 |
Business | Industries | Finance | Tax |
| Index: > A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
|
|||||
| First Prev [ 1 2 3 4 ] Next Last |
Houston grew up in a musical family: Her mother is Grammy award winning gospel/R&B singer Cissy Houston, and her cousin is Grammy Award winning pop singer Dionne Warwick. By age 11, Houston was performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist church in Newark. As a teenager, she began accompanying her mother in concert (as well as on the 1978 album Think It Over).
She was a backing singer with established acts, such as Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls, as well as the lead vocalist on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's A Party".
Somewhat bizarrely, Houston's first recording as a featured vocalist was with Bill Laswell's experimental jazz-funk ensemble Material; their 1982 album One Down placed Houston alongside such avant-gardists as Archie Shepp and Fred Frith. She also appeared as a model in various magazines, appearing on the cover of "Seventeen" and as an actress in television shows such as Give Me A Break and Silver Spoons." (Steve Huey, All Music Guide)
By 1983, Whitney Houston had entered a worldwide contract with Arista Records after Arista chief Clive Davis heard Houston perform at a nightclub with her mother. The following year had her first commercial success when "Hold Me", a duet with Teddy Pendergrass, crept into the US Top 50. However, the rest of that year was taken up with the recording of a debut album. Clive Davis, who had taken a strong personal interest in the vocalist, insisted on selecting the best songwriters and producers in search of the definitive debut album.
Her self titled debut was released in March of 1985, from which time it would begin its slow stalking of the album charts. Its steady climb was encouraged by the success of the singles "You Give Good Love" and "Saving All My Love For You", which hit numbers 3 and 1, respectively. The latter single also saw her on top of the charts in the UK and much of the rest of the world. The disco-influenced "How Will I Know" and the more soul-flavored "Greatest Love Of All", both topped the US charts in rapid succession.
A year to the month after its release, Whitney Houston hit number one on the album charts. It eventually sold over 13-million copies in the U.S. alone, making it the best-selling debut ever by an American female artist. Her success was acknowledged by a series of prestigious awards, notably a Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female Grammy for "Saving All My Love For You" and an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Program On TV.
Whitney Houston cemented her superstar status on her next album, Whitney. Despite the unimaginative title, it sold over nine-million copies in the U.S" (Steve Huey, All Music Guide). "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", released in 1987, topped charts around the world, paving the way for Houston to become the first album by a female artist to debut at number 1 on the US album chart, a feat it also achieved in the UK.
The album included a version of "I Know Him So Well", sang as a duet with her mother Cissy, and the ballad "Didn't We Almost Have It All" which became her fifth successive US number 1 shortly afterwards. However, even this was surpassed when "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" continued the sequence, making seven consecutive number one hits, breaking a record previously shared by the Beatles and the Bee GeesThe Bee Gees were a British and Australian band, originally a pop singer-songwriter combination, reborn as funk and disco. The brothers Gibb, consisting of frequent lead vocalist Barry, and the twins, co-lead vocalist Robin, and keyboardist/guitarist Maur. In 1988, she made a controversial appearance at Nelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela OM (born 18 July, 1918) is a former President of South Africa, was one of its chief anti- apartheid activists, and was also an anti-apartheid saboteur and guerrilla leader. He is now almost universally considered to be a heroic f's 70th Birthday Party, where other acts accused her of behaving like a prima donna. By September, "Love Will Save The Day" had finally broken the winning sequence in the USA where it could only manage number 9.
Another series of awards followed, including the Best Pop Vocal Performance-Female Grammy for "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and Pop Female Vocal and Soul/R&B Female Vocal categories at the American Music Awards. Rumors abounded of film offers alongside such actors as Robert De NiroRobert De Niro (born August 17, 1943 in New York City) is an acclaimed American film actor who is noted for having starred in several of director Martin Scorsese's films. Praised for his commitment to his roles, De Niro gained 50 pounds (23 kg) and learne and Eddie MurphyEddie Murphy (born April 3, 1961, Brooklyn, New York) is an African-American comedian and actor. Murphy began his comedy career at the young age of 19, as a performer on NBC's Saturday Night Live television show. His characters include a parody of Buckwhe, however Houston turned down all movie offers at this time.
| Politics | Business | Finance |
 |
 |
 |
|