the 3 Stooges. I would yelled 'spread-out' in true Moe fashion and started elbowing and slapping. How could she ever know who her real friends were? She couldn't go out to a club or a restaraunt without getting mobbed. Everyone appeared to be feeding off of her. I think a lot of people turn to drugs when they feel empty inside. In her stituation, I could see that happening no matter who she ran into. I think this is why it happens to so many famous people. They want real friends, but real friends are hard to find for normal people. Imagine if you had to meet thousands of people just to find one or two that really liked you even if you had no talent or money or anything. I think the moral of this story is to be thankful if you can count your friends on one hand.

[Go Vols]

9. Yes,She was on dope before Bobby Brown

http://www.cottenkandi.com/2012/02/14/jennifer-holliday-says-whitney-houstons-drug-use-began-before-bobby-brown/

[iscooterliberally]

11. Well it was the 80s and cocaine was everywhere.

I'm sure quite a few people used it as an excuse to get near her. I saw quite a bit of that going on back then.

[rocktivity]

14. DING DING DING! Iscooterliberally, you're our grand prize winner!

Last edited Wed Nov 17, 2021, 01:48 PM - Edit history (7)

She became so famous so fast that IMHO she had no chance to live a 'normal' life...She seemed so vulnerable when I saw her...

She spent her teens singing with her mother Cissy Houston at nightclubs, recording backing vocals (including Chaka Khan's I'm Every Woman), and modeling after being spotted by a fashion photographer. Unlike singers having to start from the bottom with no connections, she had access to her parents (her father was a music industry executive), Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin. When you're young and vulnerable, and you have so many "advantages" at your disposal, not being good enough (never mind screwing up) can feel like original sin.

And it doesn't sound like she was looked out for financially, either. Her record album income was based on recording and performing the songs of others, not writing, composing, or producing her own; she had to fight off a lawsuit from her own management company; she had to sell two multi-million-dollar homes. No wonder she became so reliant on movies, commercial jingles, exhausting tours -- and too many drugs.


rocktivity

[iscooterliberally]

15. Damn. It's no wonder she looked nervous when she saw me.

Thanks for filling that in Rocktivity. I've been seeing lots of folks ripping on her in the last few days, and I wanted to stick up for her. The funny thing to me back then was that I wanted to say, 'yeah Whitney if I was one of your handlers, I wouldn't let you anywhere near me either'.

[Lilyeye]

48. I couldn't agree more.

People blame Bobby for her problems, but even Whitney admitted the responsibility was hers only.

[alfredo]

5. You were lucky it wasn't Dionne Warwick or Martina McBride. Both can be very imperial.

[iscooterliberally]

7. It's funny you mentioned it.

I did a gig with Dionne Warwick too at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, FL back in the 80s too. She was actually very nice when I met her. I remember that she traveled with a Ms Pacman video game that she loved to play. She was a great performer too, but she didn't have nearly the vocal power that Whitney Houston had. I'm sure that she could be imperial, but I usually got down to business and didn't catch all that. The Dionne Warwick gig was when I was working for a sound company in South Florida where I live. I was always on stage many hours before the performers would show up, so I would try to have everything sounding loud and clear well in advance. This way they could come in and do a quick sound check and then go relax until they had to perform.

[rocktivity]

16. Warwick was an (excellent) pop singer who just happened to be black

Last edited Thu Oct 22, 2015, 12:15 AM - Edit history (2)

She didn't NEED to rely on a powerful, "soul sister"-type voice.


rocktivity

[kwassa]

20. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Relying on a powerful voice?

which is, I would point out, not a race-based thing.

[rocktivity]

21. You should rely on whatever artistic "power" you have -- and it ABSOLUTELY shouldn't be race-based

Last edited Mon Jun 23, 2014, 02:55 PM - Edit history (3)

For Aretha Franklin, a powerful, soulful voice was a GREAT thing. And are you familiar with The Fifth Dimension? They were often criticized by blacks for sounding "too white!"

rocktivity

[alfredo]

17. She treated the musicians poorly.

Martina is just an asshole to waiters, and other "small" people.

[iscooterliberally]

36. Dionne was nice around me. I never worked with Martina.

One of the problems with being famous is that if you have a bad day, you will probably leave a life long impression with anyone near by that you don't know. You're there one day, and then gone, and will probably never see those same people again. You don't get a second chance for a second impression. If you happen to be cranky one day, you get branded for life. Everyone has a bad day and at times can be cranky. When I saw Dionne she was happy and laughing and having a good time. My impression of her was good, but you could be right as well.

[alfredo]

39. Martina was more than a bad day thing. Dionne's treatment of orchestra members was

more about her style, than a one day event. I know musicians who have had to work with her.

[iscooterliberally]

41. Understood.

I guess maybe I just caught her on a good day. This goes both ways.

[alfredo]

43. There could be a difference in how she reacts to the gender of the person.

[whathehell]

33. I've heard that about Diana Ross too. n/t

[yellerpup]

6. That's a wonderful story.

And a beautiful memory. Thanks for the sweet words.

[MineralMan]

10. Good story. Thanks for sharing it.

[Warpy]

12. So much for the glamor of show biz

I too worked behind the scenes and I've seen performers sort of dumped to cool their heels backstage, standing alone. While some of them undoubtedly needed the down time to quell the butterflies, most appreciated being shown a place to sit down, at the very least. You could tell they weren't used to people being kind to them without wanting anything in return.

[iscooterliberally]

13. Very true.

I would always try to point them in the direction of the refreshments, and good places to hide for a while. I worked as a tech quite a bit, but I also worked as a full time musician for many years with no day job. I loved playing, but never wanted to be famous after I saw what famous people had to go through. I would have loved to have their money, but I loved my anonymity even more.

[alfredo]

44. The pressure is enormous. You start off in hock to the record companies, and you have to work you

tail off to pay them off. The record company takes little financial risk, they put it on the performer.

[tavalon]

30. When I was younger, I had a microcosm of the "star" experience

It can really screw with one's head. I hated that everyone wanted to be around me because I was somewhat famous in the community. I got very tired of it very quickly. When the next big thing came along and my fame began to fade, I was actually relieved. I can still command a room when I turn on the "thing" but I don't really care to have the sticky attention that comes with that game.

I've recently had dealings with a family member who is an addict and specifically a prescription drug addict. I had to push him out of my life for my own sanity but the fear that remains is that he will die. It was getting easier until this week. I'm so sad for Whitney and for her family. This is just awful.

[politicasista]

18. ...

R.I.P. Nippy.

[demtenjeep]

19. nice

memory

[closeupready]

22. I am totally a mess about her death. But I do have to say this:

I think she was likely more lesbian than heterosexual, that is, probably 75% drawn to other women and only marginally to other men, but people around her pressured her to marry a man in order to advance her career.

I'm not sure why people seem to be dancing around acknowledging clear evidence that she was more lesbian than bisexual, but you can read this between the lines on all these interviews now, from Charlie Rose to even Bobby Brown's autobiography.

Do I think this helped contribute to her death? Well, I think probably she wanted to be with another woman. If she had been able to do that, maybe that would have brought her the happiness that she lacked and for which she descended into drug abuse.

Then again, it's easy to be an armchair psychiatrist. So, who knows.

[rocktivity]

23. That WOULD have been the icing on the cake

Last edited Wed Mar 20, 2013, 09:24 PM - Edit history (1)

I never took the gay rumors seriously -- I guess I didn't really want to. But like with Michael Jackson, imagine the pressure she would have been under if it was true -- particularly with her religious background.


rocktivity

[closeupready]

25. By the way, if you need a Whitney fix, watch "Waiting to Exhale" on Netflix streaming

I have laughed out loud so much, and I'm only about 15 minutes in.

[rocktivity]

26. Avoid The Bodyguard, the movie she did with Kevin Kostner

Last edited Tue Nov 27, 2018, 03:04 PM - Edit history (1)

if you want your remaining memories of Whitney to be pleasant.


rocktivity

[whathehell]

34. I liked her in The Bodyguard.

[noiretextatique]

38. i think THAT, more than anything, absolutely destroyed her

After she was pressured to end what seems to have been a good relationship with a woman, she started her long, painful decline. I hope someone in her life (her mother or her aunt would be great) will finally admit what the pressure to appear straight slowly killed her.
Here's something I wrote the other day.

For Whitney
You knew a love that sustained you and made you whole, and holy beyond any house or any tradition...that was apparent in your early years. Just as apparent as when you lost love and descended into a hell that held you like the lover you abandoned...for the fame or religion or status which never held you or sustained you, as did the love you left behind. And that act of self-sabotage and self-denial ultimately destroyed you, and the precious gift you had to offer. Like Billie Holiday, I wish I could have saved you, but I know whatever demons haunted your soul were more real and solid and present than the gentle friendship and common kindness I could have offered you. Where do broken hearts go? Too often to an early grave, when they are truly broken beyond repair. My dear sister, I wish I could have laid hands on you or breathed life into you, but I fear it would not have helped because the damage had already destroyed you. The damage to truth, the damage to the core of yourself. You are still the sweetheart you were marketed to be, and you would have been, no matter what. And therein lies the saddest part of this tragedy: you would have been loved anyway.

[closeupready]

40. That's a lovely epistle to her. Thanks for sharing it here.

[noiretextatique]

47. you're welcome

[iscooterliberally]

45. Thank you for adding this.

I never heard about her being gay, and it wouldn't have mattered to me one way or the other. I just wanted to post something good about her after all the ugliness that I was seeing on the net with her passing. She was sweet and I got to hold her hand for a few seconds. She smiled, grabbed the mic, walked out on stage and the crowd went nuts. I think if the power went out she still would have sang over their cheers.

[noiretextatique]

46. and thank you for sharing your sweet story

there is a lot of ugliness out there about her, so it was really great to see your story. some people absolutely delight in other people's troubles. i prefer to remember the good things about her. thank you for sharing something good.
i know some people in the biz, and they knew whitney when she was with robyn...and happy.

[rufus dog]

24. Cool story, thanks for sharing. nt

[lonestarnot]

27. Hotel jumping and airport running does not sound like an appealing way of life to me.

Stressors must have been very high, along with the loneliness that must go along with the song that needs to be sung. She could truly sing like no other.

[markpkessinger]

28. I have a photographer friend who worked on a shoot with her some years back . . .

. . . he says that Ms. Houston was absolutely lovely to work with, but he could not say the same for the members of her entourage.

[tavalon]

31. As an aside,

your sig line is excellent.

[Go Vols]

29. She faired better than..

Etta James whom died a few weeks ago?

[iscooterliberally]

35. I thought I was ready for Etta James, but she caught me off guard.

I ran monitors for her at a blues festival in Fort Lauderale in the late eighties. She had some 'hurricane force vocals'. Her pitch was spot on too. Her volume was so much hotter than everyone else that she blew out one of the horns on my side fills during the first song. Etta lived into her seventies from what I read. I only know of them from my brief encounters, but I think Etta was better off than Whitney based only on what I saw of them. They were both clean and sober and ready to sing when I saw them. They both rocked my world with their amazing talent. Etta didn't have the crazy entourage that Whitney had, and Etta was older too. She seemed to be more in charge of her own destiny than Whitney did. Again this is my brief impression from very brief encounters so I'm only speculating.

[Javaman]

32. "I really think the fame did her in before the drugs did"

You hit it on the nose with that one sentence.

I, like yourself, once upon a time, worked in the entertainment industry. (it was film for me) and I had the opportunity to meet all sorts of people.

And fame is a nasty drug. It insulates a person from reality. And it's the absence of that reality that causes a lot of pain for various stars. Some young stars just want to have a life but are thrust into a world of living in a fish bowl where everything they do is scrutinized by the media. It either inflates an already fragile ego to enormous proportions or destroy it.

As a result, many without proper counseling or guidance, try to find some sort of coping mechanism; drugs or alcohol.

That's why, when I see any star have a run in with the police, caught with drugs, have a DUI, etc, I feel really sorry for them.

Like the saying goes, "not all that glitters is gold".

[LuckyLib]

37. Fame not only insulates you from reality, it insulates you from other people.

You have no way of connecting with people in an authentic manner. How lonely that must be. No wonder you hear of celebrities who have friends from their early years, life-long friends they still hang out with, who knew them before they hit it big.

[cbdo2007]

42. I get the impression a lot of her family were still using her to stay in the limelight themselves...

like her mom and Dionne Warwick. I know they were somewhat well known on their own merits, but Whitney was a superstar and it just seems like they were hangers-on at this point, just based on the small glimpse into her life over the few days before her death.

RIP to an amazing woman!