Singer Whitney Houston Dead At 48 ? CBS Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) ? Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music?s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

Reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, Edward Lawrence said she was found on the 4th floor of the Beverly Hilton. He said paramedics tried to revive her but she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

Houston was set to attend Clive Davis?s annual pre-Grammy party.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world?s best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like ?The Bodyguard? and ?Waiting to Exhale.?

She had the he perfect voice, and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

?The biggest devil is me. I?m either my best friend or my worst enemy,? Houston told ABC?s Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

?The time that I first saw her singing in her mother?s act in a club ? it was such a stunning impact,? Davis told ?Good Morning America.?

?To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine,? he added.

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with ?Whitney Houston,? which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. ?Saving All My Love for You? brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. ?How Will I Know,? ?You Give Good Love? and ?The Greatest Love of All? also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, ?Whitney,? came out in 1987 and included hits like ?Where Do Broken Hearts Go? and ?I Wanna Dance With Somebody.?

The New York Times wrote that Houston ?possesses one of her generation?s most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity.?

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the ?Soul Train Awards? in 1989.

?Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?? she told Katie Couric in 1996. ?You?re not black enough for them. I don?t know. You?re not R&B enough. You?re very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.?

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop?s pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.

?When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place,? she told Rolling Stone in 1993. ?You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that?s their image. It?s part of them, it?s not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody?s angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy.?

It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of ?The Star Spangled Banner? at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America?s sweetheart.

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with ?The Bodyguard.? Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton?s ?I Will Always Love You,? which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy?s record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the ?Bodyguard? soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with ?Waiting to Exhale? and ?The Preacher?s Wife.? Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, ?My Love Is Your Love,? in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut ?It?s Not Right But It?s Okay.?

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time ?The Preacher?s Wife? was released, ?(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. ? I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. ? I wasn?t happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.?

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown?s reality show, ?Being Bobby Brown,? was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared ?crack is whack,? was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album ?I Look To You.? The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on ?Good Morning America? went awry as Houston?s voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

Simon Cowell was reportedly considering Houston to fill a judges seat on Fox?s second season of? ?X Factor.?

Celebrities ? fans and friends ? took to Twitter to express their shock and grief.

?Dancing With the Stars? dancer Cheryl Burke: So sad to be writing this. My prayers go out to her family. RIP Whitney Houston.

Actress Holly Robinson Peete: Please please please don?t let this be true?.

?The View? co-host Sherri Shepherd: ?Whitney I hope you found the peace in Heaven that you could never seem to find down here. RIP Ms. Houston ?where do broken hearts go?

TV personality and husband of Mariah Carey Nick Cannon: ?To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord? RIP to Whitney Houston a true queen.?

Mariah Carey: Heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable Ms. Whitney Houston.

Reality star Kim Kardashian: Just heard the tragic news that Whitney Houston passed away. I pray for her daughter & loved ones. We will always love you Whitney?

Joan Rivers: Whitney Houston. What a sad tragedy-the end of the life of an incredible talent. RIP to an amazing singer and legend.

Talk show host Rosie O?Donnell: Dear God ? There is a grief that can?t be spoken #DEVASTATED

Tennis great Serena Williams: #OneMomentInTime has propelled me to many of my grand slams victories. #whitneyhouston

Kelly Osbourne: i truly hope you are in peace #WhitneyHouston i feel so honored to have known you! i love you RIP!

Oscar winner Goldie Hawn: I am so very sad to hear of Whitney Houston?s passing. She was one of our great artist that graced us all. May she rest in peace.

Singer Gloria Estefan: Shocked we?ve lost the immensely talented Whitney Houston! Sending prayers of peace & solace 2 her family, friends & fans! Such a loss!

Estefan also tweeted her grief in Spanish. Siento mucho la perdida de Whitney Houston! Enviando oraciones a su familia, amigos y fans para que tengan paz durante este momento dif?cil!

Author Terry McMillan: And what about her daughter?

CBS News? Byron Pitts: Hers was a gift from God. A gift that gave us all joy

Singer Toni Braxton: She?s paved the way for every single singer in the music industry. Iconic, legendary, innovating, amazing, humble?1 the best in the world

Newark Mayor Cory Booker: RIP Whitney Houston, a Legend and great American artist. And always, one of Newark?s and New Jersey?s treasured daughters.

LaToya Jackson: I can?t fathom the fact that #whitneyhouston has died! My heart goes out 2 her mother, daughter & her love ones. #Whitney U will be missed!

Comedian Kathy Griffin who often made jokes about Houston in her act: ?She was A TALENT & A LEGEND. She was never a ?reality star? No jokes from me about Miss Houston today.?

Bravo?s Andy Cohen, host of ?Watch What Happens Live? So sad. One of my favorites. The golden, pure voice will live forever. #RIPWhitney

Director Adam Shankman: I choreographed I?m your baby tonight miss you angel

CBS2 Anchor Pat Harvey: I?m so sad. Praying for her family. Whitney?s first album came out the year my daughter was born. Rest in peace.

Reality star and Kardashian mom Kris Jenner: So so sad that Whitney Houston died.. praying for her daughter and her family?tragic..just heartbreaking..amazing talent, amazing voice..

Political observer Donna Brazile: #Whitney Houston achieved cross over appeals with hit after hit. Sitting on the train next to a man playing her songs one after another.

?Entertainment Tonight? co-host Nancy O?Dell? ?I am in shock and so sad?Whitney Houston reported dead.?

?Bold And Beautiful? star Brandon Beemer (Owen) RIP Whitney Houston. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones. She was blessed with such an amazing talent.

?Young And The Restless? star Greg Rikaart (Kevin) I remember being wow?ed the first time I saw the video for ?The Greatest Love of All? on MTV. Terribly sad news. Thoughts r w/ her family.

Robin Leach: Whitney?s mentor, record mogul CliveDavis holds annual Grammy Eve party in LA set for tonight- how will he cope with her death?

Author Jackie Collins: Whitney Houston is dead. A beautiful & talented woman RIP Whitney

Actress Rita Wilson is married to Tom Hanks. ?So terribly sad. Whitney Houston should have lived a long life. Her gift was God given.?

?Chopped? judge and celebrity chef Alex Guarnaschelli: I grew up on Whitney Houston songs. Her voice had a way of getting you thru the hard stuff and celebrating the good stuff She will be missed

Howard Stern sidekick Robin Quivers: Whitney, we missed you even before you were gone. RIP.

?The Early Show?s? Jeff Glor: Super Bowl performance may have been the most carefree, soaring, perfect performance I?ve ever seen #Whitney

Singer Sam Harris: I am just so so sad. I can?t believe the news about Whitney Houston. I first saw her perform when she was about.

(TM and ? Copyright 2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/02/11/singer-whitney-houston-dead-at-48/

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