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Remembering Whitney Houston

Award winner, actress, model, and most of all, inspiring singer. Whitney Houston, who died suddenly on Saturday, was all these things. She was 48.

Houston had roots in Essex County – she was born in Newark, N.J. to John Russell Houston Jr. and gospel singer Cissy Houston. The family moved to East Orange when Houston was four. She attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell, N.J., and sang from an early age at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. She was the cousin of soul singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick and the goddaughter of music superstar Aretha Franklin.

Before she was a singer, Houston tried her hand at modeling – she even appeared on the cover of Seventeen.

It was in 1985 that Houston really broke onto the music scene with her self-titled debut album. With monster hits such as "I Will Always Love You," "Saving All My Love for You" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," Houston's musical success spanned more than three decades and she became one of the best-selling singers of all time. She released six studio albums, was the winner of 22 American Music Awards and six Grammy Awards and starred in feature films such as "The Bodyguard," "Waiting to Exhale" and "The Preacher's Wife."

Houston was the subject of controversy later in her life. She had a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown from 1992 to 2007, and dealt with drug addiction, even at the time she gave birth to her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

According to the Associated Press, Houston was found dead in a bathtub at the Beverly Hills Hilton, with drugs in the room, but a toxicology report has not yet revealed if drugs were the cause of Houston's death.

The AP reported that Houston's funeral service will be held this Saturday at the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark, not the Prudential Center, as had been rumored. The service is invitation only.

This report was compiled by Erin Bell. She can be reached at erin.bell@student.shu.edu.

"Such a loss for music. Her voice was beyond amazing and at least we'll always have her music."

- Lauren Dobis, senior

"I grew up on her music. The music world lost a legend. My mom and I would always sing her songs, and in fact this Thanksgiving we were so happy to see each other that we blasted a playlist with her music and danced in the kitchen."

- Phalon Thornhill, freshman

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"Whitney's ‘My Love is Your Love' album holds special memories for me. It always reminds me of the summer of 1999, last time I visited London; that was an amazing summer."

- Dujuana Grell, senior

"I think she was very talented and had an amazing voice. For someone who came from rather humble beginnings, her voice and rise to stardom was an inspiration for many people of her generation."

- Chaz Venino, senior

"Her memory - beyond any of her personal problems - will be of the most beautiful voice of our generation and time. Such talent... such a loss."

- Andrea Favero, Junior


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