In the Houston living room that same year, Whitney and Robyn came together. An undated photo of Houston with a group of friends including Robyn Crawford (front row, in hat), Houston’s personal assistant and secret lover. With Crawford, Houston could be the tomboy who preferred smoking Newports, getting high and cursing. If you saw one, you saw the other,” writes Kennedy.Ĭrawford, Whitney’s first close friend, confidante and companion outside of her brothers, had Whitney’s back and was “unyieldingly loyal.” “It was a bond that formed almost immediately, and they were inseparable that summer. Whitney’s cousin, chart topping R&B singer Dionne Warwick, also helped encourage the young girl’s vocal talent, viewed as the family’s ticket out of poverty. In the summer of 1980, when she was 17, she introduced herself to a stunning, slender 19-year-old, Robyn Crawford, when they were both working as youth counselors at the East Orange Community Center in NJ. Whitney’s cousin, chart topping R&B singer Dionne Warwick, also helped encourage the young girl’s vocal talent, viewed as the family’s ticket out of poverty.Īt the same time, Whitney was exploring her identity. Raised in Newark, NJ, Whitney was under the thumb of her mother, a devout member of Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church.Ĭissy’s solo career didn’t take off and although she was in demand as a backup singer, the recording industry was fickle. She didn’t take no shit,” Kennedy writes. She rode her hard at church and encouraged her little girl to sing along to the records she and Aretha made. “Cissy knew Whitney was destined for greatness and she could get her there. Soon, Whitney was swept up in Cissy’s all-consuming desire to push her into the singing business. The three children floated between the homes of relatives when the parents were working and Cissy was on the road. Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy, made her hide her budding lesbian sexuality, according to a new book. She preferred jeans, t-shirts and running track with her two older brothers, Gary and Michael. She was a tomboy and bristled at wearing the frilly clothes and hair ribbons chosen by her mother. Cissy was a star in her own right - singing backup to the King himself, Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul.Įven as a little girl, Whitney felt different. The Drinkards played the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” performing at black venues throughout the South. Houston was at the top of her game in 2009 (above) - but behind the scenes she was battling multiple demons. Raised in Newark, NJ, Whitney was under the thumb of her mother, Cissy, a devout church member of Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church and a member of the gospel singing clan, the Drinkard Sisters. ![]() Brandished ‘Whitey’ - and endured endless speculation on her sexuality,” the author notes. “Because her music didn’t fit squarely in the boxes expected of a Black girl making music in the ’80s, she was seen as not Black enough. She was ridiculed. Whitney Houston was the perfect face for the MTV-dominated 1980s, “a glamorous showgirl shaped by a Svengali” – the powerful Arista Records producer Clive Davis.īut she also possessed a deep, dark secret: she was a closeted lesbian, writes author Gerrick Kennedy in his new book, “ Didn’t We Almost Have It All: In Defense of Whitney Houston” (Abrams Press), out Tuesday.įeeling pressure to conform to her strict religious upbringing and the norms of the time, Whitney hid her sexuality from the public till her tragic death, which happened 10 years ago this week. Kevin Costner, Jennifer Hudson honor Whitney during pre-Grammy gala Goldman CEO won rights to Whitney Houston DJ remix through bank client: report ![]() ![]() The 10 best Super Bowl national anthem performances of all time ‘The Bodyguard’ musical stopped over ‘mini riots’ and rowdy audience members
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