A Prayer For Whitney...Seriously?

It has happened again. Another female singer has died too soon. Whitney Houston died on Saturday, February 11, the day before the Grammy Awards. The collective outpouring of grief has been overwhelming. Obviously she was loved and liked. And, just like the response to the death of Michael Jackson, Whitney's albums and songs have sold like gang-busters over the last few days. More Whitney product has been sold since her death than in the previous two years combined.

Last July Amy Winehouse died. Some grieved for her, some thought she got what she deserved. What is curious though, is the difference between the public's response. Both singers led controversial lives replete with drug abuse, relationship problems, and career difficulties. Both singers died under similar circumstances. Both singers were on a "comeback" of sorts.

Yet, Whitey's death provoked something rarely, if ever, seen during the Grammy Awards. Every year the Grammys remember and memorialize those in the music industry that passed away during the year, but at this year's show in addition to the usual tribute, Whitney was prayed for before the show began. Host LL Cool J led the Grammy audience and the millions of viewers in a prayer for Whitney, live and in HD, so to speak.

In contrast, Amy's death provoked nothing even close. No one prayed for Amy at the British Music Awards, and it is doubtful that even if she died the day before the show, she still would not have been prayed for. In fact, there has not been one famous musician that has died and then been prayed for during a nationally/globally televised award show. So why is Whitney different?

Reasons for Whitney's prayer range from the legitimacy of her pedigree, she's the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, cousin of Dionne Warwick and Darlene Love, and Aretha Franklin is her godmother; to the fact she was allegedly deeply religious and spiritual. But, John Lennon and Michael Jackson were both spiritual and I don't remember a prayer said for them at the Grammy Awards.

My argument is that her success both pre- and posthumously is largely due to the song "I Will Always Love You." Whitney has sold in the neighbourhood of 22 million albums over her career, half of those were the soundtrack to The Bodyguard which contained the song; however, I'm not sure that's reason enough to warrant a prayer at the Grammys. Now granted Whitney has recorded more albums and sold more product than Amy, but Amy was half Whitney's age. Would Amy be prayed for if she had an "I Will Always Love You" and four more albums? My guess is no.

And that's the curious thing. Despite the fact numerous famous and influential musicians have died too early, only Whitney gets prayed for at the Grammy Awards.

Frankly, I found the prayer for Whitney out of place. There are other venues appropriate for such a display other than a nationally/globally televised awards show. There already were tributes to Whitney in the program. But after a small cursory review of this with people I know, I'm apparently alone in my view. Having said that, I recognize Whitney's success, her contribution to music history, her influence on subsequent singers, and her talent; but I question her prayerworthyness above others.

The Sad Death of Amy Winehouse

Amy Winehouse is dead. The news flashed around the world by tweet before it hit the major networks. The inevitable jokes ensued, but the saddest thing about this is that no one was shocked by her death. Surprised, perhaps, that her death occurred so young but not surprised at all that she died. It's as if the world was waiting for the other Amy Winehouse shoe to drop.

She lived a troubled life, not uncommon for young celebrities, but her fame was coupled with addiction that virtually paved the way for her demise. She was, by all accounts, a full blown alcoholic and drug addict. And she appeared defiant and in denial. Even her hit "Rehab" with its chorus of "They tried to make me go to rehab and I said no, no, no" said Amy was not willing to accept that she was an addict and the song was a musical flip of the bird of sorts to all that suggested she was. Remember, though, she did not set out to be an addict. Addiction creeps up unexpectedly, tells you it's your friend, and then destroys your life. Throw in celebrity life and you have a volatile cocktail waiting to explode. And explode it did.

Her music lives on and it's the music that should be remembered. Amy was an addict, so what. She was a talented singer and the tragedy is that we will never know what she could have accomplished. She enters the pantheon of rock stars that have died young -- Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Gram Parsons, Kurt Cobain, to name a few. And guess what? They were addicts too, with the exception of Cobain who committed suicide. But we remember them for their music not for how they died.

We should remember Amy Winehouse the same way.