 |
| December 21, 2012 |
A look back at the entertainment legends who left us this year by the artists who knew and loved them
Whitney Houston (Aug. 9, 1963–Feb. 11, 2012)
By Stevie Nicks
EW
I was very much a fan of her music, and of her as a singer. The first couple of records, where it was more simple, were my favorites. I did meet her once, in a very strange way: I was staying at a Santa Monica hotel called Shutters, and we had two Yorkies with us. We were walking in, and they were coming out, Whitney and Bobby, and they had Yorkies too. So we had this moment where all the Yorkie people were just, like, in love. She knew who I was and I knew who she was, of course, but it wasn't about that. It was just a really nice, unsophisticated moment. And I liked her very much.
It was hard to watch her [struggle with addiction], and very hard to watch that show [Being Bobby Brown]. I didn't want that to be her. And it was strange, because when we met that day at Shutters, that really wasn't who they came off as being. They seemed much more together and happier, and they were both really smiling and laughing.
I saw her do an interview where she basically said, ''I'd had a thousand number-one hit records, I'd had huge albums, I'd toured the world, I'd met all the most famous people in the world, and I fell in love with this guy,'' and she said, ''You know what, all I cared about was being in love. All I cared about was my husband. Nothing else mattered.'' If you've ever been that deeply in love, where you're ready to just give everything up, then you can kind of understand that. Especially because she had pretty much topped every pinnacle.
I think if she were still here today and you said to her, ''Would you change that? If you had met him, would you have said, 'This isn't gonna be good for me,' and would you have walked away from him?'' she would've said no. So I think that she was very aware of where she was going. And yeah, it's a tragedy. But I also think sometimes when real big love gets in the way, there's no turning back. —Stevie Nicks
Houston died in L.A. of accidental drowning and effects of heart disease and cocaine use.
This probably isn't the most important thing to take from this interview, but...did anyone else perk up and take notice right away that she said "big love?" Cause I did.
ReplyDeleteSo those stories aren't true that Whitney was a blood-sacrifice for the "Illume-Naughty"?
ReplyDeleteI think Stevie is probably very moved by Whitney's story because she knows that it easily could have been herself accidentally drowning in a bathtub. The fame, the drugs, the musical legendary status... two women with mirrored lives. How horrible that Whitney passed... thank god Stevie has survived and continues to bless us with her talent. The most poignant quote I ever heard from Stevie was when she explained why she decided to get sober... If she did not "there would be no more work from Stevie Nicks, and how tragic for the fans of her music". That's a bit of a paraphrase, but she was relating to how she herself was affected by the deaths of Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
ReplyDeleteIf Stevie had not survived, as she consciously chose to back in 1986, we all would have been deprived of breathtaking performances like "Beauty and the Beast" with the Melbourne Symphony in 2006. In my opinion, that song on that night is the greatest singular performance of Stevie's entire career. Thank you, Stevie, for having the insight and wisdom to stay alive and healthy, for yourself and for all of us who love and live for your beautiful voice and music and poetry.
ReplyDeleteWhitney recorded a cover of "Has Anyone Ever Written" during sessions for her last album, "I Look To You." Her version made the initial track-listing and it was previewed during one very early press event. For some reason, it was cut from the final release.
ReplyDelete