Reprinted from my blog...
I feel compelled to say something about Whitney Houston passing away. It's really a shame that drugs got the best of her. Many moons ago, both John Gill and I used to work at a recording studio in North Jersey. Cissy Houston, Whitney's mother, booked some sessions at the studio. For those of you who aren't aware, Cissy Houston is a pretty successful singer in her own right, making a name for herself in soul and gospel music. One memory that's always stuck in my mind, was late one night, after a lengthy Cissy Houston session at the studio, she was winding down, and started talking to all of us working in the studio about her career and family. I distinctly remember her telling everyone how she DID NOT want her daughter, Whitney, to go into the music business because of the drug abuse that's often so prevalent in the industry-- Kind of ironic, that particular moment sticking so firmly in my memory. Mothers have a way of knowing stuff about their kids, kind of a sixth sense, a sort of foreboding insight-- It really is sad how Whitney went so far in music, but then fell so hard when her life was turned upside down by crack. John Gill and I (Big Stick) recorded "Crack Attack" much due to seeing how the horrific crack epidemic took such a stronghold of Newark, NJ, the city where Cissy and Whitney Houston are originally from. When Whitney married Bobby Brown, I guess that resulted in lots of treacherous turbulence-- I dunno, this is just sad. My most sincere and heartfelt condolences to Cissy Houston and her family... I know that Cissy is a woman of extremely strong faith, I hope that helps her in enduring this tragedy...
Whitney with Mom, Cissy Houston
Whitney Houston Rest In Peace...