• Cheryl Washington, Princess Gadson, Kevin Goins – Contributing Writers/Editors
• Angelo Ellerbee – President/Founder, Double XXposure Media Relations

WHITNEY HOUSTON – Born in Newark NJ, raised in East Orange NJ

The legacy continues with Grammy legend and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, the late Whitney Houston. The daughter of Cissy Houston and John Houston as well as the cousin of singer Dionne Warwick, Whitney  began singing in church as a child. While still in high school, she sang backup for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls and modeled for fashion magazines. At age 19 she signed with Arista Records, whose president, Clive Davis, groomed the gospel-based singer for crossover pop success. Her debut album, Whitney Houston (1985), yielded three number one singles in the United States: “Greatest Love of All,” which became her signature; “Saving All My Love for You”; and “How Will I Know.” Whitney (1987) delivered four more number ones and earned Houston a Grammy Award (for the single “I Wanna Dance with Somebody.”) In 1992, Houston married singer Bobby Brown and made her motion-picture debut in The Bodyguard; the film featured her rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which stayed at number one for 14 weeks. The film’s soundtrack dominated the Grammys the following year, with Houston winning the awards for album of the year, record of the year, and best female pop vocal performance. In the mid-1990s she continued acting, in films such as Waiting to Exhale (1995) and The Preacher’s Wife (1996), and the soundtrack of each film generated hit singles for her. In 1998 Houston released My Love Is Your Love, which was praised by the critics and earned her another Grammy Award. In 2001 she signed a new multi album contract with Arista for $100 million, but personal difficulties soon overshadowed her recording career. In February 2009 she began a comeback effort with a four-song set at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy Awards gala. The performance was greeted warmly and later that year the album I Look to You was released in August to positive reviews. Whitney passed in February 2012.

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