FEBRUARY ELEVEN was the cruellest night- Whitney Houston breathed her last. She is now in the precincts of New Jersey Church where her tragic death is mourned by her childhood friends and fans. All greeted in sonorous silence the golden hearse carrying her motionless body to New Jersey on Feb 14.

 

Houston was born in 1963 and her singing career began only at the age of 11 in New Jersey where she honed her singing skills. The private funeral service will take place in the New Jersey Church on February 18 and it is a journey from the voice to the voiceless. A really glamorous A-list life she lived. The night that she died, she had been staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles for an appearance at a pre-Grammy Awards party to be hosted by record producer and mentor Clive Davis that night. But she was found in the bath of her hotel room.

 

The lethal combination of alcohol and prescription drug Xanax, might have caused the 48-year-old's death. A razor was also there along with the anti-anxiety drug Midol, which is usually used to treat menstrual cramps, and amoxicillin. This is how an artist died. Pop superstar Michael Jackson also had a similar kind of death in 2009. The darling bud could not bloom fully even when one may argue that both MJ and Houston mesmerized the world with their golden voices. The horizons are still resonant with melting melody of Whitney’s songs -- Cry For Me, Saving All My Love, Home, I am Changing, Run to You, I Will Always Love You, Didn’t Know My Own, Where Do Broken Hearts, A Quiet Place, Try It on My Own, Not Right But Its Okay, All At Once, I am Changing Jesus Loves Me, and For the Love of You, Step by Step was the fantastic music album which won Grammy 2012. Artists come and go, but Whitney put her stamp on the music industry. Her legacy will live forever with all her songs.

 

Houston sang growing up and grew up singing. She soared very high singing all along, but with many ups and downs. The singer rose to fame with early hits such as "Saving All My Love For You" and "How Will I Know. Houston released her historic debut album in 1985. She went on to cement her status as the ‘THE VOICE’ in the music industry before her monumental collapse in front of the public eye. Houston once worked for Khan as a studio backup singer in the 1970’s and 1980’s. But cocaine and alcohol marred her golden voice. Now she is no more and the world still waits for her songs. Houston is the cousin of Dionne Warwick and the daughter of Cissy Houston, who backed up Aretha Franklin. The 69-year-old Franklin is her godmother. Houston won six Grammys and more than 400 other awards in a 25-year career that also saw her star in such blockbuster films as "The Bodyguard". Her 1992 hit cover single of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack capped a career highlight between 1985 and 1992.

 

A tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown was mostly at the root of all personal troubles. It contradicted the innocent, fun-loving image that made her a superstar in the music world with early hits such as "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me).

 

The Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all time. Her awards include two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards and 22 American Music Awards among a total of 415 career awards in her lifetime. Houston was also one of the world's best selling music artists having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She is survived by her only 18- year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.