TonyVanDam said:

duccichucka said:

Cot damn!

Did this bitch write anything of her own?

Oh please! Whitney's original songs were NEVER written or composed by Whitney. And I strongly believe that one of Whitney's biggest mistakes in her music career is not learning how to write her own lyrics sometimes.

Madonna, Janet, Mariah, Debbie, Beyonce, Katy, Gaga, and even freaking Ke$hia knows how to write some lyrics. And none of them (except for Mariah) were excellent vocalists like a drug-free Whitney.

Not all singers have the desire to write lyrics or compose melodies, and they shouldn't have to. That shouldn't take away from their craft. Do most actors write or contribute to their own scripts or screenplays? Absolutely not.

If I were the writer of Whitney's songs, I would grant her part of my royalties just for making my words sound so good.

bellanoche said:

Timmy84 said:

It also blows me away how an artist signs half their rights away when they sign with a label. I think that also messed with Whitney's head. Even when Whitney was singing like an angel and treated like a princess, behind the scenes she was always a pauper due to the monies she wasn't making because she only sang the words, not wrote them. I know she later produced and arranged her music or was a co-producer/co-arranger but I don't know how much money she made off those. Someone needs to break it down.

I know!!! I mean, I see people like Diane Warren and David Foster with all that money, and I cannot help but think where they would be if they didn't have those amazing vocalists singing their songs. So, it is crazy to me that the vocalists get a mere pittance compared to the record execs and the writers. It is exploitation on so many levels. That has to take a toll on you.

Eveyone thought Prince was crazy when he was running around with slave scrawled across his cheek and talking about the thievery of the music business. However, he was spot on. That business is full of beggars and thieves. For someone with real talent, it has got to be mentally taxing to see non-talents making more money than you when you are going out and performing and recording and wearing your body into the ground for them to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Instead of pointing fingers at Bobby Brown, folks need to analyze what affect that industry had on Whitney's mental state as well.

Whitney definitely was worn out from the business. She often talked about how the business was "not fun" anymore around the time she released The Bodyguard. I can imagine the pressures of the business, her not being able to write or compose anything, having to get paid cheaply just for performance royalties, which was probably a dime a record (while the songwriter got a dollar), and then dealing with making sure her performances went right, that her appearances were apt, and all of that, got to her and that's why she "escaped" like she did. She couldn't handle it.

Timmy84 said:

bellanoche said:

I know!!! I mean, I see people like Diane Warren and David Foster with all that money, and I cannot help but think where they would be if they didn't have those amazing vocalists singing their songs. So, it is crazy to me that the vocalists get a mere pittance compared to the record execs and the writers. It is exploitation on so many levels. That has to take a toll on you.

Eveyone thought Prince was crazy when he was running around with slave scrawled across his cheek and talking about the thievery of the music business. However, he was spot on. That business is full of beggars and thieves. For someone with real talent, it has got to be mentally taxing to see non-talents making more money than you when you are going out and performing and recording and wearing your body into the ground for them to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Instead of pointing fingers at Bobby Brown, folks need to analyze what affect that industry had on Whitney's mental state as well.

Whitney definitely was worn out from the business. She often talked about how the business was "not fun" anymore around the time she released The Bodyguard. I can imagine the pressures of the business, her not being able to write or compose anything, having to get paid cheaply just for performance royalties, which was probably a dime a record (while the songwriter got a dollar), and then dealing with making sure her performances went right, that her appearances were apt, and all of that, got to her and that's why she "escaped" like she did. She couldn't handle it.

I can totally see that for an artist like whose career came into being in the 1980s. The 1990s show some serious changes in that industry. That is when you had that growing crop of non-talents and minimal talents starting to take over whereas Whitney came along when the folks with real talent were still dominating. That had to be disheartening as well. There she was with this great talent competing with studio creations and not getting paid what she was worth on top of it.

You can bet that every single songwriter that made the cut for Whitneys albums did a happy dance and high fived their bank managers! Pretty much until 2000 she was money in the bank.

bellanoche said:

Dolly wrote and sang "I Will Always Love You," but Whitney made it an international sensation.

Dolly is a country singer. The biggest audience for country music is in the USA.

SoulAlive said:

Musicslave said:

I never knew some of those songs were covers. Does anybody know the original artists from these songs? I

"Saving All My Love For You" was originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo in 1978.

"The Greatest Love Of All" was recorded by George Benson in 1977,for the Muhammad Ali biopic 'The Greatest'.

"Just The Lonely Talking Again" was originally recorded by the Manhattans.

"For The Love Of You" was originally recorded by the Isley Brothers in 1975.

"All The Man I Need" was originally recorded by Linda Clifford in 1981 and Sister Sledge in 1982.

"I Will Always Love You" was originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974.

"I'm Every Woman" was originally recorded by Chaka Khan in 1978.

"I Believe In You And Me" was originally recorded by the Four Tops.

"Step By Step" was originally recorded by Annie Lennox.

"I Was Made To Love (Her)" was originally recorded by Stevie Wonder.

"You Light Up My Life" was originally recorded by Debbie Boone in 1977,for the film of the same name.

Thanks for this. I had no idea that some of these songs were remakes. Amazing talent, not just Whitney but also the producers. Some of these remakes you miss that it is the song made before.

bellanoche said:

duccichucka said:

Cot damn!

Did this bitch write anything of her own?

Whitney Houston was a SINGER, one of the greatest of all time for that matter. Most of the greatest singers in history were just that, singers. They were not songwriters. The singer-songwriter did not come along in popular music until recent decades (pretty much the late 1960s/1970s, forward). The singing bar was actually lowered as the singer-songwriter emerged. Self-contained acts were not expected to have voices like singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, etc. Even some of the greatest recent voices like Luther, Chaka, Patti, Celine are not songwriters. On the other hand some fo the greatest songwriters were not singers the George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Diane Warren, Burt Bacharach/Carol Bayer-Sager, Rod Termperton, David Foster, etc.

Also, mega pop artists, in particular, are a well packaged product that it takes a team to produce. That is why record companies pair them with the "right" writers and producers.

So, I do not know why the media and others are focusing so much attention on the fact that she did not write most of her songs.

Finally, I am not trying to be argumentative but was it necessary to refer to her as a "bitch"?I do not think you were trying to be offensive with that remark because it has become such a part of the common vernacular. However, it is still offensive to many woman. Not everyone is comfortable with people using that term to refer to any woman, especially one of a certain age. It is disrespectful .

Heartfelt thank you for saying this.

Whitney was so great of a singer people knew they couldn't fuck with her and didn't even try. Patti Labelle said that she originally wanted to cover I Will Always Love You, but she changed her mind when she heard Whitney's version. Whitney was the Baddest Bitch in the game!

I miss her so much.

Graycap23 said:

bellanoche said:

My sister and I were saying the same thing last night. The music industry is one of the worse examples of this kind of lopsided, exploitative pay model. For example, actors and directors get paid well in the film industry because even though it takes a talented writer(s) to create a script, the industry recognizes the need for the "right" people to breathe life into it and make it a "hit."

Music is the same to me. What is a great song without a great singer to sing it? Dolly wrote and sang "I Will Always Love You," but Whitney made it an international sensation. I have always had a problem with the fact that performers don't get a bigger cut. The writers can keep the lion's share but there should be more recognition of the singer's contribution.

Without the writer............what would the vocalist sing?

without the singer, the song is just words.

prodigalfan said:

Graycap23 said:

Without the writer............what would the vocalist sing?

without the singer, the song is just words.

Singers are a dime a dozen.

Graycap23 said:

prodigalfan said:

without the singer, the song is just words.

Singers are a dime a dozen.

That is true indeed, Gray- but there are only one in several million that have the ability to utilize their instrument to a level of artistry that can seduce, enchant and inspire by the millions as Houston and an exclusive number of singers have been able to do from opera to rythym & blues for the last 100 years.

Ottensen said:

Graycap23 said:

Singers are a dime a dozen.

That is true indeed, Gray- but there are only one in several million that have the ability to utilize their instrument to a level of artistry that can seduce, enchant and inspire by the millions as Houston and an exclusive number of singers have been able to do from opera to rythym & blues for the last 100 years.

right and if that is the case, then the songwriters themselves could sing the words themselves.

So GREAT singers are NOT a dime a dozen.

prodigalfan said:

Ottensen said:

That is true indeed, Gray- but there are only one in several million that have the ability to utilize their instrument to a level of artistry that can seduce, enchant and inspire by the millions as Houston and an exclusive number of singers have been able to do from opera to rythym & blues for the last 100 years.

right and if that is the case, then the songwriters themselves could sing the words themselves.

So GREAT singers are NOT a dime a dozen.

Notice I did NOT say GREAT singers.............I said singers.

SoulAlive said:

"Saving All My Love For You" was originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo in 1978.

"The Greatest Love Of All" was recorded by George Benson in 1977,for the Muhammad Ali biopic 'The Greatest'.

"Just The Lonely Talking Again" was originally recorded by the Manhattans.

"All The Man I Need" was originally recorded by Linda Clifford in 1981 and Sister Sledge in 1982.

wow!!! thank you very much

I had no idea some of my favs

were remakes.. how cool is this!!!