eSeveral hundred friends gathered last week in Atlanta to honor the legacy of Whitney Houston on what would have been her 60th birthday with live music, remembrances and laughs.
Through the Whitney Houston Foundation, the proceeds are set to go this year to the Atlanta-based Living Live Foundation’s “Lighting the Way Youth Mentor” program initiative. The foundation also gave out three scholarships to students studying the arts at historically Black colleges and universities.
“This is a continuation of helping young people and empowering them to be better,” said Pat Houston, sister-in-law of Houston who lives in Alpharetta and organized this second annual gala at the St. Regis Hotel last Wednesday in Buckhead. “Whitney was very passionate about helping children.”
A publicist did not have a final figure on how much was raised as of Tuesday morning.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
BeBe Winans, the gospel great and one of Houston’s closest friends, came to the gala to sing “Greatest of Love of All.” (Kim Burrell and Gary Houston also performed.)
Before the gala, Winans told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was worried “I might break out into a cry. Whitney and I talked about turning 50, turning 60. We talked about those moments we’d share together. Even though she is always in my heart, I wish she was here.”
Her generosity, he said, knew no bounds. Decades ago, he said he was having trouble landing a mortgage for a home in Nashville and Houston gave him $50,000 to ensure he could get it. To this day, he said he runs by that house he lived in for 17 years every day and remembers Houston. “Her heart was bigger than her talent,” he said. And when he repaid her, she was shocked because she didn’t expect it.
Acclaimed music director Rickey Minor (”American Idol,” “The Tonight Show”) said he was thrilled to show up to the gala when Pat Houston invited him. He produced Houston’s legendary recording of “The Star Spangled Banner” in 1992 for the Super Bowl.
He said he had given her the arrangement prior to recording day, but Houston was too busy prepping for “The Bodyguard.” So he played it for her once in studio and she then sang it with ease. He recorded just two takes and what ended up on CD was largely the first take.
“She was a one-take wonder,” Minor said. “She sings from a deeper place. She sings what she feels, not what she thinks people want to hear.”
Harvey Mason Jr., who produced the movie “Sparkle” and recorded the song “Celebrate” with Houston right before her death, said his memories of her remain nothing but warm.
“She wore her heart on her sleeve,” he said. “She was free with her passion, her love. If she loved you, she’d let you know. There was a lot of smiling and dancing, calls and texts. You knew where she stood about you. I was fortunately never on her bad side.”
He said being at the event carried some sadness. “I miss her and the industry misses her and the world misses her,” Mason said, “especially on her birthday. We can imagine her being here dancing and hugging everybody.”
Narada Michael Walden, a producer who worked on many of Houston’s biggest hits with her including “How Will I Know,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “I’m Every Woman,” marveled how quickly Houston could pick up new music and make it her own.
“Her gift was having three different voices: her head voice, her chest voice and that voice in between,” Walden said. “So I would try different sections with different sounds and see what would happen. I’d have her try different voices. I’d only have her for a few hours and I’d put it all together after she left.”
Their goal was ambitious: “We wanted to make records that could last forever. We prayed to make records like that. We asked God for help.”
“I was talking to her in heaven,” Walden said. “She liked the idea. People still want to feel her, want to hear her.”
As for the gala itself, “we know she wants us to be here. So we’re here. We keep the love going, the music going.”
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