She Could Have Had It All

The music industry grieved at the loss of one icon while recognizing its newest superstar at Sunday's Grammy Awards. While not a big awards show fan, I found myself riveted to it for at least an hour. Whitney Houston's career peaked some twenty years before her death last weekend at a still young 48, but her volume of work in the eighties and early nineties was enough to make her music's most honored female performer. She was all over the radio back then. Bad press seemed to dominate her life since she began her tumultuous and drug-filled relationship with Bobby Brown, but she did take responsibility for her bad choices. Few of her hits seem to get airplay these days. That may change for awhile as people remember her meteoric rise and protracted fall. No one can forget her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl. I can't help but think of her hit "Didn't We Almost Have It All" when reflecting on her talent and beauty combined with a dysfunctional personal life. The rise was not worth this tragic fall. At the same time, Adele swept the Grammys. The first time I heard "Underneath the Deep" I knew it would be the top song of the year. It was another song about almost having it all. Her "60 Minutes" interview gave us a chance to know something about the woman behind the voice. The interview left me with the impression that Adele would be fine even if her throat condition had left her without that gift of a voice. Let's hope so.