This past weekend marked not only Nicki Minaj’s first-ever onstage exorcism, but also the passing of one of America’s greatest talents of the past two decades: Whitney Houston. Known for powerful vocals and expressive ballads, Houston remains a part of the American soundscape through songs like “I Will Always Love You” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” In recent years, though, she experienced a downturn in her career and personal life, dogged by accusations of drug and alcohol abuse. These claims have arisen once more in the wake of Houston’s passing, with her longtime mentor – Jewish record executive Clive Davis – facing the brunt of the blame for the talented singer’s demise.
Just who is this man who brought Houston’s powerful pipes to the stage? Clive Davis grew up in a Jewish family in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, an area which he describes as “a true melting pot — Jews, Italians, blacks, Irish.” Using his business savvy, Davis founded Arista Records in 1974, a label that went on to sign the likes of Aretha Franklin and Pink.One of his greatest finds, of course, was Whitney, whom he discovered when she was just 19 and helped to bring to the heights of the music industry.
Whitney first debuted on the charts in the 1980s. By the 1990s, her career was a on a high, as was her personal life – she wed singer Bobby Brown and gave birth to a daughter, Bobbi Kristina. In recent years, though, her career took a major hit when she began abusing drugs and alcohol, a lethal combination that eventually lead to her death. As a result, Davis’s starlet with the golden voice died at the young age of 48.
News outlets have asserted that Davis helped lead Whitney to her death. Celebrities like Chaka Khan have gone on the attack, blaming Davis for ignoring Whitney’s perilous situation and encouraging her to perform instead of getting help. More interestingly – and morbidly – Whitney died in the Beverly Hills Hotel on the same day of Davis’s famed annual Grammy party. Instead of canceling the festivities to memorialize his protege, Davis kept the party going – in the very same hotel in which Whitney died hours earlier. “Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on,” he said.
Is Davis the sole man to blame, though, for Houston’s untimely demise? The answer is clear: no. It has long been asserted that Whitney abused drugs and alcohol for years. It is likely, then, that her death resulted from an overdose on substances she misused. Though Davis may have pushed her to perform or make a comeback, he didn’t force her to do anything, whether that meant taking drugs or saying “Crack is Whack” to Diane Sawyer. Whitney could have sought help and been treated for her addiction, but her disease, unfortunately, got the best of her. At the end of the day, though, she caused her own death – as tragic as it was – by overdosing on pills and alcohol.
That doesn’t mean, though, that Davis escapes all culpability. As her mentor and friend, he should have encouraged Whitney to seek treatment rather than tour the pre-Grammy party circuit. Anyone with that serious of an addiction – as Whitney apparently had – shouldn’t be partying – or even recording a new album – but in a treatment facility, seeking to get well. Clive Davis didn’t force the substances down Whitney’s throat, but, by allowing her to remain untreated, he enabled her death.
Moreover, holding a party in the same hotel in which Whitney died is tasteless. The party’s continuation resulted in Davis appearing as less of a grieving friend and more of an opportunistic fame monger. In his own right, Davis is a talented executive and should be recognize as such. However, this past weekend, he should have put business aside to mourn a friend forever lost.
