Monday, February 13, 2012

whitney houston

the first* real concert i ever attended was whitney houston at the providence civic center in 1986. she was unbelievable. that voice. that VOICE.

boston garden 1986

 i learned about whitney after spending much of that year in the back of a woody jeep wagoneer limited being driven back and forth between rhode island and long island. 


 we listened to her debut album "whitney houston" over and over.  and over.


it was a tape we all could agree on. (unlike lionel richie "dancing on the ceiling" which was thrown from the car window in a fit of scorn along route 95 in connecticut.) i memorized every word. the lyrics taught me all a 10 year old needed to know about love and relationships. "how will i know" "someone for me" "all at once" and of course "greatest love of all" - i feel like i LIVED these songs! in the 5th grade! 

her voice was like a damn bell. this is before auto-tune and computers, she was a huge natural talent. huge.

sorry she's gone too soon, sorry her path was a disaster, but her debut album will always have a giant place in my heart. 

*the first not-real concert i attended was rosenshontz. they were awesome and incredible in their own way.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

splendid. Who has a better memory than you? And who can recite it better than you? Yes her voice was HUGE.

aunt jojo said...

so true, anonymous. Who threw the Lionel Ritchie tape out the window on 95, Skippy? I could hazard a guess.. :)

skippy haha said...

thank you anonyDAD & aunt jojo!

the lionel richie tape thrower...i wasn't 100% sure but checked with the other likely suspect and confirmed...yes, i was the one who threw it out the window. and i'd do it again!