Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

In 1985, I was invited to a small reception in a Toronto hotel to meet a young woman who was already creating a major industry buzz. Besides being gospel great Cissy Houston’s daughter, Dionne Warwick’s cousin and Aretha Franklin’s goddaughter, Whitney had been signed by Clive Davis, a man with proven ears for talent. The moment Whitney walked into the room, I was struck by her natural beauty and youthful innocence. Just 22, she was fresh-faced and shy, yet already so poised. Sweet and soft-spoken, we chatted together about her new album and upcoming tour. There was an air of barely contained excitement about her, like a debutante at her coming-out ball. Less than a year later, Whitney had b...

“There was no one like her,” says impresario Clive Davis, who has assembled Whitney’s best live moments on CD and DVD. Included are such memorable tracks as her 1985 delivery of “You Give Good Love” on The Tonight Show, her “Star Spangled Banner” at the 1991 Super Bowl and her stunning “I Will Always Love You” at the 1994 Concert for a New South Africa.

Whitney Houston created the blueprint for the modern-day pop diva. With her poise, elegance and soaring, multi-octave voice, Houston ruled the airwaves in the 1980s and ’90s and inspired female singers from Mariah Carey and Céline Dion to Beyoncé and Rihanna. When she was at her best, few vocalists could match the power and clarity of her mezzo-soprano. “Over the last 30 years, there’s Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Whitney,” says executive producer Clive Davis, who discovered her. “She ranks right up there with those all-time greats.” The daughter of gospel vocalist Cissy Houston, the cousin of singer Dionne Warwick and the god-daughter of soul great Aretha Franklin, Whitney burst on...