A Moment in Time for Whitney

I heard the news of Whitney Houston's death the way I hear about most happenings in pop culture - over Twitter.

A few of my favorites:

@RonnieButler: There comes a point when we exhale. Rest in peace Whitney Houston. #whitneyhouston

@foodjunk: Somewhere Whitney Houston is playing baseball in a corn field with Shoeless Joe Jackson.

She was only forty-eight years old. Such a tragic end for one of the greatest talents of our time.

The tributes and retrospectives abound online, so I'll just add this - among all the amazing singles and videos and live performances, one that will always live in my memory is her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before Super Bowl XXV.



It was 1991 and I was a metal-mouthed high schooler with a wealth of emotional hang-ups who sought solace in music. Whitney was my drug.

Her performance was exquisitely beautiful in every way. Seeing her sing the national anthem so effortlessly with her own Whitney-style brought me to my feet. Her version did what that song is meant to do - inspire pride and rally patriotic spirit. My band director pointed out later that she had changed the time signature from 3/4 time to 4/4 time, which was just further proof to me she was a musical genius.

No other pre-game national anthem performance will ever come close. Love you, Whitney. Rest in peace.