Off the 415 Radar, but...
Look, sure, it's sad that Whitney Houston has passed and like everyone else, I loved her voice and music. A big star? Absolutely, and her death, while unexpected, is not, sadly, shocking. She had a myriad of drug problems and health issues.
Need proof?
When I heard about her death, I was not entirely surprised. That's sad.
Even more bizarre is the early coverage. CNN has gone to wall-to-wall coverage. Hours upon hours. Complete with helicopters, celebrity call-ins and a thoroughly bizarre phone-in from Larry King direct from the Beverly Hilton who, on air, asked Piers Morgan if he was going to the Grammy party. (Nervous pause from PM).
Jermaine Jackson called her "the greatest female singer of all time." Really? .
Something is strange here.
*Follow me on Twitter
Whitney Houston was one of the great Singers/Actresses/Performers of this Generation.
ReplyDeleteMy deepest Condolences go out to the Houston Family. Whitney, you have lost your battle with your inner demons, but you are Free at Last. Rest in Everlasting Peace, & Godspeed.
I thought it was just me. Jeesh. Literal overkill.
ReplyDeletetony bennett said she had one of the greatest voices of all time
ReplyDeletesat night...slow news day
Is it strange? Not if its CNN.
ReplyDeleteBobby Brown ... back on the free market, ladies!
ReplyDeleteNot a Whitney fan. Quite some time ago I saw her interviewed where she came across as low class and crass. She ruined her voice on her drugged out path. What I do feel sorry about, is her daughter, who is left behind.
ReplyDeleteThey divorced years ago.
DeleteOn the other hand, if it was you, nobody would give a shit.
ReplyDeleteI certainly wouldn't!
Deleteshe had been swimming laps in the BHH pool that morning..as was her daily practice. She loved swimming because it made her strong again..I don't mean splashing..I mean serious swimming. That doesn't sound like a druggie. I'm disgusted by those who whine tsk tsking..that she "wasted everything"..I don't think so..she used her extraordinary talent to achieve everything in her field..whether the naysayers like it or not. She was a huge success in her field. What singing goal didn't she achieve? Artists have edges..always have..always will.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell is so strange? She died. Despite her history with drug addiction, a lot of people are still taken aback. Questions are unanswered, and CNN is trying to fill in the gaps because people want to know. Sure, Jermaine Jackson's interview was ridiculous but there are few female singers out there in the history of music whose voice outshines Whitney's. So get over it. The coverage will be overwhelming for days. That's how it works when someone with her level of talent just ups and bites the dust.
ReplyDeleteIremember the 'old Ralpharoo' back when he was doing fill in DJ shifts in the mid 1980s platyed Whitney's 'Saving all my Love for You,' one time, and then coming on after and saying:
ReplyDelete"Can you imagine making love to Whitney Houston all night long!?"
Rich, you remind me of a DJ I used to work with. When John Lennon was killed this DJ couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. And this was before 24 hour cable news. Just like Lennon, Whitney Houston was an important artist. Of course CNN, MSNBC and Fox would give it heavy coverage. Was there a more important story on Saturday night?
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY...
DeleteRich, isn't this calling the kettle black?
ReplyDeleteYour own blog devotes 75% of its content on the same few topics (KGO,KNBR,KRON and 'weather babes') while hundreds of other stations and personalities go unmentioned.
Absolutely right. Rich simply tries to draw attention to himself by being a contrarian!
DeleteTake a chill pill Rich. CNN pre-empted the 1500th rerun of "Black in America" for Whitney coverage on a slow Saturday. You act as if Israel had just attacked Iran and CNN chose to cover the Whitney death instead.
ReplyDeleteI was extremely sorry to hear of Ms. Houston's passing. One of the Cable outlets kept running the same small clip of file footage of her and her husband outside an event for at least 30 minutes. If you are that unprepared just go with the anchor. She had a voice for the ages but unfortunately I was not surprised. Condolences to her family and loved ones.
ReplyDeleteIt was the weekend and news is slow, and secondly she deserves the same coverage as Michael Jackson. Along with Jermaine Jackson, Tommy Mottola and Tony Bennet called her the greatest singer of our generation. Maybe stick with things that you know because you would make a very poor music critic. Have you ever seen the movie Body Guard or the 1991 Super Bowl , where she sang the best interpetation of the national Anthem, that was totally a putz remark.
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding? Why wouldn't CNN go wall to wall? Where else are people going to turn to when they hear the news? Top 10 biggest selling artist of all time? Odds are, if you didn't buy one of her records, or see a movie she was in, you saw her perform on TV or at the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteAnd it isn't like CNN was bumping anything that was more newsworthy.
I think CNN ran so much coverage because they were hoping more details of her death would break. It never did. Don Lemon is very likable. Sweet, sincere, easy on the eyes. Piers needs to go back to London, but he managed a decent interview with Simon Cowell. CNN does irritate me in these type of situations. They use one video of the deceased and loop it over and over again. Last night, it was a 10 second clip of Whitney singing from 1994! Really? You had 5 hours of coverage, and you couldn't scrounge any other footage?
ReplyDeleteAnd Larry King asking Piers if he was going to go to Clive Davis' party? That was disturbing in so many ways...
Anon 9:59,
ReplyDeleteThe comparison between John Lennon and Whitney Houston...well..how do I say this without sounding heartless...? Sorry, but John Lennon was an intellectual, a pioneer. Whitney Houston was an extremely gifted singer, who lost her way. Both tragic. But no comparison.
Less Whitney Houston news, please.
ReplyDeleteMore Banana Sam news, please.
Indeed. There WASN'T a more important news story on Saturday night so why not go bat crap crazy over Whitney? Besides, with the way it all went down, CNN just couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteRich
ReplyDeleteYour Need Proof link does not work.
Fox came off like PBS in comparison to CNN's over the top coverage. Turns out Arthel Nevil is the daughter of the great Aaron Nevill and good friend of Whitney Houston, she and her husband (who backed Whitney on tour) had some heartfelt stories of their friendship with Whitney. That said, let's be honest she was a hard-core drug abuser, a belligerent drunk, & had all the resources to clean-up. She never did. Where is the responsibility, and of course the music-industry leeches who enabled this woman out to be proud. The most shocking item to me is that old POS Clive Davis still held his party last night on the first floor, while Whitney's body got clammy and cold on the 4th floor. Sick and disgusting.
ReplyDeleteThere was nothing wrong with having that party where people could share their shock and upset about Whitney. It was better that they meet together than grieve alone and part of grieving is the combination of crying,hugging, sharing stories and even laughing.
DeleteI do agree with Rich, that while a good deal of media coverage was warranted, it was too much for me.
I feel sorry mostly for her poor daughter who had to grow up with two drug addicted parents. She's got to be suffering. She has seen the best and the worst of both parents and when you grow up with addicts who never get their recovery solid, it is a very difficult life. That said, Whitney was a talent and you can't take that from her.
Whitney Houston was a huge star..achieved every possible benchmark of excellence in her art..Her substance usage can in no way dim her artistic achievement. Many attacking her claim that she threw it all away. Actually she achieved it all..despite those "issues". Short, meteoric, troubled lives are par for the course for great artists...see history.
Delete/* "Can you imagine making love to Whitney Houston all night long!?" * / Ralph was working for KGO weekend at that time. I think I remembered that one-liner, while reading a C programming manual. ...
ReplyDeleteIt's between the Larry King phoner in which he asks if Piers is going to the party...and the Simon Cowell phoner casting his mourning aside for a generous "X-Factor" plug. Or maybe it was the two whacked out CNN entertainment reporters padding with their horrified looks and lame gossip in between Piers' same-sounding monologues. Not since Anna Nicole have I seen CNN go so far out of focus....
ReplyDeleteIf this was some quarterback who had drugged out, you wouldn't be bitching out his memory but extolling his virtues as an athlete. I'll remember this the next time some US athlete croaks that is known by about one thousandth of one percent of the world's population and it's just the end of the world for days and days. The whole world knew Whitney Houston's music. Deal with it.
ReplyDeleteAnon 12:17 John Lennon was no better, no worse than Whitney Houston. They were both superstar performers. There is no reason to discount her talent because he was more your cup of tea. Both were equally talented, both made their money from singing and entertaining. Neither cured cancer or aids, so calm down.
ReplyDeleteWe, the public, worship celebrities be they sports figures or entertainment stars and then condemn the same celebrities when they act like Gods. Yes we all say we could handle success but until we are in the position of our every move being recorded and dissected I don't think we would know how we would react. It is time to stop facilitating the destructive actions of celebrities.
ReplyDeleteDon't agree. Many people around the world were saddened by Whitney's death. If one doesn't want to hear about it, just change the damn channel.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, there's always the Rush show!
BET ran a great tribute yesterday that featured much of her music. Also, Comcast on Demand is offering "The Preacher's Wife" on its Free Movies channel. Such a beautiful woman with so much talent! Denzel also makes me glad I have eyeballs.
If I have any complaints, it is the plethora of commercials every where you step these days.
Rich--love your blog; hope you can focus more of the 415 news in the future. How about that Tony Bennett?
I guess these superstars Like Late Whitney Houston who get high on their super acheivements, the audience admirations, I guess they feel like a God and even then they still want more even with drugs they can't get enough and simply burn out. Thank God I don't envy these celebrities. Many of them just can't handle the fact that they too have limits and end up dying too early.. what a shame... at least their awesome work lives on.
ReplyDeleteI'm incredibly sad over her passing. After the Oprah interview a couple years back, I thought she had pulled it back together. I guess that's why it hurts so damn much. I just have basic cable, so no CNN, but I probably would of been glued to it. Instead, I went to YouTube and broke down into the ugly cry after watching the "I look to you" video. I'm pretty well sure your heart is made of stone if you don't feel something after watching it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Pze_mdbOK8&ob=av3e
ReplyDeleteI, too, was stunned the Clive Davis party wasn't canceled (what were they thinking? the party must go on?) and that Bobby Brown went on stage a couple hours after learning of her death. You'd think he'd rush to be by his daughter's side. Oh well, says everything we already knew about him, doesn't it?
Peace be with you, Whitney.
You make an interesting point here Rich. I say that mainly because when that news broke, CNN was the last news source to break the news, they were in the middle of one of those special presentation features. MSNBC and other news agencies (even local ones here, reported the news before CNN).
ReplyDeleteRich, Have the shark jumped over you yet?
ReplyDeleteanother incredibly difficult 'guy punch' to deal with for all of her fans, and especially for those of us who have lost a loved one to drug abuse. Think of the waste of human life and potential.
ReplyDeleteAt least Whitney Houston brought beauty, class and artistry into the American culture for almost three decades, and for that, we should be grateful.
I googled her performances on you tube of 'saving all my live for you,' and she belts out that song with such passion and feeling.
It makes you sad when you think that such beautiful voice was destroyed by drugs. At least for awhile however, she was alive and incredible and her spirit and music will always be there for her fans!
RIP lovely Whitney. We will never forget your incredible spirit or amazing voice!
Greatest singer of all time? YES. Go listen again and remind yourself and compare it with a lot of the cr@p put out these days. She is simply irreplaceable and I am so sorry she's gone.
ReplyDelete