Monday, February 13, 2012

"The Spirit Flower"


That is what Whitney Houston was to me.

As a singer and vocal instructor, there is almost no day that has gone by when I have not mentioned her name. I am like so many, heartbroken, that she is no longer with us.

The magnitude of her vocal gift was a wonder!!!
Like Edith Piaf and Judy Garland, her Spirit and beauty infected the world.

As a bird with a broken wing, Whitney was struggling to soar once more. Only a fellow artist knows the pain of not being able to sing the song that’s in one's heart. Our SPIRIT FLOWER carried a very heavy load.

There is a delicate balance in trying to manage life’s trials, a career and maintaining vocal health. I hear people expounding about substance abuse issues in her life, but for me the greater struggle must have been trying to put her gift back in place. Iconic singers such as Whitney are mentally and emotionally at one with their voices; the person and the gift belong together and should never be separated.

The famous opera singer Maria Callas came to a similar place while still trying to maintain her place in the arena of champions. When her voice was compromised she was said to have responded: “Callas is dead, only Maria is left.” And shortly after that she, too, passed on.

A famous comedian, whose name I will not mention, thought to make jokes publicly in reference to Whitney’s problems. I can’t imagine using someone’s difficulties to get a laugh. I am a loyal fan and, as for that comic, I have written him off.
What entertainers go through to stay afloat and have a personal life is a tremendous undertaking. Whitney's talent was one of the greatest, and her joy in song will live in our hearts and minds forever.

She was our “SPIRIT FLOWER”

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