Photo Credits: Neal Preston (Courtesy of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston)
I first met Whitney Houston when attending a performance by her mother, Cissy Houston at Reno Sweeney’s, a popular Manhattan night club, circa 1978. I’d seen Cissy at the venue a few times during the time period when she was recording for the Private Stock label and as ever, her show was polished yet soulful. What made the evening particularly memorable was her introduction of her teenage daughter as one of the trio of background singers at the gig and giving Whitney an opportunity to shine by doing a ‘step out’. I wish I could remember what the song was during which Whitney displayed her vocal chops! All I know is that it was stunning and the audience responded accordingly.
Having known and interviewed Cissy a few times for ‘Blues & Soul’ magazine, I said hello to her, her then-husband John Houston and was introduced to Whitney. I can see literally where we were standing in the foyer of the club as I let Whitney know how impressed I had been with her ‘step out’ as her parents beamed with pride. With a certain amount of shyness, she smiled and said ‘thank you’…
Fast forward to May 1985, by which time Whitney’s self-titled debut LP had just been released and her first single, “You Give Good Love” was catapulting towards the top of the charts. By virtue of her first musical director being my good friend, the late John Simmons (with whom I had been writing a number of songs in the few years prior during the period when he began working with Stephanie Mills as her MD), I got an opportunity to spend some time with Whitney: I was honestly surprised when she greeted me with the words, “I remember meeting you with Mommy!” recalling that Cissy had introduced us back in ’78. I got the opportunity to see Whitney at The Roxy nightclub in West Hollywood and it was an amazing show, including a few tracks from her then-new-and-about-to-be-groundbreaking first Arista album such as “How Will I Know” and “Someone For Me.”
Over the years that foll0wed, I saw Whitney at different venues and one concert that remains etched in my memory banks was at The Hollywood Bowl in August 1993. I reflected at the time how far Whitney had come from that first show I’d seen at The Roxy eight years earlier; a year later, she performed in South Africa with a similar set list, which made her the first major Western recording artists to perform in the newly unified, post-apartheid nation following President Nelson Mandela’s historic election win.
Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the occasion, I had the opportunity to see a screening of “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” in London on October 17th: in seeing Whitney’s energy-filled dynamic performance, I found myself really moved by her sheer vocal power and obvious joy at the response to the 60,000-strong audience, her first opportunity (and ultimately, only) to appear on the African continent. The million-sellers that had already become part of Whitney’s legacy including “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “Saving All My Love For You,” “I Have Nothing” and “The Greatest Love Of All” came to life in front of the cheering and thrilled crowd.
Reflecting, I recalled how Whitney’s ‘crossover’ mainstream appeal had at times been criticized: I attended the “Soul Train Awards” ceremony in Los Angeles in 1989 and was appalled (as was she) by the reaction of some of the audience who felt that Whitney had ‘sold out’ to pop audiences by virtue of the songs that had taken her to new heights of global stardom, carefully chosen in tandem with Arista chieftain Clive Davis to specifically appeal to the widest international demographic.
In seeing those very same songs brought to life with vibrancy in South Africa in 1994, I was reminded that reaching ears, touching hearts and souls throughout the world is the fulfillment of what a true artist strives for and in watching Whitney in her element doing just that gave me personally a deep appreciation of who I saw she had become over the decade since I had first witnessed her innate soulfulfness in front of a couple of hundred people in L.A. in ’85.
The film itself was on limited release in October; fortunately, a live album featuring key moments from the concert is being released (with a bonus track, “Love Is”). It is truly a testament to the legacy and artistry of Whitney Houston, a one-of-a-kind performer whose global contribution is undeniable.
(With special thanks to Gwendolyn Quinn and Caitlin Buller for the screening).
David Nathan, October 2024
WHITNEY HOUSTON: The Concert For A New South Africa (Durban)(CD/vinyl) (Amazon UK)
WHITNEY HOUSTON: The Concert For A New South Africa (Durban)(CD/vinyl) (Amazon US)