CheekyChicago

This past weekend, the world lost a Cheeky legend. Whitney Houston, singer and actress, passed away at the age of 48.

I’ve read so many things about Houston since last Saturday. How she was great, how you don’t hear music like that anymore and that – in this digital age – you don’t hear a voice like hers anymore.

And there’s also the haters. The ones who decry Houston’s death as just another celebrity who fell prey to drugs and alcohol abuse. And I guess you could say that it’s true; even though she was seemingly America’s Princess in the late 80s and early 90s, by the early 2000s that image had begun to unravel quickly. The same poised and pristine lady who melted our hearts singing “The Star Spangled Banner” was then talking to Diane Sawyer, crying the infamous “Crack is wack!,” but had admitted to using cocaine.

And though she tried rehab after rehab, it didn’t seem to stick. Furthermore, it damaged her vocal cords, career, image and reputation. But you know what? It doesn’t change how she influenced millions of people. It doesn’t change the fact that, when I was younger, I listened to her cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” until the tape broke. It doesn’t change the fact that senior year of college, my best friend and I drove around with the windows down blasting, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me).”

Because in her heyday, Whitney WAS the queen. She carried herself with humility and grace, and opened the flood gates of emotion anytime she opened her mouth to sing. Yes, her tale is a cautionary one, but it doesn’t mean that she doesn’t deserve to be mourned. Indeed, she deserves that and so much more.

Whitney Houston 1963-2012