Tag Archives: Whitney Houston

Lord: it’s three gone. Enough for 2012 already, please!

Social Commentary • Tags: , , , , , ,

2012 seismic transitions: Whitney Houston (48), Donna Summer (63) and Chuck Brown (75)

In Uganda we have an adage that bad news comes in threes. Old wives’ tale some might say, but 2012 might have the naysayers sit up and take notice.

Whitney Houston needs no reintroduction to those of us who grew up when singing had nothing to do with taking your clothes off, getting your voice engineered by a synthesizer or relying on a drum machine for your background instrumentals. Neither does Donna Summer require extensive elaboration if you know anything about disco, Studio 54 and matchless verve.

Chuck Brown might be one that some of our generation might scratch their heads over but you only have to Google “Bustin Loose” to understand why he was called the godfather of Go-go. Go-go music went on and on and tested the mettle of all but the most resilient and fit dancers. Chuck Brown put the swagger and stamina into high-octane dance music.

Alas all three are now gone, leaving behind a peerless legacy and trepidation  about whether we shall see any musician with their raw talent and entertainment value ever again.

In moments like this, it is perhaps best to let the deceased regale one from yonder years. Check out the links (related articles) below for the three musical icons’ talents.

Related articles

The 9th wonder of the world is 70! 2

Fun, Social Commentary • Tags: , , , , , ,

April 24.

If you know the Taj Mahal, the Mona Lisa,  Mahatma Gandhi, Tower of Pisa, the Great Wall of China, the Sydney Opera House, the Colloseum, the Hagia Sophia, you will likely know why April 24 is such an important date in the history of the world.

Yes, April 24 is the date when the 9th wonder of the world,  the incomparable, inimitable, imperturbable, peerless, matchless, Barbra Streisand was born.

The 9th Wonder of the World - Barbra Streisand

More to the point, April 24 2012 Barbra Streisand turned 70 and you can bet whatever talent your artistic idol has that he/she cannot touch Miss Streisand. There is simply no comparison with Miss Streisand today or ever. None.

Mention the artistic accolade, Barbra Streisand has won it. She has also given back to society in ways that would take one well into next year to chronicle. This is a woman with a voice, class, determination and a heart, a tiny piece of which should be taken and shared out amongst Africa’s thieving politicians so that they learn to think of people other than themselves.

Check out Miss Streisand’s astonishing accomplishments here. Her’s is likely a record that will never be equaled by anyone else, male or female - it must be that no one else will ever be that talented, that versatile, that phenomenally successful in everything he/she touches.

Most remarkably for the most successful female artist of all time (no it is not Lady Gaga or, God rest her soul, Whitney Houston) she has done it all without self-destructing with drugs, alcohol or self indulgent egotism. Barbra Streisand indeed invented class – or at least must have directed whoever invented it – such is her incredible talent.

Anyone out there who shares April 24 as their birthday, you are in great company. And don’t you forget that. My dear friend, another really classy lady, Lydia Sembuya shared the same birthday but, alas, she is no longer here to celebrate it.

Did I mention looking so good at that age? Enough said.

Happy Birthday Miss Streisand.

Related articles

Whitney Houston lives on – even in death

Social Commentary • Tags: ,

In Africa, this sort of picture wouldn’t raise any eyebrows because it seems it is part of the ritual to view our dead publicly before we inter them.

Below is a picture of Sir Edward Muteesa, Buganda’s beloved king, lying in state in 1971 after his body was returned from England by Idi Amin:

Sir Edward Muteesa lies in state

In the United States, however, such pictures can spark the most vociferous outrage given the tendency to see death as a private matter.

That is what has happened in the case of Whitney Houston. The viewing of her body was closed to the public but someone with a cell phone nonetheless took pictures and presumably handed them to the National Enquirer for a fee. Here  is the link to the picture if you wish to view it.

Methinks that there is nothing terribly earth-moving about the picture – in fact it is quite tasteful in the African scheme of things. But the family will no doubt be horrified that their wishes were violated like that. They argued, rather reasonably if you ask me, that we had shared their daughter, sister, niece etc. for 30 years and the period after her death, up to the funeral, would be theirs.

Alas, thanks to someone they allowed in (the picture of Houston lying in the casket could only have been taken by someone who had permission from the family to be there) we are still sharing her well after she has been laid to rest.

Related articles

Whitney Houston! 6

Social Commentary • Tags:

Miss Whitney (1963-2012)

A talented singer who, at the height of her prowess, didn’t have to screech through songs, rely on the falsetto or synthesizers to get her through difficult notes. More remarkably, in comparison to what we see today, she didn’t have to take her clothes off or show us her fanny to impress us. She just opened her pipes and sang. And, goodness, could she sing!!!

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” Whitney Houston

I want to know of a talented singer today whose naked torso, fanny or dick I haven’t seen. Yes, that is truly the difference between Whitney Houston and all these so called singers of today. She let her talent impress us; not smut, slutty undress, ugly tattoos or profanity.

Wherever you are Miss Whitney, you entertained us no end with your peerless talent.

Related articles