Friends remember Whitney Houston at Grammy Awards ceremony
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Whitney Houston's death at 48 on Saturday permeated every moment of the 2012 Grammy Awards, from tears on the red carpet to the prayer that opened the ceremony.
Host LL Cool J followed the opening by Bruce Springstreen and the E Street Band, singing "We Take Care of Our Own," by acknowledging, "We've had a death in the family" and offering a prayer for a "fallen sister."
The E Street Band recently lost one of its own, Clarence Clemons, who was featured in the in memoriam segment of the Grammys. It led off with a video of Amy Winehouse, who won a posthumous award Sunday night for her "Body and Soul" duet with Tony Bennett, and concluded with a clip of a young Whitney Houston singing "Saving All My Love For You." The video ended and the spotlight illuminated Jennifer Hudson, who sang Ms. Houston's anthemic "I Will Always Love You" and added the lyric, "Whitney, we will always love you."
On the red carpet, former Destiny's Child Kelly Rowland recalled meeting Ms. Houston years earlier. "I lost my hero," she said, "and I mean that with every fiber of my being. ... I hope she knows how much she impacted the world with her incredible gift.
On Saturday night, Clive Davis memorialized his protege and longtime friend at his pre-Grammy gala. It was Mr. Davis who introduced Ms. Houston and her big voice more than two decades ago at his annual party.
Music producer David Foster, who with Dolly Parton presented Ms. Houston with the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocalist in 1994, recalled her virtuosity.
"A lot of singers would give you what you want, but she would take it to the next level and trump what I was asking for. She was amazing," Mr. Foster recalled for E! during Sunday night's Grammys pre-show. "The thing about Whitney, when she walked into a room, the entire room lit up. Even if you didn't see her, if you knew she was supposed to be in the room, you could feel whether she was or not."
Amber Riley, Mercedes on "Glee," had met Ms. Houston Thursday at a pre-Grammys party given by Kelly Price and thanked the singer for entrusting her music to the show. Ms. Riley will perform "I Will Always Love You" on the Valentine's Day episode of "Glee."
"It's a song that's close to my heart and it's very challenging vocally ... and I went for it, and it's very befitting we're doing it this Tuesday. We were celebrating her in life when we recorded it, and now that she's died, we're celebrating her legacy."
Televised tributes to Ms. Houston today include: BET, 6-9 p.m., a special three-hour "106 & Park" episode; Lifetime will rebroadcast "The Bodyguard" at 8 p.m.; and VH1 will air "Whitney Houston Death of a Diva" at 9:30 p.m.
First Published February 13, 2012 12:34 am
