Remembering Whitney Houston's concerts in Pittsburgh
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Whitney Houston on July 30, 1987, at the Civic Arena.
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The Whitney Houston that most Pittsburghers knew was the Whitney who paraded across the screen -- on MTV, movies and awards shows -- or throughout the tabloids.
In the hours after her death at 48 on Saturday, she was heralded as one of the finest singers who ever lived by some people who know talent. Smokey Robinson called her "one of the greatest voices in the history of music." Tony Bennett said, "Whitney Houston was the greatest singer I've ever heard ... ."
But partly because she came of age in the MTV era and soared to the top so soon, her talent wasn't nurtured like the classic singers before her, who spent years working crowds. She graced us with her presence only three times.
The daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, Whitney grew up singing in the church and could very well have been a child star, but her mom wisely held back. After a few sessions as a backup singer, she came under the wing of Arista founder Clive Davis and released her self-titled debut in 1985, charting with the singles "You Give Good Love" and "Saving All My Love for You."
She made her first appearance in Pittsburgh on June 30, 1985, at the Syria Mosque, opening for Jeffrey Osborne. She opened with her cover of Pittsburgher George Benson's "The Greatest Love of All" and did three duets with her brother, Gary Garland.
"I remember it so clear," recalls David Shirey of Squirrel Hill. "We went to see Jeffrey Osborne, but Whitney stole the show. She was so youthful and gorgeous and classy. You could tell that she loved to sing, and the whole audience fed off of it. There was no AC in there, and it was so hot. Her neck was just glistening with sweat. She wiped her neck with a towel and tossed it in the crowd, and dudes were jumping for it -- it was like a rugby scrum."
By the middle of 1986, she was the No. 1 artist in the country and was embarking on The Greatest Love World Tour, which did not stop in Pittsburgh. Instead, she returned during the Moment of Truth tour on July 30, 1987, with Kenny G, coinciding with the release of her second album, "Whitney."
It was the first concert in three years to draw more than 17,000 fans to the Civic Arena. I did the Post-Gazette review and wrote that "what Whitney didn't do was go out and mesmerize the crowd." The Pittsburgh Press headline read: "Whitney Houston un'event'ful." It had nothing to do with her vocal ability, which was as formidable as we heard on record and MTV. She just wasn't there yet as an entertainer.
First Published February 14, 2012 12:00 am
