Whereas Whitney Elizabeth Houston was born on August 9,
1963, in Newark, New Jersey;
Whereas Whitney Houston was the youngest daughter of famed
singer Cissy Houston and John Russell Houston Jr., cousin of Dee Dee and Dionne
Warwick, and god-daughter of Aretha Franklin;
Whereas Whitney Houston began following in her mother’s
footsteps at the age of 11 by performing at her church, New Hope Baptist Church
in Newark, New Jersey, and a short time later began performing in shows
alongside her mother in New York City in the 1970s and early 1980s;
Whereas, as a teenager, Ms. Houston earned album credits
for vocals with the Michael Zager Band, Chaka Khan, Lou Rawls, Herbie Mann, the
Neville Brothers, Bill Lawswell’s Material, Jermaine Jackson, and various other
artists;
Whereas Ms. Houston began modeling in the 1980s and became
the first woman of color to grace the cover of Seventeen Magazine;
Whereas, as an accomplished model, Ms. Houston’s striking
good looks and girl-next-door charm lead her to be a sought after model and
featured in multiple layouts, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Young
Miss;
Whereas upon seeing Ms. Houston perform in 1983, Arista
Records founder and president, Clive Davis immediately signed her and, within a
year after being signed, Ms. Houston had her first top-5 R&B hit with Teddy
Pendergrass, titled Hold Me
;
Whereas Ms. Houston’s debut album, Whitney
Houston
, was released in 1985, was certified 13-times platinum
(diamond) in the United States, and sold 25,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston’s debut album earned her many
distinctions, including biggest selling debut album by a solo artist, first
female artist to debut an album with three Number One hits, first female Artist
to be Artist of the Year
and Album of the Year
on
Billboard charts, and first African-American female artist to have consistent
and heavy rotation on MTV;
Whereas this early success and acceptance opened many
doors for other African-American women vocal artists;
Whereas Ms. Houston’s second album,
Whitney
, was released in 1987 and debuted at Number One on the
Billboard album chart, marked the first time in music history that a female
artist debuted at Number One in both the United States and the United Kingdom,
gave her seven consecutive Number One hits, which broke the record held by the
Beatles and The Bee Gees, made her the first female artist to generate four
Number One hits from one album, was certified nine-times platinum, and sold
20,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston’s third album, I’m Your Baby
Tonight,
was release in 1990, earned Ms. Houston back-to-back Number
One hits, peaked at number three on the Billboard album charts, and was
certified four-times platinum and sold 8,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston delivered the most stunning
performance of the National Anthem before the 1991 Super Bowl, and more than 20
years later, her performance is not only one of the most spectacular moments in
American sports history, but is also the gold standard for all Super Bowl
performances;
Whereas, in 1992, Ms. Houston made her movie debut in
The Bodyguard
with Oscar-winning actor and director Kevin
Costner and not only did the film break box office records worldwide, but the
soundtrack album, which featured six Whitney Houston songs, was the biggest
selling motion picture soundtrack of all time and voted Grammy-winning
Album of the Year
; the soundtrack was certified 17-times
platinum and sold more than 42,000,000 copies worldwide;
Whereas Ms. Houston continued to be a successful actress
with roles in Waiting to Exhale
, The Preacher’s
Wife
, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella
and Ms.
Houston’s success as a songstress continued with vocals on each soundtrack
leading them to similar sales accomplishments as her solo albums;
Whereas, upon the release of The Preacher’s
Wife
soundtrack, Ms. Houston accomplished a lifelong dream with the
gospel-filled soundtrack, on which Ms. Houston sang lead vocals on 14 of the 15
songs and which became the biggest selling gospel album in Billboard chart
history and was certified three-times platinum;
Whereas, after an eight-year absence, Ms. Houston released
her fourth studio album, My Love Is Your Love
, in 1998 and the
album had a string of gold and platinum chart hit singles worldwide and
featured vocals from her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown;
Whereas, as Ms. Houston celebrated her 15th anniversary as
an Arista recording artist, she released Whitney: the Greatest
Hits
in 2000 and the album was certified three-times platinum and had
worldwide sales of 10,000,000;
Whereas Ms. Houston released her last studio album,
I Look to You
, in 2009, and the album entered the Billboard
album chart at Number One, Ms. Houston’s best opening week sales, and has been
certified platinum;
Whereas Ms. Houston had sales of more than 170,000,000
combined album, singles, and videos worldwide during her career with Arista
Records;
Whereas Ms. Houston has established the benchmark for
stardom and has been named music's most awarded female artist of all time, with
an amazing tally of 411 awards (as of 2006) a tally that is certainly topped by
her two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, and 23
American Music Awards, as well as MTV Video Music Awards in the United States
and Europe, NAACP Image Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, Soul
Train's prestigious Quincy Jones Career Achievement Award in 1998, and her
induction into the Black Entertainment Television Walk Of Fame in 1996;
Whereas Ms. Houston has won a worldwide following by
reachng deep within her soul and finding common threads with her millions of
fans;
Whereas Ms. Houston not only had the voice of an angel but
a heart of gold, Ms. Houston’s humanitarian efforts are as impressive as her
accolades;
Whereas Ms. Houston raised funds for
numerous causes, including children around the world, from South Africa to
Newark, generating more than $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund as a
result of a 1997 HBO concert;
Whereas Ms. Houston supported Nelson Mandela and the
antiapartheid movement, and while a model refused to work with any agencies
that did business with the then-apartheid South Africa;
Whereas Ms. Houston participated in a benefit concert that
raised over $1,000,000 for charities while bringing awareness to
apartheid;
Whereas Ms. Houston worked tirelessly for St. Jude
Children's Hospital, the United Negro College Fund, and the Children's Diabetes
Foundation;
Whereas Ms. Houston founded the Whitney Houston Foundation
for the Children, which cares for such problems as homelessness, children with
cancer and AIDS, and issues of self-empowerment;
Whereas Ms. Houston’s foundation was awarded a VH1 honor
for its charitable work;
Whereas Ms. Houston founded the Whitney E. Houston Academy
of Creative and Performing Arts to provide expanded arts-focused educational
opportunities for its student body and the surrounding community;
Whereas Ms. Houston served as a spokesperson for a youth
leadership conference;
Whereas, out of the generosity of her heart, Ms. Houston
donated her portion of the proceeds from the release of the National Anthem as
a single to the American Red Cross Gulf Crisis Fund and therefore was named to
the American Red Cross Board of Governors;
Whereas Ms. Houston supported, performed, and visited many
of our service men and women fighting in the Persian Gulf War;
Whereas The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, Inc.
agreed to donate royalties and net proceeds from all single sales of The
Star Spangled Banner
together with America the Beautiful
to the New York Firefighters 9–11 Disaster Relief Fund and the New York
Fraternal Order of Police; and
Whereas Ms. Houston was a world-class entertainer and
humanitarian: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)recognizes Ms. Whitney Houston as a world
icon and a once-in-a-lifetime talent;
(2)honors Ms. Whitney
Houston for her charitable efforts; and
(3)extends the
deepest condolences of the House of Representatives to the family of Ms.
Whitney Houston.