The title probably gives the topic of today’s post away. I had initially prepared to blog about something else till I heard about the tragic news -that pop legend Whitney Houston had passed away.
Like many of you out there, I was shocked and taken aback at the sudden news. My heart felt a tinge of sadness – pretty surprising considering I am not a huge Whitney fan. Friends and family will attest that I worshipped Michael Jackson in the eighties. So when news broke a few years ago of his death, I bawled my eyes out watching old MTVs of him that the local TV station had kindly broadcasted as a tribute to his greatness.
With Whitney, it felt a lot different. Sure, death itself is a tragedy and there is ample to be melancholy about from that angle. Sure, she was a one of a kind, fantastic singer who sang many memorable songs. But these were not the main reasons for my heart feeling nostalgic sadness. Rather it was because her passing away signified the passing of times – of those simpler moments when blackberries were fruit and not mobile devices, when artistes released their new songs on cassette tapes, when I was a young child whose only care in the world was mastering the moonwalk or learning the lyrics to the hottest song on radio.
For some reason, I felt the strong urge to ransack our CD cabinet and pull out the only Whitney Houston CD that we have and listen to my favourite Whitney song, you guessed it- “Saving all my love for you”.
Image from Wikipedia
I recollected to The Dude, while the music played softly in the background, how as a little girl, I had heard this song for the first time over the radio. Taken by its romantic tunes, I sneaked into my mother’s wardrobe, selected one of her dresses and waited patiently for the song to play again. When it did, I hastily put on the dress and swayed dreamily in front of the mirror, fantasising that there was someone out there who would sweep me off my feet while lip synching to the lyrics.
Thinking back, it did seem a bit ridiculous and a huge waste of time but I did remember that the song made me feel and think how great it would be to fall in love (even though I didn’t fully understand the lyrics then and it might have not been the most romantic song in the world).
I guess that’s one of the reasons why people remember great musicians – for the feelings that their songs invoke in your heart, for the lyrics that seem to say what’s on your mind and for the vocals that speak to your soul.
R.I.P Whitney Houston – thanks for the songs, the feelings and the memories.
Image from biography.com
Do you have a favourite Whitney song? Please share if you do in the comments section!
