For many who came of age in the '80s and early '90s, Whitney Houston was the quintessential pop star. Her voice ranks among the most beautiful, the most powerful, of any singer in any era.
When your rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner lifts that venerable song into the Top 10, you're in rarefied air.
I didn't see Whitney sing the national anthem before the game. I was assisting with retreat weekend that wrapped up on Super Bowl Sunday, and I didn't get to a friend's party 'til after the game started...and I slept through most of that.
The next day people weren't just talking about the amazing ending....they were talking about the national anthem. How odd, I thought.
When I finally heard it a few years later, I could understand why it was so moving. To this day, it's the most powerful version I've ever heard.
My favorite Whitney song has to be "I Will Always Love You," though. In much the same way great movies can draw you in no matter how many times you've seen them, I find myself listening to that song all the way through no matter where or when I hear it.
Call me a sucker for love...or romance....or devotion.......but Whitney took Dolly Parton's chart-climbing country song and redefined it. Took it to places Dolly didn't approach - maybe didn't even imagine.
That's a rare gift.
And now that gift has been taken from us all too soon.
Rest well, Whitney. Your fans will always love you.
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