Another day, another story about addiction and a popular figure in the music industry. Like some of the others, this story ends sadly.
Whitney Houston had a big voice. Reared in the gospel world, she had performed in her mom’s church since she was a child. Her mother Cissy Houston was a gospel star and a choir minister, she was the cousin of famous singer of Dionne Warwick, and she was the goddaughter of another famous singer, Aretha Franklin. One can say that gospel music was in her blood.
As you know, Houston did quite well in secular (nonreligious) music as well. How well? Well, between 1985 and 1992, her first four albums sold more than 86 million copies around the world. Her version of the Dolly Parton song “I Will Always Love You” spent fourteen weeks at number one on the music charts. The song appeared in the movie The Bodyguard, a 1992 movie in which Houston also starred.
Also in 1992, Houston married another singer, Bobby Brown. Their marriage was a rocky one, and both Houston and Brown struggled with substance use disorder during the course of the relationship. There were allegations that this abuse led to domestic violence. The couple also had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, and divorced in 2007.
Substance use disorder could have fueled the couple’s erratic behavior. In 2002, Houston proclaimed that “Crack is whack” and said that she didn’t use crack cocaine because it was so cheap. She made these statements during a famous (or is it infamous?) interview with Diane Sawyer. In 2005, the Bravo network began broadcasting Being Bobby Brown, a reality television series that featured the couple.
The series depicted Houston and Brown’s complicated, dysfunctional marriage. It also seemed to depict Houston and Brown under the influence of drugs.
When Houston and Brown’s marriage ended, Houston’s drug abuse didn’t. She drowned in 2012. Heart disease and cocaine contributed to her death.
Houston and Brown’s marriage illustrates how substance use disorder can be toxic to relationships. It illustrates how finding supportive people who don’t abuse substances can mean all the difference to your sobriety. It can make a life or death difference.
