Weekend Warrior Wrapup: Mike's Blog - Loss of Another Music Icon Whitney Houston

Mike's Blog - Loss of Another Music Icon Whitney Houston

Posted by Unknown | | Posted On Monday, February 13, 2012 at 8:19 PM

I am a mad crazy music fan. I have a very diverse taste in music. I like Hip Hop, Rock, R & B, Rap, Country, Blues, Jazz and fusions of many of these and more musical styles. As I am eagerly awaiting Grammy show tonight my heart is very heavy at the loss of another of my top 3 artists, Whitney Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012.)
Whitney was the best pure singer of my generation and probably a few other generations. Although she was derailed from a rocket ship of a career by drugs and Bobby Brown, she still remains one of my favorite singers of all time. Her performance at Super Bowl XXV 1991 of The Star Spangled Banner, is still burned into my memory as if it were yesterday. Whitney's passing, however it happened, will be felt in music for many years to come and will be heavy on my heart for a long time as music has lost another great one.

Luther Vandross (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was another velvet voiced iconic singer who was my second favorite of all time. Of male, pure singers none was better than Luther. He sang more children into conception than any other of our generation. Luther was as smooth a balladeer of any time and I miss his amazing voice. Luther's duet with Gregory Hines and his wedding classic "Here and Now", which was sung at my wedding, are 2 of my favorite from the original velvet teddy bear. He passed far too early as many music legends before him. I would love to hear his sweet smooth voice one more time live.

Stevie Ray Vaughn October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990 is my favorite of all time. He traveled from the dark side of addiction and back and just months before his death I watched him perform live at Blues on the Rocks at Red Rock amphitheater in Denver.

He told of his journey back from addiction and how he hoped to live long enough to make right some of his wrongs. Stevie played the super charged blues as if it were pouring out of his veins. He sang of playing his ax until his fingers bled and lived what he sang, gluing his calluses back on with super glue to keep playing. He was taken far to soon and I think of his epic guitar virtuoso often.