By Luchina Fisher @luchina Follow on Twitter Sep 19, 2012 11:36am
Denzel Washington on Whitney Houston’s Legacy Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images
D
enzel Washington says his friend and former
1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife,” said the singer’s death
co-star Whitney Houston battled a “monster drug that
was especially tragic because she had seemingly over-
got a hold of her” and her death should be a lesson to
come her addiction.
us all. The Oscar-winning actor told the October issue
“Whitney was my girl, and she had done so well in re-
of GQ magazine, “Whitney was such a sweet, sweet
covery. And that is the toughest part about addiction.
girl and really just a humble girl.”Referring to her co-
And that was a monster drug that got a hold of her, it
caine addiction, the 57-year-old actor said, “Maybe she
was a mean one.You can’t go back to that one. Nobody
thought she could have one. And then the next thing
beats that,” he said.
you know, her body was betraying her. She didn’t know
“I look at people — and I don’t think I’m speaking
that her body was aging quickly.”
out of line — Samuel L. Jackson, I’ve known for thirtysome-odd years, he was down at the bottom. And he
“She couldn’t take it.Your body can only take so much,”
came all the way back,” Washington added. “And when
Washington added. The Grammy-award winning singer
he cleaned up, he never looked back. But he can’t have
was found dea http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ d at 48
that beer, because it might lead to the tough thing.”
on Feb. 11 in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills Hotel
The actor told GQ that Houston’s death should be a
room with drug paraphernalia nearby. The Los Angeles
lesson to us all.
coroner found that she was “acutely intoxicated from
“It’s more of an example to me or the rest of us to
cocaine” at the time of her death and was a “repeated
keep it together. I was listening to her song ‘I Look to
cocaine user.”Washington, who co-starred with Hous-
You.’ It’s prophetic,” he said.
ton in the
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DOTS-ONLINE E-PU B MAG... Celebrates Black History Month 2013
THIS EDITORIAL CONVERSATION IS WRITEN AND PRODUCED BY PBS NEWSHOUR. JEFFREY BROWN: And finally tonight, our remembrance of singer Whitney Houston. From the release of her first album in 1985, Whitney Houston was a superstar, turning a background in gospel and soul into pop music gold, first artist to chart seven consecutive number-one hits, eventually selling more than 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She won hundreds of awards, including six Grammys, and turned to acting, starring in films, including “The Bodyguard.” IN-DEPTH COVERAGE Art Beat More recently, it was the struggles in Houston’s life that drew attention, a turbulent relationship with her husband, singer Bobby Brown, and battles with drug addiction. At last night’s Grammy Awards, though, performers paid tribute to her music-making and her soaring voice, as in the song “The Greatest Love of All.” Whitney Houston was found dead in a Los Angeles hotel this weekend. The cause of her death is not yet determined. She was 48 years old. And we’re joined now by Gordon Chambers, a Grammy Award-winning singer, producer and songwriter. He worked with Whitney Houston on a number of songs and albums. “What a Stradivarius was to a violin was what [Whitney Houston] brought to a microphone, the best voice of the 20th century.”- Gordon Chambers, singer-songwriter Gordon Chambers, welcome. I mentioned this melding of gospel, soul and pop music. What do you think it was that set her apart? GORDON CHAMBERS, songwriter-musician: It was the clarity of the tone of her voice, the precision of her pitch. You know, you never forgot that she was of the gospel tradition, but when she sang, she could sing a melody so clearly and so precise, that she could make a song a copyright. She had -- what a Stradivarius was to a violin was what she brought to a microphone, the best voice of the 20th century. JEFFREY BROWN: I’m sorry.You said what? GORDON CHAMBERS: Easily, hands down, the finest,
purest tone of a singer in the 20th century, in my estimation. JEFFREY BROWN: And she came from this very rich musical background, her mother, Cissy Houston, Aretha Franklin, a godmother, Dionne Warwick, a cousin. GORDON CHAMBERS: Yes. And, you know, there’s even more singers that are in her background. I mean, Cissy was a member of a wonderful group called the Sweet Inspirations. And Cissy’s brothers and sisters made up a group called the Drinkard Singers. So, the Houston legacy of singing goes back for two generations even before Whitney in Newark, New Jersey. These are fabulous, fabulous, soulful singers in the gospel tradition. JEFFREY BROWN: Now, you worked with her.What was that like? GORDON CHAMBERS: I worked with her. I produced songs on two of her albums, “Just Whitney,” and one on a song on her Christmas album, “One Wish.” And Whitney is really funny and really warm, really will somebody who comes in a room and introduces herself to everyone in the room. I asked her to say -- if she wouldn’t mind saying hello to my parents. She spoke to them for about 20 minutes on the phone. She’s a very warm, very radiant person. And as much of a star as she is on TV, she has that same quality, star quality even when she walks in a room and there’s two, three people. She lights up a room and the room lights up to her. She’s funny, charismatic.We laughed a lot, but we got our work TRIBUTE TO WHITNEY HOUSTON CONTINUES...
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