Music Will Never Be the Same

I’ve always joked about how I should have been born around the same time as my parents. I was more connected to music during their era and found myself searching on YouTube for bits and pieces of what I considered to be real music. I grew up listening to artists such as Chaka Khan, Teddy Pendergrass, Luther Vandross and of course, the late Whitney Houston. Their music just made sense.

It talked about love and told stories. It didn’t require you to get up and dance because if it was one of your favorite songs, all you felt like doing was waving one hand in the air as you rocked from side to side. Songs like I’m Every Woman by Khan uplifted women and celebrated the many hats we wear. And Vandross let listeners know just how deep love could be when he sang If Only For One Night.

That’s the type of music I’m drawn to. Not the booty shaking, drop to the floor type of music, but melodies that make you think about life, love and purpose.

Unfortunately, we don’t have much of this in our generation because music has gone from being art to just a way to make money without having much talent.

Houston is most certainly one of the best and one of the most phenomenal singers I’ve ever had the opportunity to listen to. I remember jamming to I Will Always Love You on my karaoke machine and I often played her songs back to back because it was just that good. Like a lot of people around the world, I am completely shocked at Houston’s death. It happened so fast.

Before I knew it, people started tweeting about it immediately and I just sat there in disbelief as I read a tweet posted by the Associated Press announcing her death.

I knew it was real then and I was devastated. I don’t know about anyone else, but that is one person that I never pictured dying, at least not this soon. She was more than just a singer. She was a legendary woman and she was also a standard. If your vocal abilities were compared to hers, that alone was an accomplishment. She has left a permanent mark in music history and no one can deny that. I didn’t think it was possible for someone to have such a powerful and extraordinary voice such as hers, but like many trailblazers she defied the odds.

From songs like Run To You to Greatest Love Of All, she motivated us and through her voice, proved to us that perfection is possible. There will never be another Whitney Houston and her music will forever have a special place in my heart and in my life.