Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoo-be-doop: the best of Whitney Houston

One of the greatest singers of our time

12 years she’s been gone — seems both like yesterday and eons ago. They don’t make ‘em like her anymore, really, now that we live in a different pop world. (Taylor Swift is many things, but is not necessarily known for her singing.) Beyoncé, sure, but she comes from a similar tradition to Whitney’s, and she’s still not a pop star the way Whitney was a capital-P capital-S Pop Star. But who’s the last big pop star you can think of who’s the kind of singer Whitney was? Maybe Lady Gaga? Probably Ariana Grande, but she’s stuck making TikTok-friendly records that the kids will stream. Ariana can sing, unquestionably. But Whitney wasn’t just a grand singer — though God knows she was — but also a DIVA, in the best senses of the word.

And yes, obviously she could melisma with the best. But what’s sometimes less noted is the control she had over her voice; she always knew exactly what she was doing, even from early on. Case in point: a song released three years prior to her debut album, “Memories,” recorded with Bill Laswell’s Material. You read that correctly — if you know, you know. It’s her first lead vocal ever, and I marvel at her precision. She was 18 or 19 when she recorded this, and her voice, while young, sounds fully-formed. To hear her singing against Archie Shepp’s saxophone is a bit of a revelation. What a professional.

Whitney recorded some crap, sure. Clive Davis loved to push her towards mass-appeal (read: white) overblown balladry. But when she was on, there was no one quite like her. L.A. Reid and Babyface knew how to best spotlight her, and honestly Narada Michael Walden did plenty good things with her, too. David Foster I’ll argue not as much, though her “I Will Always Love You” truly is one for the ages.

Here are 36 of my favorite Whitney Houston songs. You’ll notice that six are from The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack, easily her best album; hearing the joy in Houston’s voice as she sang gospel was, in fact, a true joy. I included some remixes: the Thunderpuss “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay” was a gay club anthem for damned near two years, no exaggeration, and CJ Mackintosh’s “Queen of the Night” re-rub is the one I knew as the radio version. I included some duets/guest appearances: with Aretha is campy fun, with then-husband Bobby is genuine love, with BeBe & CeCe Winans — see what I said about about Whitney and gospel. I even included her “Do You Hear What I Hear” from the first Very Special Christmas album, because it’s kinda definitive.