Whitney

Add Whitney Houston to the list of names that includes Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Vincent Van Gogh and how many others? Hugely successful, talented artists, who seemed to have crumbled under the pressure of fame, eventually costing them the ultimate price.  And although the final verdict of what the cause of Whitney’s demise is not yet in, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that sins of the past at least played a role.

But this blog isn’t actually a tribute to Whitney, but rather to a couple of other well-known artists.

While recapping her incredible career the night after her passing NBC news anchor Lester Holt mentioned that Houston’s first seven songs had reached number one, a fete not even accomplished by Elvis or The Beatles.

Elvis and The Beatles. Think about it.

 It was 1956 when Elvis burst onto the scene, 1964 when the Beatles crossed the pond to lead the British invasion, and here we are 56 and 48 years later respectively comparing other artist’s fetes to probably the two most iconic figures in music history. Will they always be the benchmark for which everyone else is compared?

More than once I’ve read or seen in an interview where former teen idol and Partridge Family star David Cassidy, reminiscing about his heyday, mentions that his fan club at that time was the largest in the world. Larger than Elvis or the Beatles, he states. And that was good enough to play off and make an entire long lasting career for the little guy. How many others have done the same. I can’t think of a more fitting way to say you’re the greatest of all time, then to be compared to.

And in a bit of irony, on the night after Whitney Houston’s death, the 54^th Annual Grammy awards were held. Many tributes were paid to her, and to conclude the show the final performance was given by, but of course, Paul McCartney.

The benchmark rolls on.