Set me on fire if you must, but it’s time to stop sobbing about Whitney Houston.
She was a performer, a singer with extraordinary pipes. But she did not change the cultural landscape of America. It is not the “end of an era” and this is not a “inexplicable or unprecedented tragedy”. Hey, CNN stop spending hours talking about the “death of an icon” and New Jersey sure as hell shouldn’t put the flags at half mast. It’s an absurd reaction.
Whitney Houston was a great singer who over dosed. So, why are we acting as though the center piece of American entertainment died?
Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Chuck Berry(still alive), Ray Charles and Hank Williams, Cab Calloway, Patsy Cline even Jimi Hendrix were geniuses who changed our cultural landscape. Once they showed up, things were never the same.
Those performers were more than Whitney Houston, they were more than singers. They brought fresh ideas and talents to the table. They changed the way we thought, they did things no one ever did before, their lyrics or riffs were brilliant and bright and awe inspiring.
Whitney did a great job with I Will Always Love you but guess what? Dolly Parton wrote it and I think did a better job singing it.
I stopped watching the news for two days because I was so tired of hearing about Whitney’s funeral services and Bobby Browns bizarre behaviour.
Yes, she was a lovely singer. But,our world shouldn’t stop because she died. So hit the play button and lets move on to the next track. It’s time to dance.
* Tell me what you think. I really want to know. Leave a comment or email me at hampoland@gmail.com