“Holding Lightning: The Life, Loves, and Art of Whitney Houston” by Emily Lordi, c.2026, Mariner, $32.00, 336 pages
Snippets of favorite tunes and dance moves copied from must-see videos often live inside the minds of loyal fans long after the performers fall off the charts.
But in the new book, “Holding Lightning,” a biography about Whitney Houston by author Emily Lordi, readers are reminded why the legendary vocalist and her catalog of music are unforgettable.
In the nearly 15 years since she died, Houston is still “widely considered to be one of the greatest singers of all time,” says Lordi, a music historian who specializes in Black studies and teaches at Vanderbilt University.
Houston “loved the sound of her voice,” says Lordi, which is apparently rare for a singer. As her talents grew, she readily assumed the mantle of a diva, because “she understood what it meant to claim this superlative status as a Black woman.” Focused, she “worked hard to develop the aptitude she’d inherited.”
Houston was born in August 1963, the child of entertainment royalty. Her mother, Cissy Houston, was a renowned backup singer. Her cousin is global music icon Dionne Warwick. The family was immersed in music from church to concert, and Houston happily took her place among them.
Her mother and record executive Clive Davis are generally “credited for her rise.” Her ex-husband, R&B singer Bobby Brown, is “frequently blamed for her fall.” Being surrounded by so many strong figures in her life “made it impossible to see how hard Whitney worked to become herself,” says Lordi.
Early in her career, Houston and her best friend, Robyn, who would become her lover, sometimes did drugs — without affecting her work. Houston remained energetic, soaring to new heights in her career, topping the charts in the 1980s and early 1990s, and making it all look easy. It seemed as though she was everywhere, dancing in heels and belting out songs with that amazing voice.
And yet, her success drew criticism from those who questioned her musical choices and her Blackness.
By the early part of this century, however, Houston was struggling. Substance abuse plagued her. She was “stressed out all the time,” refusing to fail but also ready to stop.
It’s called an earworm when a song rolls around and around without permission in the mind of the listener for days. And “Holding Lightning” will offer a similar experience for readers, remaining in their thoughts long after they’ve turned the book’s last page.
For Houston’s fans, her music will serve as a good companion to this book — and a needed one, since Lordi offers few new details about Houston’s life, aside from the occasional insight or surprising tidbit.
Still, Houston’s story is a classic tale of a rising star that’s doomed to fall, the stuff of movies that predictably march to a tragic end. That doesn’t make it any easier to read or even easy to look away, because Houston was everywhere when she was alive and she remains an influential presence in American pop culture to this day.
Although the book retells what has been covered before and the narrative can lag some, most readers will feel compelled to push through till the end out of loyalty and love for Houston. And be left with earworms and sadness.
