0:00:02 > 0:00:08This programme contains very strong language
0:00:23 > 0:00:26SIRENS BLARE
0:00:54 > 0:00:58People say Whitney died from an overdose of drugs.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01Whitney Houston was drugged out.
0:01:01 > 0:01:07I know Whitney Houston actually died from a broken heart.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10She died from a broken heart.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:01:25 > 0:01:28THEY CHEER
0:01:28 > 0:01:30Oh, it's like that, huh?
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Hallelujah. Thank you.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36I'm tired! Let's do this show.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Well, sir, I hear the people. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:01:39 > 0:01:41- Now, that's the crowd out there. - That's the crowd.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44I want you to go out there and do what I tell you.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47It's my prerogative.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49# It's my prerogative
0:01:49 > 0:01:51# It's my prerogative. #
0:01:51 > 0:01:53# She can do what she wants to do. #
0:01:54 > 0:01:57- Let's do it!- Yes!- Yes!
0:01:58 > 0:02:01CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:02:08 > 0:02:16# I hope life treats you kind
0:02:16 > 0:02:23# And I hope you have all you dreamed of
0:02:23 > 0:02:31# And I wish you joy and happiness
0:02:31 > 0:02:37# But above all this I wish you love
0:02:37 > 0:02:41# Sweet love
0:02:45 > 0:02:49# Love
0:02:51 > 0:02:54CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:03:12 > 0:03:17# And I
0:03:17 > 0:03:22# Will always love you
0:03:22 > 0:03:27# I will always love you
0:03:27 > 0:03:35# I will always love you
0:03:35 > 0:03:39# I will always
0:03:39 > 0:03:42# Always love you
0:03:42 > 0:03:50# I will always love you
0:03:52 > 0:03:59# I'll always love
0:04:02 > 0:04:26# You. #
0:04:36 > 0:04:40I'm sitting... I'm playing drums behind her, right?
0:04:40 > 0:04:41And I'm sitting and I'm watching her.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44And I'm watching the muscles in her back
0:04:44 > 0:04:46and everything just expand like that, you know?
0:04:46 > 0:04:51It was like a... She was like a doggone body-builder.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55And that's how she sang every night, every song.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59Whitney's voice, you know, unparalleled.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02I mean, she was ridiculous.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05It also cost her near the end of the tours.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07I mean, you could see the toll it took on her voice
0:05:07 > 0:05:11to have to do those performances night after night.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14She was totally brilliant.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Totally brilliant but...
0:05:16 > 0:05:21Everything came so naturally to her.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Whitney was created by God and Whitney's gift came from him.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30So the only one who could mess it up was her.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36There was a timbre, a sound to her voice that was just angelic.
0:05:38 > 0:05:44There were many, many times when Whitney's voice was just gone.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48By the time... You know, we would lower the key
0:05:48 > 0:05:51to songs and then lower it again and then maybe lower it again.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53But even then, you know, when it became time for her
0:05:53 > 0:05:55to hit those notes, she wasn't there because she wasn't
0:05:55 > 0:05:58taking care of herself.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02Whitney's voice broke barriers.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06We did not have Beyonces.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09And any African American female artist
0:06:09 > 0:06:12that can now be at the top of the pop chart,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17that absolutely was not going to happen before Whitney Houston.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19It had not happened before Whitney Houston.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23So she changed history for us
0:06:23 > 0:06:25and she paid a price for it.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32People may not know it but Whitney was from the 'hood.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39They wanted to present her as the princess.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42That's what white America was presented.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46They weren't presented with Newark, New Jersey, Whitney.
0:06:58 > 0:07:04I grew up in Newark, New Jersey, and in East Orange, New Jersey.
0:07:10 > 0:07:15I do know what it is to be black.
0:07:15 > 0:07:20I know what it's like to see my black community and people not being
0:07:20 > 0:07:23given the opportunity as others are given the opportunity.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40GOSPEL MUSIC PLAYS
0:07:40 > 0:07:43Whitney was very in touch with her spiritual...
0:07:43 > 0:07:47You know, with her thoughts about being spiritual
0:07:47 > 0:07:49and knowing where it came from - from my mother.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51You know, from growing up and going to church,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55you know, from reading the Bible, from singing gospel songs,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58from being affiliated with people who were in the church.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00You know, things of that nature.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04# Celebration
0:08:04 > 0:08:07# Jubilation
0:08:07 > 0:08:11# Celebration
0:08:11 > 0:08:14# Jubilation
0:08:14 > 0:08:16# When the Lord comes back
0:08:16 > 0:08:18# We'll be ready when he comes
0:08:18 > 0:08:22# When the Lord comes back
0:08:22 > 0:08:25# We're gonna have a great celebration. #
0:08:28 > 0:08:31The memories of singing in church are ones
0:08:31 > 0:08:33that I cherish the most.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35# If you just
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- # Have a little talk - A little talk
0:08:38 > 0:08:42# With Jesus... #
0:08:42 > 0:08:46THEY CONTINUE SINGING
0:08:55 > 0:08:57It wasn't worldly, it wasn't...
0:08:57 > 0:09:00It was fresh, it wasn't stale.
0:09:00 > 0:09:05Singing gospel was an energy, a passion.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10THEY CONTINUE SINGING
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I taught Whitney. Nobody else taught her.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25I taught her what she knew.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27She sang from her heart.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29She knew how.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31She learnt how. She learnt to craft well
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and that's very important.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37If you're going to sing, you have to know how to sing
0:09:37 > 0:09:40and most people sing...
0:09:40 > 0:09:43I guess they learn their way, but she learned the right way
0:09:43 > 0:09:45because that's what I taught her.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52She was spoiled. She was the baby.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55She was John's baby.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Nobody messed with her anyway, nobody did.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59They didn't have the heart to...
0:09:59 > 0:10:02They didn't have the heart to mess with Nippy.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07I think she was closer to her dad than her mother.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11She felt that love more from her dad.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14It could be, you know, she was the only girl...
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Cissy's no joke.
0:10:15 > 0:10:17Cissy is straight, stern.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20She didn't doubt that her mother loved her, but whether she could
0:10:20 > 0:10:26feel it the way she did with, like, her dad, I'm not sure.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Her mother made her decisions.
0:10:31 > 0:10:38Her mother, I feel, was instrumental in creating the enormous career.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43She guided her, she chose her people that were around her, she...
0:10:45 > 0:10:50She influenced Whitney in her voice and her training, and her choices.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Cissy was everything.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00We were the first black family up here.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03House has been painted, because it was white.
0:11:03 > 0:11:04No, they put whatsitsname on it.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09The tower, the little panelling, or whatever.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11It's amazing, it's amazing.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13So many memories.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I used to sneak into the house and climb into the window
0:11:16 > 0:11:17of Whitney's bedroom.
0:11:17 > 0:11:19She opened the window for me.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22"Daddy's going to whoop your ass!"
0:11:22 > 0:11:23My God.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30We were always, like I say, being together most of the time,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34and her following behind me, I taught her to drive, you know.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39We played together, you know, and everything that you do together
0:11:39 > 0:11:41as you're growing up, and then, when you get into drugs,
0:11:41 > 0:11:42you do that together, too.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47You know, like I say, at ten years old, I tried drugs.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I mean, you know, I was ten years old.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53I mean, I saw people that I looked up to using drugs,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and I saw them doing their best, being at their best.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02When Whitney and I met, we were in our teens, 18, 19.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05They did drugs! You know, it was the thing you do,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08you go out, you party, you drink, you do a little drugs,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11everybody did it, and her brothers gave it to her.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13It was just something you do to have fun.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22I mean, you know, my mother had a good, pretty good rein on me,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24you know what I'm saying? Erm...
0:12:24 > 0:12:28When you're raised in church, and in the background of
0:12:28 > 0:12:34God-fearing religions, you kind of - and it's instilled in you -
0:12:34 > 0:12:39there is a certain boundary that you don't cross.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41You know what I'm saying? Like, I could have got into
0:12:41 > 0:12:45a lot more trouble than I got into if I hadn't thought about,
0:12:45 > 0:12:46"My mother's going to kill me,"
0:12:46 > 0:12:49or, "My father and my mother are going to be so disappointed,"
0:12:49 > 0:12:51or, you know, "I know God is watching me".
0:12:54 > 0:12:58I've been working with Whitney for 18 years now, and I guess you
0:12:58 > 0:13:01can say that I've known her for 18 years, too.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05I have a friendship - that's our foundation.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09I knew her brothers, went to school with them,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11but never knew they had a sister.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15And she was pretty low-key, smart.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18She knows how to play, she's funny.
0:13:18 > 0:13:19She's funny.
0:13:19 > 0:13:25I didn't know... She was like this, she would come over, and my mom
0:13:25 > 0:13:28was real cool with it, and Whitney would hang out. And she would be
0:13:28 > 0:13:31on the cover of Seventeen, and wouldn't even tell anybody.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34Isn't that funny? My mother would have to go to the grocery store,
0:13:34 > 0:13:36come back, and say, "Robyn, you know so-and-so?"
0:13:36 > 0:13:40I would know that maybe she had a photoshoot some time ago,
0:13:40 > 0:13:43but Whitney wouldn't tell me anything.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45Isn't that strange?
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Young, and you would think she would be like, "Check me out!"
0:13:48 > 0:13:49Mm-mm.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51None of that.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I wonder if she was scared to, like, see it.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55I've never asked her that.
0:13:55 > 0:14:00But she would do strange things like that, she's...
0:14:00 > 0:14:02I would say that Whitney is sort of strange.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05- So are you going to...? - Last one.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10- And then... - You're looking quite spinny today.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15- VOICEOVER:- When I met them, I think Whitney had just moved into her very
0:14:15 > 0:14:18first apartment, and her and Robyn were sharing an apartment.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Robyn was older than Whitney, and I think people were picking on Whitney
0:14:23 > 0:14:27at school, and Robyn would, you know, step in to keep people
0:14:27 > 0:14:30from fighting her, and protect her from those people.
0:14:30 > 0:14:35So they, I guess, created a bond then, and then they just kept it.
0:14:35 > 0:14:41And then Robyn became instrumental in helping her make those decisions,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43with her career, and stuff like that.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I first met Whitney when I started to work at Arista Records.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02She was... She was a sweet kid at the time.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06She was very insecure, she was not that polished.
0:15:06 > 0:15:14I remember at a dinner in Washington DC, she made a joke about the amount
0:15:14 > 0:15:18of silverware, the amount of service placing at dinner,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21and how do you use it? And I remember telling her this trick,
0:15:21 > 0:15:23the way I learned the first time -
0:15:23 > 0:15:26you watch everybody else and just start from the outside.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28She was very naive, she was very insecure.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31She was always very concerned if people were going to like her,
0:15:31 > 0:15:32if people were going to accept her.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36And it's interesting, because it was never really about the talent.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40It was about how she looked, and how she presented herself.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43When Merv returns, Arista Records president Clive Davis
0:15:43 > 0:15:46introduces a great new singing talent.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50This girl is 19 years old, yeah, and rarely do you find...
0:15:50 > 0:15:52There was Lena Horne, there was Dionne Warwick, who is
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- certainly currently...- She's Dionne Warwick's cousin, isn't she?
0:15:56 > 0:15:59By coincidence, I have never even talked to Dionne about this.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01I mean this sincerely.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Clive was a master at pop music.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06He had a vision for a pop artist.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10He tried to do it with Dionne and Aretha,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14but they were far too established in their career as to who they were.
0:16:14 > 0:16:19And along comes Whitney, who was so mouldable,
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and she was the perfect vehicle for his foolproof vision.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26- She's got it. - She got it. Wait till you hear.
0:16:26 > 0:16:31# It's real, it's real to me
0:16:31 > 0:16:36# And I've learned that we must look inside
0:16:39 > 0:16:42# To find
0:16:42 > 0:16:46# Yeah, we gotta find
0:16:46 > 0:16:51# A world full of love
0:16:51 > 0:16:53# Like yours, like
0:16:53 > 0:16:59# Like mine,
0:16:59 > 0:17:06# Like home
0:17:06 > 0:17:11# Home. #
0:17:11 > 0:17:14APPLAUSE
0:17:14 > 0:17:18The company had this image in mind that they were going to create
0:17:18 > 0:17:22a pop icon, an artist that was accepted by the masses,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25translating to white America.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28How did you market Whitney for a white audience?
0:17:30 > 0:17:32Put the past behind them,
0:17:32 > 0:17:34and don't focus on it.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36And that's what we did.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43You know, it sounds trite and small and insignificant, but it's not.
0:17:43 > 0:17:48As you have said, this is a very racial country, and racism,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51especially on the part of a black person that's an artist
0:17:51 > 0:17:53or whatever they may be,
0:17:53 > 0:17:57normally, folks are looking for something in the background.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06The news about Whitney Houston is crackling through the music world,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07and the news is good.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10"She is a talent with tremendous potential" - The New York Times.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13"Whitney has the pedigree and the style to be a major vocalist,
0:18:13 > 0:18:14"there is no doubt about it.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16"Whitney Houston is going to be a star."
0:18:16 > 0:18:19She was who she was. She came from she came from.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23If you're from the 'hood, you're from the 'hood.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26There are certain things you do, there are certain things you like,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28you dance, you play, you...
0:18:28 > 0:18:31It is part of the culture you have,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34so we are going to take you out of that, present you to be another way
0:18:34 > 0:18:37to a mass audience, and you're going to play the part.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39And Whitney played that part great,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42because that was part of who she was. She WAS classy.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Her mother was Cissy Houston, her cousin was Dionne Warwick.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47But at the heart of it, she was still Nippy.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50My next guest is a rather spectacular 21-year-old singer,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53whose recent album - debut album, as a matter of fact -
0:18:53 > 0:18:57has received great reviews from the critics. She is the daughter of
0:18:57 > 0:19:00singer Cissy Houston, and cousin of Dionne Warwick.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Whitney Houston, cousin of Dionne Warwick
0:19:02 > 0:19:05and daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston...
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- Your aunt is... - My cousin is Dionne Warwick.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10- And your aunt is Thelma...- No, no, no, we're no relation at all.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Oh! And who was your father, Duke Ellington?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Her music was deliberately pop.
0:19:21 > 0:19:26Anything that was too black sounding was sent back to the studio,
0:19:26 > 0:19:30and to say "black sounding", in case you have a problem with that,
0:19:30 > 0:19:35it's to say that it's too George Clinton, it's too Funkadelic,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38it's just too R&B.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43We want Joni Mitchell, we want Mariah Carey,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46we want Barbra Streisand, we want to achieve that sound
0:19:46 > 0:19:50more so than we want to achieve the other R&B sounds.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52We don't want a female James Brown.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Hold cameras.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57OK, congratulations, first of all,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00on having the number one song in America.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03- Isn't that something? Thank you! - How does that feel?- It feels great.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06It feels really, really great, I must tell you.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I should explain to you, also, in the final product,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11I'm not going to exist, it will be just you.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14- Oh!- Yeah, too bad. - Oh, poor thing!
0:20:14 > 0:20:19- So, you need to make your answers fairly complete and...- Oh...
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Ideally about a minute long, but if you go longer, that's fine,
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- but just not really short, OK? - Oh, OK.
0:20:25 > 0:20:30Some of the criticisms of the album were that your voice was so good,
0:20:30 > 0:20:36it shouldn't be wasted on pop cliches and things like that.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Do you feel that way at all, or will that influence your next album?
0:20:39 > 0:20:41I doubt it.
0:20:41 > 0:20:42I doubt it.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46I did not go into the studio wanting to make a pop album.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I went into the studio wanting to make good music.
0:20:54 > 0:21:01# I found the greatest love of all
0:21:01 > 0:21:05# Inside of me
0:21:05 > 0:21:12# The greatest love of all
0:21:12 > 0:21:19# Is easy to achieve
0:21:19 > 0:21:25# Learning to love yourself
0:21:25 > 0:21:31# It is the greatest love of all
0:21:31 > 0:21:38# And if, by chance, that special place
0:21:38 > 0:21:46# That you've been dreaming of
0:21:46 > 0:21:51# Leads you to a lonely place
0:21:51 > 0:22:05# Find your strength in love. #
0:22:07 > 0:22:10APPLAUSE
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Clive Davis was right.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20In January of 1986, she collected five American Music Awards,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24and in February, she took top female vocalist honours at the Grammys.
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Whitney Houston!
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Greatest Love Of All, Whitney Houston.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston!
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Whitney Houston!
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Whitney Houston!
0:22:47 > 0:22:49CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:23:16 > 0:23:18All right.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22They told me...
0:23:22 > 0:23:25They told me to take as much time as I wanted.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27And they're asking for it now!
0:23:27 > 0:23:28APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:23:28 > 0:23:32Gosh. What can I say?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36I'd like to thank my mom and dad, for their love and support.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38I wouldn't have made it without you.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41My brothers, Michael and Gary.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43And Robyn.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Whitney and Robyn, they fought those battles together,
0:23:49 > 0:23:52from the beginning to a bona fide superstar.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57They were close, they were tight.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Robyn was my go-to person, I love Robyn.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Whitney was at the top of the charts,
0:24:06 > 0:24:10she had four or five, six, seven consecutive number one records.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12These were pop records, they were massive.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14She was everywhere.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20And to the black ear, these records didn't have a natural feel.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23These records were not natural R&B records.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29So for the black audience, the perspective was in the community,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31that Whitney had sold out.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Whitney had been nominated for either Record Of The Year
0:24:39 > 0:24:41or Female Vocalist Of The Year.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45When her picture came across the screen, there was this massive boo.
0:24:45 > 0:24:46BOOING
0:24:52 > 0:24:55And the winner is...
0:24:55 > 0:24:58It's not a good feeling. It is horrible, and it's kind of funny.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00You go, "Are they booing me?"
0:25:00 > 0:25:02You have to sit there and be, like, cordial, and be smiling,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05and be like, "Everything's OK," and you're feeling, like,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07"Oh, my God, they're not booing me, are they?"
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Sometimes, it gets down to - you're not black enough for them.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15You know, or you're not R&B enough.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18You're very pop, the white audience have taken you away from them.
0:25:21 > 0:25:26That moment of being booed on Soul Train was not only tough
0:25:26 > 0:25:30for Whitney, it was devastating.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33It was devastating. It was emotionally devastating.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36She, I don't think, ever recovered from it.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39It is one of those boxes that was checked,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42that when ultimately she perished,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45it was because of those boxes, and that was a big one.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Whitney insisted they crossed her back over to black music.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53I'm Your Baby Tonight was not a record that
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Clive Davis wanted to make, but she says,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59"I'm not making another record like you want, I'm going to do me now."
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Her favourite saying was, "Can I be me?"
0:26:11 > 0:26:14In fact, she would say it so much, that we had it sampled.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16"C-c-c-c-can I be me?"
0:26:17 > 0:26:21And that was the conundrum, like, "Damn it, I have made all this
0:26:21 > 0:26:26"money, and made all these people happy, and I still can't be me."
0:26:26 > 0:26:30Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so much!
0:26:31 > 0:26:34I love you, Mommy and Daddy, and my brothers, God bless you...
0:26:34 > 0:26:38When you create somebody, when you create something, at some point,
0:26:38 > 0:26:42that something realises, "This isn't me.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45"I have been created and I have been moulded into this,"
0:26:45 > 0:26:46and they break out of it.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51She came from such a controlling family situation.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56And she allowed that to happen, of course,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00because maybe of her upbringing, I don't know why, but...
0:27:01 > 0:27:05..after a certain point, I think that anybody, and it was clear
0:27:05 > 0:27:09in her case, that you can't take it much longer,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12and you break out, you fall apart, you crumble.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15You're like, "I can't take the pressure any more."
0:27:16 > 0:27:19- And who do you think was controlling her, mainly?- Oh, her mother.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24Her mother, clearly. I think that, you know,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Whitney had the career that her mother always wanted.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Her records never achieved any real major success,
0:27:30 > 0:27:33and here comes her daughter, and if you read in her book,
0:27:33 > 0:27:35she referenced in her book, Whitney stole all of her style.
0:27:38 > 0:27:46# I wanna say, happy birthday...
0:27:48 > 0:27:50# ..to my daddy
0:27:53 > 0:27:57# I love you, so happy birthday...
0:27:59 > 0:28:01# Happy birthday...
0:28:03 > 0:28:08# ..to you. #
0:28:08 > 0:28:11APPLAUSE
0:28:11 > 0:28:13You're surprised, aren't you?
0:28:15 > 0:28:19I just want to thank you for your love...
0:28:21 > 0:28:24..and for being the best daddy any girl could ever have.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30There was a deep, very complicated relationship with her father.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37One of the things about being rich is that your family is either
0:28:37 > 0:28:40dependent on you in one way or another, financially,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42or they actually work for you.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45And in this case, her father and mother worked for her,
0:28:45 > 0:28:48and so did her brothers, and her sister-in-law. And with Whitney,
0:28:48 > 0:28:52we saw just the weirdness of that relationship with her dad.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Because he was constantly trying to do what was right for her,
0:28:56 > 0:28:58you thought, but then there were times, you'd go,
0:28:58 > 0:29:00"I don't know if you are doing what is right for her,
0:29:00 > 0:29:05"as much as what is right for the career, but how about her?"
0:29:05 > 0:29:07# I love you so much, yes, I do.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12# Couldn't make it without you.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16# Hallelujah, I love you, Daddy. #
0:29:16 > 0:29:18APPLAUSE
0:29:18 > 0:29:20Thank you.
0:29:22 > 0:29:29After the second album, and this phenomenal success,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33folks didn't realise, they really didn't know a whole lot about her,
0:29:33 > 0:29:35intimately.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38Who she was hanging out with, who she was going out with,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41and, you know, who she was partying with.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Is there somebody that you're seeing?
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Yeah, I'm seeing someone, absolutely, sure.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Sure. I'm seeing you right now, with my own two eyes.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- Has he actually what?- Rung you up, since you've been over here?
0:30:00 > 0:30:02MOCKING ENGLISH ACCENT: Rung me up!
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Has he actually rung me up?
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Yes, he has actually rung me.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15He has rung me and I've rung him.
0:30:15 > 0:30:17I said I want to fuck her.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23He says you are great.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38You are the best of the best...
0:30:38 > 0:30:39- Thank you. - ..madame.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45A lot of what I have learned, a lot of what I know...
0:30:47 > 0:30:48..kind of takes the fun out of it.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52I enjoy doing what I do.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55I enjoy singing, I enjoy performing for people.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00You know, but there's a lot of it, about the business,
0:31:00 > 0:31:06and about what I do, that's not fun, that you're subjected to,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09and it's often not very fair.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17Then it started again, real intense in terms of questions.
0:31:17 > 0:31:22And, um, you know, I'd have people call from radio stations
0:31:22 > 0:31:25and be in a conversation with programme directors,
0:31:25 > 0:31:29and they'd say, "Hey, man, is Whitney gay?"
0:31:31 > 0:31:35I'd say, "Huh? Hell, no. What made you ask?"
0:31:35 > 0:31:39"Well, I've heard..." You know. And that was all over the place.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43Rumours had already started about her sexuality.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49When we travelled, Robyn was with us. Depending on who you were,
0:31:49 > 0:31:51you had to get through Robyn to get to Whitney.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58You have to understand the make-up of these guys who did promotion.
0:31:58 > 0:32:06700 music programme directors, that, uh, 99.9% heterosexual,
0:32:06 > 0:32:1099.9999999 homophobic.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18And the woman goes, "Oh, this woman is not a heterosexual."
0:32:19 > 0:32:21They had a field day with that.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24And heterosexual men always have a field day with that, anyway,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27because the first thing they say is that, you know,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29"Oh, she doesn't need me."
0:32:29 > 0:32:31HE LAUGHS CYNICALLY
0:32:31 > 0:32:32This wasn't her world.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35I mean, I brought her into this madness, and she goes, "What?
0:32:35 > 0:32:38"Why am I the target? What did I do?"
0:32:38 > 0:32:41I said, "You're my friend. What else do you want?
0:32:41 > 0:32:44"You play basketball. They think you're a man! I don't know!"
0:32:45 > 0:32:47She's a damn good basketball player.
0:32:47 > 0:32:49She can beat any guy there is. I love it!
0:32:49 > 0:32:52Because she plays basketball, people think she's a lesbian.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57She's a very tall, very broad woman. She's been my friend for years.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00I don't know, we just... stuck it out.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06This was her friend, that she'd had around her for, you know,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08since the beginning of her career,
0:33:08 > 0:33:12and all of a sudden I think she had people telling her what to do.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15Her mother was very much against it, Clive was very much against it.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19They said, "Was it cool to have a lesbian affair?"
0:33:19 > 0:33:21You know, today - I always think, if she were an artist today,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24she'd be fine, everything would be lovely.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26She'd probably still be here. But back then,
0:33:26 > 0:33:30it was this tremendous emphasis on being the perfect girl.
0:33:30 > 0:33:32It became quite a conflict. And it's interesting,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35because you have drugs, you have this family riddled with drugs,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38and yet the homosexuality is what you're going to focus on,
0:33:38 > 0:33:42when, you know, you would have had a better time probably trying to
0:33:42 > 0:33:44handle those drugs than you would have with that.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48But again, that religion, that fierce religion that I think
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Cissy had, that was very important to her,
0:33:50 > 0:33:53because it's people talking, it's the church talking.
0:33:53 > 0:33:56She's an elder in the church, she's a trustee in the church,
0:33:56 > 0:33:57and your daughter's a homosexual.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00And again, female homosexuality in the black community is
0:34:00 > 0:34:02absolutely never spoken about.
0:34:02 > 0:34:04I don't hear that at all. You never hear that.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08- Black men, yes. Black women, no. - Even now?- Even now.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14I've not got five minutes to eat!
0:34:14 > 0:34:15What?!
0:34:16 > 0:34:21They hate it. Hey, listen, I'm going onto a...
0:34:24 > 0:34:30Whitney didn't have a closeness and feel safe with many people.
0:34:30 > 0:34:36Robyn provided a safe place for her, Robyn loved her, cared for her,
0:34:36 > 0:34:42was a friend to her and didn't want to ever disappoint her.
0:34:42 > 0:34:48In that, Whitney found safety and solace.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50I don't think that she was gay.
0:34:50 > 0:34:54I think she was bisexual. If you loved her and she loved you,
0:34:54 > 0:34:58it's possible for her to get into a physical relationship,
0:34:58 > 0:35:02because Whitney loved to be held and she loved to be embraced,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06and she wanted to feel protected.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10Do you believe that Whitney and Robyn were in a gay relationship?
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I don't really know. I thought, you know...
0:35:13 > 0:35:19Would it have bothered you if your daughter Whitney was gay?
0:35:19 > 0:35:20Absolutely.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22- It would have bothered you? - Mm-hm.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27- So, were you happy when Bobby Brown came into the picture?- No.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29- You weren't happy about that? - Mm-mm.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31# ..strange relationships
0:35:31 > 0:35:34# That really gets me down
0:35:34 > 0:35:36# I see nothing wrong... #
0:35:36 > 0:35:38CHEERING
0:35:38 > 0:35:39# Right!
0:35:42 > 0:35:46# Everybody's talking now
0:35:48 > 0:35:49# I don't need... #
0:35:49 > 0:35:54And as you may be aware, the Soul Train Awards, where she was
0:35:54 > 0:35:57booed, was that not the night she met Bobby Brown,
0:35:57 > 0:35:59at the Soul Train Awards?
0:35:59 > 0:36:03So you're talking about a total 360 image reversal.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05This beautiful pop starlet
0:36:05 > 0:36:08is now with the bad boy of R&B, Bobby Brown.
0:36:13 > 0:36:14And the winner is...
0:36:14 > 0:36:16..Bobby Brown!
0:36:19 > 0:36:22I think I had won three awards that night,
0:36:22 > 0:36:26and all of a sudden someone's hitting me in the back of the head.
0:36:26 > 0:36:30And I turned around, and it was Whitney Houston.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32And they said I was crazy, huh?
0:36:32 > 0:36:35She was like, "Oh, was I hitting you? I'm sorry."
0:36:35 > 0:36:36And then she did it again.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39She was trying to get my attention, because I was fly.
0:36:39 > 0:36:41I knew it, she knew it. You know?
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Thank you. I'm outta here, baby.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45We found that we had a lot in common,
0:36:45 > 0:36:48and we started hanging out more and more.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53Bobby was street. Bobby was 'hood.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58Bobby was... Bobby had... As they say, Bobby had swag.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02Whitney didn't grow up in Long Island, she grew up in Newark.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07Bobby grew up in Boston, came from a similar culture.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10They just had a chemistry, for whatever reason,
0:37:10 > 0:37:11that worked for them.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13NO SOUND
0:37:28 > 0:37:33I met Bobby Brown in 1988, I believe.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36We had a birthday party at Whitney's new home.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38On the gate were three guys,
0:37:38 > 0:37:46one of whom was dressed in a floral turquoise short-trousers suit...
0:37:47 > 0:37:51..black loafers and white socks scrunched up round his ankles.
0:37:51 > 0:37:53And his hair was cut like this, at a diagonal.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Bobby, what brings you round these parts?
0:37:56 > 0:37:58Whitney, Whitney, Whitney.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Um, she invited me. I'm having a great time.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03I just want to say happy birthday, Whitney.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07You're doing great. I wish I could be like you one day.
0:38:07 > 0:38:12And as that evening went on...
0:38:12 > 0:38:14..she actually danced with him.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19Robyn didn't take it especially well.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22I think it adversely impacted on her relationship with Whitney.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30# Come home
0:38:31 > 0:38:34# Come home... #
0:38:34 > 0:38:35Mr Bobby Brown!
0:38:35 > 0:38:37# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
0:38:37 > 0:38:43# I-I-I-I-I-I-I I-I-I-I-I-I-I
0:38:43 > 0:38:45HE SCATS
0:39:12 > 0:39:13# Boom!
0:39:23 > 0:39:26# Yeah, hoo HE CONTINUES TO SCAT
0:39:26 > 0:39:27# Yeah, yeah, yeah!
0:39:28 > 0:39:31# Oh, baby!
0:39:31 > 0:39:34# Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
0:39:34 > 0:39:37# One more time
0:39:37 > 0:39:40# A-one more time
0:39:40 > 0:39:41# Whoa!
0:39:43 > 0:39:47# Here we go! Mr Brown!... #
0:39:47 > 0:39:49MUSIC STOPS The record is not over yet.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53MUSIC RESTARTS # Oh, yeah!
0:39:56 > 0:39:58# Bobby Brown!
0:40:05 > 0:40:07# Oh, yeah!
0:40:09 > 0:40:10# Oh, baby!
0:40:12 > 0:40:13# Oh, baby!
0:40:14 > 0:40:17# Yeah, yeah! Yeah!
0:40:17 > 0:40:19# Yeah! Yeah!
0:40:20 > 0:40:22# Yeah! Yeah!
0:40:22 > 0:40:24# Oh, yeah!
0:40:24 > 0:40:28# Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
0:40:28 > 0:40:30# Yeah! #
0:40:30 > 0:40:33He loved her as herself.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39She could come off that stage and not have to be the person that
0:40:39 > 0:40:43everybody in the world expected her to be or who they thought she was.
0:40:44 > 0:40:49He understood that part of her. He understood the pressures,
0:40:49 > 0:40:51because he was Bobby Brown, you know?
0:40:51 > 0:40:54He understood her pressures and he understood her pain.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59What do I think that Bobby and Whitney gave each other?
0:40:59 > 0:41:03Acceptance. Love.
0:41:03 > 0:41:05You know, because, again, they absolutely...
0:41:05 > 0:41:10she absolutely loved him. And they loved each other.
0:41:10 > 0:41:11But there was ACCEPTANCE.
0:41:13 > 0:41:15You know, for who they were.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20And that feeling of when you don't feel like you have to be
0:41:20 > 0:41:23anybody but yourself with somebody...
0:41:24 > 0:41:26..they had that.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Where are you at this point of your life?
0:41:28 > 0:41:30WHITNEY CHUCKLES
0:41:30 > 0:41:35Um, married with a baby. Happy.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38- Um, content. - Hm!- Yeah.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Yeah. You know, I've got a great career. I have no complaints.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43I am blessed.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45So, then, will you tell me about Bobby?
0:41:47 > 0:41:50Bobby...
0:41:50 > 0:41:54..was ready for the same things I was ready for.
0:41:54 > 0:42:01Commitment. Loyalty. Security. Trust. A good woman, a good man.
0:42:01 > 0:42:06They call him a womaniser. You know, that's pretty harsh, you know?
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Um, I don't think that my husband womanised anybody,
0:42:10 > 0:42:16because I know that if he wanted them, they definitely wanted him.
0:42:16 > 0:42:19You know? I don't think, you know, it was about womanising.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22I think boys will be boys, and they have their fun, and they play.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25When they really become smart and they find a good woman,
0:42:25 > 0:42:27they marry her.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29And that's what he did! SHE GIGGLES
0:42:30 > 0:42:33THEY SHOUT HAPPILY
0:42:41 > 0:42:44I think I'm a slave. I'm a slave. I'm a horse.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46I'm a horse.
0:42:57 > 0:43:00She's the most loving mother, um...
0:43:02 > 0:43:04..the craziest wife...
0:43:06 > 0:43:09..for me...
0:43:09 > 0:43:11..because I'm crazy myself, you know?
0:43:11 > 0:43:14I'm... Everybody knows me, you know?
0:43:14 > 0:43:16Knows OF me.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19But in order to deal with a person like me,
0:43:19 > 0:43:22she has to be the sweetest person in the world
0:43:22 > 0:43:27and also the meanest person in the world at times, because...
0:43:27 > 0:43:28..it's, like, I'm...
0:43:30 > 0:43:34..I'm Bobby Brown, I'm the original bad boy, they say.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38But I'm not as bad as everybody thinks I am, so...
0:43:38 > 0:43:41My wife, to me, is just like...
0:43:41 > 0:43:43She's just a joy to be around.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49Mm. I told you, I'd never seen nothing like it...
0:43:51 > 0:43:53..that bond.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57People could say what they want to say, but I lived in the house.
0:43:57 > 0:43:58You know what I'm saying?
0:43:59 > 0:44:02For years. So...
0:44:05 > 0:44:07And what were they like together?
0:44:07 > 0:44:12Hm! They were funny. I tell you, they used to do skits from movies.
0:44:14 > 0:44:18She'd be Tina Turner and he'd be Ike!
0:44:18 > 0:44:20HE COUGHS VIOLENTLY
0:44:20 > 0:44:22LAUGHTER
0:44:23 > 0:44:25Oh, no way!
0:44:43 > 0:44:44Hey, hey, hey.
0:44:44 > 0:44:46- Da-da-da! - LAUGHTER
0:44:53 > 0:44:55LAUGHTER
0:44:59 > 0:45:01So now, I got the cutter.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07That's what Tina DIDN'T do!
0:45:07 > 0:45:10LAUGHTER
0:45:25 > 0:45:27LAUGHTER
0:45:50 > 0:45:51Lovely!
0:46:01 > 0:46:03TV: GUNFIRE
0:46:14 > 0:46:17# Why, oh, why? #
0:46:17 > 0:46:18Yes!
0:46:20 > 0:46:22QUIET CONVERSATION
0:46:41 > 0:46:44SHOUTING
0:46:55 > 0:46:59How long did you work as bodyguard for Whitney?
0:46:59 > 0:47:03From April 1988 until October 1995.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06She knows that I looked after her with my life.
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Very few people commit like that.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12They didn't interview me for the job, I interviewed them.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15"Are these somebody I'm prepared to die for?"
0:47:15 > 0:47:16She was.
0:47:22 > 0:47:26That film encapsulated in two hours and ten minutes what had then been
0:47:26 > 0:47:32six years of our life together, absent two elements -
0:47:32 > 0:47:36I've never been shot at while with her and I've never made love to her.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38You take those two out of the film,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41it really becomes quite a boring two-and-a-half hours, yes?
0:47:41 > 0:47:44# If I...
0:47:45 > 0:47:49# ..should stay... #
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Kevin Costner had said to me, "When she sings that song, in the first
0:47:52 > 0:47:56"chorus I want it to be with no music."
0:47:56 > 0:47:59And I said, "Kevin, that's so stupid. No music?
0:47:59 > 0:48:02"Are you kidding me? We're trying to get on radio."
0:48:02 > 0:48:06And I'm standing there, and she goes, "# If I... #"
0:48:06 > 0:48:09And it was like, "Ohhh! My God, are you kidding me?
0:48:09 > 0:48:13"This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my life."
0:48:13 > 0:48:16And my demo did not include that. I had music right from the start.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19And from that second on, I knew that the only way that record
0:48:19 > 0:48:22could ever be that way was with that a cappella opening.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25It's just one of the most breathtaking things I've ever
0:48:25 > 0:48:29been part of. And it wasn't even my doing. It was Kevin Costner.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39The Bodyguard just exploded her popularity,
0:48:39 > 0:48:41so she was not prepared for that.
0:48:42 > 0:48:46Before she became really, really big after The Bodyguard,
0:48:46 > 0:48:50we would go to the mall and we'd just go shopping.
0:48:50 > 0:48:56And then we noticed people would stop and nobody would be moving.
0:48:56 > 0:48:58She had to realise, "I can't come out any more,"
0:48:58 > 0:49:00because you couldn't get from
0:49:00 > 0:49:04point A to point B without 20 people asking for her autograph or a photo.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15When it comes to the drugs, I don't think that she realised
0:49:15 > 0:49:19she had a problem until after The Bodyguard.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23It was no longer recreational.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28This was something that she was doing more out of necessity
0:49:28 > 0:49:30than just to have fun.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35How much has success changed you? How different are you?
0:49:38 > 0:49:39Probably...
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Probably a lot more paranoid! SHE LAUGHS
0:49:44 > 0:49:46I, um...
0:49:46 > 0:49:47Success...
0:49:49 > 0:49:52..doesn't change you, fame does.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Fame does.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58You get a whole world of people calling your name
0:49:58 > 0:50:00and you really don't know them.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02It's weird.
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Is there...Is there...Is there a misconception of the fact that,
0:50:07 > 0:50:10when we become famous, that we have these beautiful,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14perfect lives and that nothing is ever on a low?
0:50:14 > 0:50:16SHE SCOFFS It's a bad conception,
0:50:16 > 0:50:19because then people always think that you have to be this
0:50:19 > 0:50:22grand old person that's just happy about life and everything,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25because, what, we got money? Well, money doesn't make you happy.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28It never did. I mean, history will tell you that.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31And fame certainly doesn't make you happy. You know?
0:50:31 > 0:50:35People will tell you that who are famous. You know? Um...
0:50:35 > 0:50:37You got to find the happiness in yourself.
0:50:37 > 0:50:40You got to know who you are before you step into this business, because
0:50:40 > 0:50:43if you're trying to find it, you'll probably wind up being
0:50:43 > 0:50:47somebody else that you probably don't even like.
0:50:53 > 0:50:55Jesus!
0:51:03 > 0:51:05Watch your step.
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Her rise to fame just took the wind out of her.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17And those were the times when she turned to God,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19she turned to her faith.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22She said, "God, you're the only one who understands.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24"You're the only one who accepts me as I am."
0:51:29 > 0:51:31# Babe
0:51:31 > 0:51:32# If I could...
0:51:32 > 0:51:34# Oh! #
0:51:35 > 0:51:39I think maybe the greater of them, the greatest disappointment,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42was that she felt like she had let God down, too.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44She knew that her gift came from Him.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47She felt that she had let Him down with the way
0:51:47 > 0:51:51she had not taken care of her body, of her instrument.
0:51:51 > 0:51:53Are we out here?
0:51:53 > 0:51:55All right, we here. We here, we here.
0:51:57 > 0:51:59We're asking for a special,
0:51:59 > 0:52:02special blessing, that you bring it on down here...
0:52:02 > 0:52:07..that you go inside, Father God, because only you know what's inside.
0:52:07 > 0:52:08Only you know what's inside,
0:52:08 > 0:52:12only you know how to fix things that we can't even fix.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16We know there's power in the name of Jesus,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19we know that the blood of the lamb covers all
0:52:19 > 0:52:21and that it's a healing power,
0:52:21 > 0:52:24and we're asking that you do not pass us by.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26AUDIENCE CHEERS
0:52:50 > 0:52:54Can I take you someplace with me? Will you go there?
0:52:54 > 0:52:55MUSIC STARTS
0:52:57 > 0:52:59So, when we go to church, which is
0:52:59 > 0:53:01where I want to take you right now...
0:53:01 > 0:53:07..we get very excited, we get very happy, we may start to cry...
0:53:07 > 0:53:10..because we feel a joy like a river in our souls,
0:53:10 > 0:53:12and we just have to let it out...
0:53:12 > 0:53:14BACKING SINGERS CROON
0:53:14 > 0:53:17..and sing praises to the Almighty God, you know?
0:53:19 > 0:53:22# Ooh, Lord Oh, Lord
0:53:22 > 0:53:24# I love you
0:53:24 > 0:53:26# I do
0:53:26 > 0:53:28# I love you
0:53:28 > 0:53:31# I love you, I love you
0:53:31 > 0:53:34# I love you
0:53:34 > 0:53:41# I hasten to His mighty, mighty, mighty, mighty...
0:53:41 > 0:53:43# Going to praise Him
0:53:43 > 0:53:47# I hasten to I'll hasten to
0:53:47 > 0:53:51# Your love, yeah
0:53:51 > 0:53:55# I will know Yes, I will
0:53:56 > 0:53:58# Lord, I love you
0:53:58 > 0:54:01# You know, you know I do, Lord
0:54:01 > 0:54:05# I surely love you I can't do without you
0:54:05 > 0:54:11# I can't live, yeah, I can't live I can't live another day without you
0:54:11 > 0:54:13# I can't live without you, Father
0:54:13 > 0:54:18# No! No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
0:54:18 > 0:54:23# I cannot make it, I cannot make it
0:54:23 > 0:54:27# Without your love, without your peace, your joy
0:54:27 > 0:54:31# You give your joy unspeakable
0:54:32 > 0:54:35# You give your joy unspeakable
0:54:36 > 0:54:41# You give your joy You give your joy
0:54:41 > 0:54:45# Joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy
0:54:45 > 0:54:50# You give your joy You give your joy
0:54:50 > 0:54:54# Nobody, nobody can take it away... #
0:55:02 > 0:55:05There were moments when we and the audience were transformed
0:55:05 > 0:55:09by her voice, and that is a God thing, that's not a human thing.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12# Ooh, give it up for God... #
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Whitney knew that she had that gift.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18She could knock you over and sing a gospel riff, or whatever.
0:55:19 > 0:55:21But then she could just caress a note in such a way that said,
0:55:21 > 0:55:25"Oh, my God, is this...?"
0:55:25 > 0:55:26It's a God thing.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29# Ooh, Lord
0:55:29 > 0:55:31# Oh, Lord
0:55:31 > 0:55:34# Ooh, Saviour
0:55:34 > 0:55:36# Don't pass me by. #
0:55:36 > 0:55:38CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:55:45 > 0:55:51This is the home of the dancers, the background singers,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53the gentlemen we call the main corps to the band,
0:55:53 > 0:55:54the backing unit...
0:55:55 > 0:55:58- ..make-up... - Hello.
0:55:58 > 0:56:01- ..hair. - Hi!
0:56:01 > 0:56:02Robyn!
0:56:04 > 0:56:06- Robyn I want to get this photo of you...- OK.
0:56:11 > 0:56:17Robyn and Whitney were like twins. They were inseparable.
0:56:17 > 0:56:18They were inseparable.
0:56:18 > 0:56:23And everybody, again, knew the power that Robyn had.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26..in your respective places.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31Band and dancers up, up in the front here.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34Right here. Excuse us. On your knees.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37Whitney and Robyn had a bond.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39They had a bond,
0:56:39 > 0:56:45and Bobby Brown could never remove Robyn from the relationship.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49And that was part of his frustration, because he wanted
0:56:49 > 0:56:52Whitney Houston to love him as the man of the relationship...
0:56:54 > 0:57:00..and he wanted Whitney to remove Robyn from their relationship,
0:57:00 > 0:57:03and Whitney didn't want to do it,
0:57:03 > 0:57:07because Robyn cared for Whitney more than
0:57:07 > 0:57:09she probably would care for anybody.
0:57:30 > 0:57:36After a while, you get sleepy. You just go with the flow.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42- VOICEOVER:- I kinda know what Whitney wants to go on around her.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48And sometimes it's a little difficult to convey that to people.
0:57:48 > 0:57:50You have to just go and do it yourself.
0:57:51 > 0:57:56So most people would say I'm just about everywhere.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58One, two, three, go.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02- ALL:- # If we take this chance
0:58:02 > 0:58:05# Extend to each other romance
0:58:05 > 0:58:11# I hope it will be
0:58:11 > 0:58:14# The right thing... #
0:58:14 > 0:58:20See, slide, like... # If we take this chance
0:58:20 > 0:58:24# Extend to each other romance
0:58:24 > 0:58:26# I hope
0:58:26 > 0:58:28# It would be... #
0:58:28 > 0:58:32# You and you and you and you
0:58:32 > 0:58:34# Uh-huh
0:58:40 > 0:58:43SHE SINGS ALONG
0:58:46 > 0:58:48# If I told you that...
0:58:49 > 0:58:51# I know that we're just friends
0:58:51 > 0:58:57# But what if I decide to bring something in?
0:58:57 > 0:58:59# Oh, my, my, my, my, my
0:58:59 > 0:59:03# I hope it won't affect the trust we have
0:59:03 > 0:59:06# Because I don't want this to end... #
0:59:06 > 0:59:09Bobby Brown and Robyn Crawford together was
0:59:09 > 0:59:15the equivalent of fire and water, petrol and a short fuse.
0:59:15 > 0:59:17They hated each other.
0:59:17 > 0:59:19Yes. Simple.
0:59:19 > 0:59:23They would battle for her affection, they'd battle for her attention,
0:59:23 > 0:59:27mainly to identify with the hate they had for each other.
0:59:46 > 0:59:47Come here.
0:59:52 > 0:59:57There were numerous fights between Robyn and Bobby Brown.
0:59:57 > 0:59:59Serious fights.
0:59:59 > 1:00:06Bobby and Robyn had some physical altercations,
1:00:06 > 1:00:09and I think there were times when he wasn't always the winner!
1:00:09 > 1:00:12Yes! Yes.
1:00:15 > 1:00:18But then, Whitney would come in-between them and she'd...
1:00:20 > 1:00:23..you know, pour the oil on the troubled waters.
1:00:23 > 1:00:26# How will I know? #
1:00:26 > 1:00:28CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:00:34 > 1:00:39You know, I...I often have a conversation with my daughter...
1:00:41 > 1:00:45..one that I cherish so much, so I'm going to share it with you.
1:00:46 > 1:00:48I...
1:00:48 > 1:00:52Just so that I know that she knows the real deal...
1:00:53 > 1:00:56..I ask her...
1:00:56 > 1:00:58.."Who put the sun in the sky?"
1:01:01 > 1:01:04She says... # God did. #
1:01:13 > 1:01:15# If tomorrow is just we two
1:01:18 > 1:01:22# And I'm standing on the front line... #
1:01:22 > 1:01:24You look so pretty.
1:01:24 > 1:01:28# And the Lord asks me what I did with my life
1:01:28 > 1:01:34# I will say, "I spent it with you..." #
1:01:34 > 1:01:36Go ahead, I'm here.
1:01:36 > 1:01:39# My name is Bobby Kris And I just wanna say
1:01:39 > 1:01:44# Clap your hands Clap your hands... #
1:01:44 > 1:01:45Say it again.
1:01:45 > 1:01:48# My name is Bobbi Kris And I just wanna say
1:01:48 > 1:01:53# Clap your hands Clap your hands
1:01:53 > 1:01:55# Clap your hands... #
1:01:55 > 1:01:57Go reggae, go.
1:01:57 > 1:01:59# Clap your hands
1:01:59 > 1:02:02WHITNEY VOCALISES
1:02:05 > 1:02:08Come on, Kris! Come on.
1:02:08 > 1:02:10# Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump, jump
1:02:28 > 1:02:31# Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump
1:02:31 > 1:02:36# Clap your hands Clap your hands... #
1:02:38 > 1:02:40MUSIC STOPS
1:02:40 > 1:02:42I said the record is not over yet!
1:02:42 > 1:02:44AUDIENCE CHEERS
1:02:48 > 1:02:50You know, these days you have to stay up with your children,
1:02:50 > 1:02:52you have to be as hip as they are,
1:02:52 > 1:02:55and Bobbi Kris and I have a great relationship.
1:02:55 > 1:02:59We really do, and I'm very, very proud of that. I cherish it.
1:02:59 > 1:03:05And I am really, really dying to get home to see her little face,
1:03:05 > 1:03:08and she's dying for me to come home.
1:03:08 > 1:03:11You know? So that's a good feeling, you know,
1:03:11 > 1:03:14when she talks about me to her friends, "My mom's away."
1:03:14 > 1:03:18"My mom's coming back." "Look what my mom bought me. She sent me..."
1:03:18 > 1:03:21I send her dollies every now and then, you know,
1:03:21 > 1:03:23because she loves dolls. She loves to play with them.
1:03:23 > 1:03:28I try to talk to her at least three times a week,
1:03:28 > 1:03:30although it's very hard to talk.
1:03:30 > 1:03:34It's worse to talk sometimes than not to,
1:03:34 > 1:03:37because you feel that longing, you feel that passion,
1:03:37 > 1:03:41that love between a child and a mother, and it's very deep.
1:03:41 > 1:03:43It's very strong. Very strong.
1:03:44 > 1:03:48Um, when she had to leave... I had her out here the first half,
1:03:48 > 1:03:50before she went to school.
1:03:50 > 1:03:53That day that she had to leave, I thought that we would be strong,
1:03:53 > 1:03:56I thought I would be strong and I wouldn't cry,
1:03:56 > 1:04:00but I couldn't help it, and I just really broke down, and she did, too.
1:04:00 > 1:04:03And it made me feel really good -
1:04:03 > 1:04:06and I felt really bad because I knew I had to let her go -
1:04:06 > 1:04:09but it made me feel really good to know that she would miss me
1:04:09 > 1:04:11and love me as much as I missed and loved her.
1:04:13 > 1:04:17Sweet girl, she really was. She'd run up and down the corridor,
1:04:17 > 1:04:20in and out of everybody's rooms and that sort of thing. Yeah.
1:04:20 > 1:04:23I didn't think, "The writing's on the wall for this kid,"
1:04:23 > 1:04:24no, I did not,
1:04:24 > 1:04:27because you always think that with new life comes new hope
1:04:27 > 1:04:30and something would have twigged or clicked
1:04:30 > 1:04:32and it would have made it better for her.
1:04:32 > 1:04:35But as time went on, no.
1:04:37 > 1:04:40No. No chance for Bobbi Kristina.
1:04:45 > 1:04:50She came into the environment just when it started to get worse.
1:04:52 > 1:04:54And I'm convinced now...
1:04:55 > 1:04:59..that, had anyone read...
1:04:59 > 1:05:03..listened to and acted upon my reports...
1:05:05 > 1:05:08..she would now be alive...
1:05:08 > 1:05:10..as would her daughter.
1:05:12 > 1:05:15I submitted my report to the family members who
1:05:15 > 1:05:19were in charge of the business of Whitney Houston
1:05:19 > 1:05:23after a disastrous tour to Singapore.
1:05:23 > 1:05:27It's part of my duty not only to protect a principal
1:05:27 > 1:05:32from the outside elements, it's to protect them from themselves.
1:05:36 > 1:05:37She had nodules on her throat.
1:05:37 > 1:05:41It was being destroyed, presumably with the chemicals.
1:05:44 > 1:05:48Whitney overdosed while she was making the film Waiting To Exhale.
1:05:49 > 1:05:51That's when you've got a problem.
1:05:53 > 1:05:55Everybody was on drugs.
1:05:55 > 1:06:00It's a case of degrees, to what degree the individuals
1:06:00 > 1:06:02concerned were on drugs, that's all.
1:06:06 > 1:06:11I put it down on paper, and I got the telephone call and the meeting.
1:06:11 > 1:06:13"Thank you very much.
1:06:13 > 1:06:17"Miss Houston has decided she doesn't need anyone of your calibre
1:06:17 > 1:06:19"and experience again,
1:06:19 > 1:06:22"because she's not touring internationally in the future.
1:06:22 > 1:06:25"Should we need someone of your skills, we will call upon you."
1:06:25 > 1:06:29And that was the answer to the "do something to help her" report.
1:06:29 > 1:06:31PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOUT OUT
1:06:34 > 1:06:35We're five now!
1:06:38 > 1:06:41There was that level of inevitability about the end of this
1:06:41 > 1:06:46shortly after 1992. Bobby Brown came on the scene.
1:06:47 > 1:06:50Lots of drinking, lots of partying.
1:06:50 > 1:06:55Though by herself she would have done anything to remain
1:06:55 > 1:07:01nondescript, when in his presence it became a competition.
1:07:01 > 1:07:04- So, put that motherfucking camera on me.- That's right.
1:07:04 > 1:07:07- Here you go. - I'm the man.
1:07:07 > 1:07:10- Let me get that mic. - There you go.
1:07:11 > 1:07:15- Let us do this ourselves. Check it out, y'all. Yo, yo.- You just talk.
1:07:15 > 1:07:17Man, just talk.
1:07:17 > 1:07:21Can you tell me what tonight's all about and why everyone's here?
1:07:21 > 1:07:25"Why everyone's here"? Isn't it obvious? It's my birthday, dawg.
1:07:25 > 1:07:30- Check it out. It's my birthday. My wife gave me a party, right?- Yeah.
1:07:30 > 1:07:35And we just chilling, right? Yo, MTV. This is my birthday, dawg!
1:07:35 > 1:07:37It's my birthday, dawg! Boom!
1:07:41 > 1:07:46Whitney was getting high before Bobby ever came in the picture.
1:07:46 > 1:07:50I think they had a co-dependent relationship.
1:07:50 > 1:07:52Bobby didn't do drugs when he met Whitney,
1:07:52 > 1:07:54Whitney didn't really drink when she met Bobby.
1:07:54 > 1:07:57But they both had their thing - she had her drugs, he had his liquor -
1:07:57 > 1:08:00and when they came together they both started doing both,
1:08:00 > 1:08:01which was terrible.
1:08:07 > 1:08:09HE MOUTHS
1:08:19 > 1:08:23Bobby was notorious for sleeping with the girls on the tour.
1:08:23 > 1:08:28He was not really ready to take on the role of a husband.
1:08:28 > 1:08:30Remember, he was much younger than her.
1:08:31 > 1:08:35When Whitney got married, Whitney got married forever.
1:08:35 > 1:08:37That was her biggest downfall.
1:08:37 > 1:08:41The longer she stayed in it, the harder it was to get out.
1:08:41 > 1:08:46She didn't want to go against God and get a divorce, and then,
1:08:46 > 1:08:50once she had Bobbi Kristina, she wanted her to have her father,
1:08:50 > 1:08:54and even though he was not treating her right, I think
1:08:54 > 1:08:56she stayed for Bobbi Kristina.
1:09:26 > 1:09:28WHITNEY LAUGHS
1:09:42 > 1:09:46Bobby brought her down because he wanted to be up,
1:09:46 > 1:09:49and she brought herself down trying to be on his level.
1:09:49 > 1:09:52So it was this emotional sort of blackmail of, you know,
1:09:52 > 1:09:54"You're no better than me. You're not that big of a star.
1:09:54 > 1:09:57"You don't deserve all this. You're just lucky."
1:09:57 > 1:09:59Just things like that played tricks with her mind,
1:09:59 > 1:10:00because she had low self-esteem.
1:10:03 > 1:10:07She was so worried about her hair. She wore wigs and weaves,
1:10:07 > 1:10:10and her hair wouldn't grow and her nails wouldn't grow.
1:10:10 > 1:10:12This is this big superstar,
1:10:12 > 1:10:15and she never had that security that she sort of needed,
1:10:15 > 1:10:19she never had that inner belief that she was this amazing person.
1:10:19 > 1:10:21She was always sort of doubting herself.
1:10:21 > 1:10:26And I think Bobby contributed to that tremendously.
1:10:42 > 1:10:45Did Robyn try and keep Whitney off drugs?
1:10:45 > 1:10:48She did. She did.
1:10:48 > 1:10:52They had dozens of arguments...
1:10:53 > 1:10:55..over...
1:10:55 > 1:10:58..Whitney getting high.
1:11:07 > 1:11:13And something that started as simple as Whitney smoking weed...
1:11:15 > 1:11:19..turned into a monster...
1:11:19 > 1:11:25turned into something that Whitney lost control of.
1:11:25 > 1:11:31All of the people that had positions of power that could have
1:11:31 > 1:11:39steered her the right way was either not seeing what was happening or...
1:11:39 > 1:11:41..being a part of it.
1:11:43 > 1:11:47On page 128, you write about the first time you hear
1:11:47 > 1:11:51anything about Whitney using drugs.
1:11:51 > 1:11:58You say, "One afternoon in the late 1980s, Robyn came to visit me.
1:11:58 > 1:12:02"She told me that Nippy was using drugs, which was news to me."
1:12:02 > 1:12:05- She was telling on Nippy, actually, you know?- Mm-hm.
1:12:05 > 1:12:10- I guess I said... Well, I went to her.- You went to Nippy?- Mm-hm.
1:12:10 > 1:12:13- After the visit from Robyn.- Mm-hm. I saw her one time really high.
1:12:13 > 1:12:17- And I wanted to kill her. - Mm-hm...- I really did.
1:12:17 > 1:12:21But I held myself back and, I tell you, she said, "Mommy, Mommy..."
1:12:21 > 1:12:23And she was so sad and pitiful.
1:12:25 > 1:12:28One time, Whitney wasn't even talking to her mom.
1:12:32 > 1:12:35Nobody wanted to blame Whitney.
1:12:36 > 1:12:42But Cissy made it no secret. She wanted to beat Robyn onto something.
1:12:42 > 1:12:45She wanted to kick Robyn's ass.
1:12:45 > 1:12:50You know? Every opportunity she got, she wanted to do something to Robyn.
1:12:50 > 1:12:52Ridiculous!
1:12:56 > 1:13:00They needed to blame somebody. Before it was Bobby, it was Robyn.
1:13:00 > 1:13:04We blamed Robyn because Whitney don't want to talk to us.
1:13:04 > 1:13:06It's Robyn's fault. "No, it's YOUR fault."
1:13:11 > 1:13:14Did she shut off from it? Did she try and shut off from it?
1:13:14 > 1:13:17Did she refuse to answer phone calls from these people?
1:13:17 > 1:13:18Hell, yes, she did.
1:13:19 > 1:13:23For her own sanity, her own peace of mind.
1:13:24 > 1:13:28Would that kind of pressure being brought on her by others have
1:13:28 > 1:13:31driven her in a direction she otherwise may not have gone?
1:13:31 > 1:13:35Hell, yes, it did! Yes, it did.
1:13:35 > 1:13:38That's why there is not one person out there
1:13:38 > 1:13:42not responsible for the demise of that beautiful woman.
1:13:42 > 1:13:45MUSIC PLAYS, AUDIENCE CHEERS
1:14:41 > 1:14:42There was nothing I could do.
1:14:42 > 1:14:47And not being a family member or someone
1:14:47 > 1:14:51high enough in the food chain, I had no say-so.
1:14:51 > 1:14:56I could only talk to her in those moments when we were doing hair,
1:14:56 > 1:14:59and I could just tell her, "Whitney, you're killing yourself.
1:14:59 > 1:15:03"You're going to die. You have to stop."
1:15:05 > 1:15:07I also spoke to other people in her camp.
1:15:07 > 1:15:11"Maybe she needs to just stop for a while, she needs to go to rehab..."
1:15:11 > 1:15:16But when you making money for people, you paying their rent,
1:15:16 > 1:15:17they don't want you to stop.
1:15:17 > 1:15:18CHEERING CONTINUES
1:15:18 > 1:15:23Nippy, who made you cry out there? Who made you cry out there?
1:15:23 > 1:15:25Them.
1:15:27 > 1:15:32People forget that they're human beings, and she felt deeply.
1:15:34 > 1:15:38That's how she could bring what she did to songs,
1:15:38 > 1:15:40that's how she could make every song her own.
1:15:51 > 1:15:53How many times did you change?
1:15:57 > 1:15:59MUSIC PLAYS, AUDIENCE CLAP ALONG
1:16:09 > 1:16:15She would have to pull and sing from every place in her, and
1:16:15 > 1:16:17then to couple that with the emotion,
1:16:17 > 1:16:19that takes all of your body.
1:16:20 > 1:16:24Who does that at the level that Whitney Houston did it?
1:16:24 > 1:16:28I haven't seen anybody do it. Not in my lifetime.
1:16:28 > 1:16:30There will always only be one Whitney Houston,
1:16:30 > 1:16:33and to watch the world...
1:16:33 > 1:16:38..receive from her and appreciate her, there aren't words for that.
1:16:40 > 1:16:44And all you can say is, "Drug addict"? Come on. Please!
1:16:44 > 1:16:49# When the tears are clouding up your eyes
1:16:51 > 1:16:55# Just remember it was you, you, you, you, you, you
1:16:55 > 1:16:58# Who said goodbye
1:16:59 > 1:17:01# Who said goodbye
1:17:01 > 1:17:11# You said goodbye
1:17:11 > 1:17:16# I learned from the best I learned from the best
1:17:17 > 1:17:22# I learned from the best Oh! #
1:17:23 > 1:17:26- All right, OK. You got it. You got it.- Whitney...
1:18:03 > 1:18:06MUSIC PLAYS
1:18:26 > 1:18:29- No, we're not leaving! We're not leaving!- Wait! We're not leaving.
1:18:29 > 1:18:31- We're not leaving. - We're not leaving.
1:18:31 > 1:18:33That's right, we're not leaving.
1:18:33 > 1:18:37Get the cars organised. We're not leaving, but get the cars.
1:18:39 > 1:18:42- DAVID ROBERTS:- It was from one disaster to another disaster.
1:18:44 > 1:18:46There was no order from chaos.
1:18:47 > 1:18:50I can't remember there ever...
1:18:51 > 1:18:58..being a good moment between Robyn and Bobby Brown.
1:19:00 > 1:19:02In my opinion, there came a time
1:19:02 > 1:19:08when even Whitney couldn't tolerate it any more, and Robyn finally left.
1:19:48 > 1:19:50Robyn totally disappeared. I'm assuming they paid her off.
1:19:50 > 1:19:53I don't know. But she just disappeared.
1:19:53 > 1:19:56I never saw her again. And she was everywhere with her before.
1:20:00 > 1:20:03I think they prevented it. I think it was sort of understood
1:20:03 > 1:20:04that they could not connect again.
1:20:04 > 1:20:07It had to be Bobby and Whitney in this family unit.
1:20:09 > 1:20:12I will always say that was the downfall of Whitney.
1:20:12 > 1:20:16Robyn was the person who was keeping her together.
1:20:16 > 1:20:18And I think that's why the drugs became so important to her.
1:20:18 > 1:20:21That was the crutch that she used to get through that.
1:20:23 > 1:20:26The drugs sent her spiralling.
1:20:27 > 1:20:30This is the 72nd annual Academy Awards!
1:20:30 > 1:20:32CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
1:20:37 > 1:20:40We did the rehearsal Friday night.
1:20:40 > 1:20:42She sings the first 12 bars of, um...
1:20:44 > 1:20:46..Somewhere Over The Rainbow...
1:20:48 > 1:20:51..and she's singing her own notes, basically,
1:20:51 > 1:20:53or changing the melody substantially.
1:20:55 > 1:20:58Then a couple of other things just went wrong,
1:20:58 > 1:21:03she came in on the wrong song, and so it just was like a train wreck.
1:21:03 > 1:21:06It was kinda startling.
1:21:07 > 1:21:10It was so dangerous. This is live television.
1:21:10 > 1:21:14And there was no salvation on something like that.
1:21:14 > 1:21:17If she sang the wrong song, nobody would know what to do -
1:21:17 > 1:21:19even Ray Charles wouldn't know how to cover that -
1:21:19 > 1:21:23and how we would jump around, and we'd be scrambling.
1:21:23 > 1:21:26So, you know, the right decision was made.
1:21:26 > 1:21:30Of course, that's a very difficult thing to do at that hour of
1:21:30 > 1:21:35the night, at midnight on a Friday night and the show goes on Sunday,
1:21:35 > 1:21:36to replace her.
1:21:36 > 1:21:39CHEERING
1:21:39 > 1:21:41# If you can't feed your baby... #
1:21:41 > 1:21:46That Michael Jackson concert, when she was emaciated,
1:21:46 > 1:21:50I remember walking in that day. They called me to do her hair.
1:21:50 > 1:21:52And I could not believe what I was seeing.
1:21:52 > 1:21:56And I could hear people saying, "You look fabulous."
1:21:56 > 1:21:58And I'm saying, "No, she doesn't."
1:21:58 > 1:22:00And I take Whitney in the bathroom...
1:22:00 > 1:22:04..and I close the door and I pull her shirt up in the mirror,
1:22:04 > 1:22:08and I say, "Look, you're dying." And she started crying.
1:22:08 > 1:22:10She's like, "I know. I don't know what to do."
1:22:12 > 1:22:16Is it alcohol? Is it marijuana?
1:22:16 > 1:22:18Is it cocaine? Is it pills?
1:22:20 > 1:22:23It has been, at times.
1:22:23 > 1:22:24All?
1:22:24 > 1:22:25At times.
1:22:27 > 1:22:29If you had to name the devil, for you,
1:22:29 > 1:22:31the biggest devil among them...?
1:22:34 > 1:22:36That would be me.
1:22:38 > 1:22:42And then, last September, the biggest blow of all.
1:22:42 > 1:22:45Houston's father, who managed his daughter's finances, joined
1:22:45 > 1:22:50his business partner in a lawsuit against her, demanding 100 million.
1:22:50 > 1:22:52I'm tired of being hurt.
1:22:55 > 1:22:57I'm tired of being...
1:22:57 > 1:22:59..in a neglected state.
1:22:59 > 1:23:01You get your act together, honey...
1:23:02 > 1:23:04..and you pay me the money that you owe me.
1:23:04 > 1:23:06My father is...
1:23:08 > 1:23:11..81, very sick.
1:23:12 > 1:23:15His health is failing.
1:23:15 > 1:23:17The bad part about it is that it's about money.
1:23:18 > 1:23:20And that really sucks.
1:23:21 > 1:23:24That hurts more than anything.
1:23:24 > 1:23:27And when you think it's the dad who dressed you
1:23:27 > 1:23:29and walked you down the aisle...
1:23:31 > 1:23:32What are you thinking?
1:23:35 > 1:23:37That moment.
1:23:42 > 1:23:45- Can we stop, please? - Sure.
1:23:45 > 1:23:47- Thanks. I'll be back. - Sure.
1:23:50 > 1:23:57I think the biggest change in her came when her dad disappointed her.
1:24:00 > 1:24:03She was closer to her dad than her mother.
1:24:05 > 1:24:09She was secure in the fact that, "Daddy got my back,
1:24:09 > 1:24:11"Daddy's going to take care of me, he's going to protect me."
1:24:11 > 1:24:15And when that trust was broken for her, I think
1:24:15 > 1:24:19it broke something inside of her that she could never repair.
1:24:28 > 1:24:31She disappeared for a while. I remember I went to ask people,
1:24:31 > 1:24:32"Where's Whitney?"
1:24:32 > 1:24:34Particularly after the show, which was hard,
1:24:34 > 1:24:36she got out of town for a while.
1:24:37 > 1:24:41I heard that she'd moved to Atlanta, and that provided a whole
1:24:41 > 1:24:45other area of, you know, sort of, I guess, a little bit more freedom.
1:24:45 > 1:24:51It's a very fun place, and I think there's less spotlight on you there,
1:24:51 > 1:24:53because she was away from her mother, as well.
1:25:29 > 1:25:31I'm taking water.
1:25:48 > 1:25:51She wanted to be normal.
1:25:51 > 1:25:55Many nights, she'd lay in her bed and cry, cry, cry.
1:25:57 > 1:25:59She missed her dad.
1:26:00 > 1:26:02She loved Bobbi girl so much.
1:26:04 > 1:26:05That was her life.
1:26:10 > 1:26:13- We used to slide down that banister. - SHE LAUGHS
1:26:13 > 1:26:16Me and Whitney used to slide down here!
1:26:16 > 1:26:17That's probably why... Yeah.
1:26:21 > 1:26:27Remember when I told you that Cissy came to the house for her rehab?
1:26:27 > 1:26:29You see that balcony?
1:26:29 > 1:26:34When I was backing up here with the girls in the car,
1:26:34 > 1:26:37they was like, "No, wait, wait! Look!"
1:26:37 > 1:26:39- She had one leg over. - INTERVIEWER:- Over the balcony?
1:26:39 > 1:26:42She said, "If you don't come back, I'm going to jump."
1:26:42 > 1:26:44What could I do? I had to go back.
1:26:46 > 1:26:49Then she jumped out the back window!
1:26:50 > 1:26:52Crazy.
1:26:53 > 1:26:55She was an addict.
1:26:57 > 1:26:59It was an everyday thing.
1:26:59 > 1:27:03I would do my work, but it was, like, after I did the work,
1:27:03 > 1:27:08like, for a whole year or two, it was every day.
1:27:09 > 1:27:12I was still reading my Bible, amazingly enough.
1:27:12 > 1:27:14I would still read my Bible.
1:27:14 > 1:27:15I still had it in me, I knew God was there
1:27:15 > 1:27:19and I knew a light was there, and I was just trying to get back to it.
1:27:19 > 1:27:24I was definitely not happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.
1:27:24 > 1:27:26My mom came and got me twice.
1:27:26 > 1:27:29When it gets to the point where you're sitting in your home
1:27:29 > 1:27:34and you're just trying to cover what you don't want people to know,
1:27:34 > 1:27:36it's painful.
1:27:36 > 1:27:39And then you want more, just so that you don't
1:27:39 > 1:27:41let anybody see you cry.
1:27:41 > 1:27:45You don't want anybody to see that, you know, we're unhappy.
1:27:46 > 1:27:50Whitney said to me her heart was broken.
1:27:53 > 1:27:56She was broken-hearted, you know?
1:27:56 > 1:28:02This was my friend, my sister. She was so loving and generous.
1:28:02 > 1:28:07Why isn't anybody out there rallying for that with the same
1:28:07 > 1:28:11fervour of attack and criticism against her?
1:28:11 > 1:28:16Where is the great appreciation for her contribution to the world?
1:28:17 > 1:28:22Whitney talked about how it was very, very painful for her.
1:28:25 > 1:28:29She was bad at that time, but she wanted help. She wanted help.
1:28:29 > 1:28:32But she didn't want to be in some rich,
1:28:32 > 1:28:35extravagant treatment facility.
1:28:35 > 1:28:38She wanted to be home, she wanted her daughter with her.
1:28:40 > 1:28:44All she wanted to do was be married and raise Krissie and, you know,
1:28:44 > 1:28:48be in love and be happy and give her daughter what she wanted.
1:28:48 > 1:28:49And she wanted to be normal.
1:28:49 > 1:28:54She really didn't care about the fancy clothes, the fancy cars
1:28:54 > 1:28:57and stuff like that. She just wanted to be normal.
1:28:57 > 1:28:59# It's time to make that change
1:28:59 > 1:29:01# People of the world today are failing
1:29:01 > 1:29:03# It's all about ups and downs
1:29:03 > 1:29:06# You're gonna take a fire and you won't be around
1:29:06 > 1:29:08# All we need is a little bit of love
1:29:08 > 1:29:10# Sent by God from Heaven up above. #
1:29:10 > 1:29:12She would say to me,
1:29:12 > 1:29:17"I want to get out of drugs and I want to be a mother to my daughter.
1:29:18 > 1:29:21"I want to take care of my daughter."
1:30:25 > 1:30:30Ready to go work out? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
1:30:30 > 1:30:32THEY LAUGH
1:30:34 > 1:30:35Come on.
1:30:35 > 1:30:42In the beginning, Bobby was very supportive with Whitney being clean.
1:30:42 > 1:30:45But the third month that we were together, he had
1:30:45 > 1:30:53said that, "This stuff that my wife is doing clean is disturbing to me."
1:30:54 > 1:30:56She started saying no.
1:30:56 > 1:31:00She started taking cars, she started taking houses.
1:31:00 > 1:31:01Why are you looking at me like that?
1:31:01 > 1:31:04THEY LAUGH Your father's a nut.
1:31:04 > 1:31:06So I became the enemy, with Bobby...
1:31:10 > 1:31:11Tell me why!
1:31:11 > 1:31:15..because she said, "I always got to be the ballerina on the stage,
1:31:15 > 1:31:22"singing, pulling in the money to take care of everybody else.
1:31:22 > 1:31:28"And everybody else is working for me. So where do I find time for me?"
1:31:28 > 1:31:32# Need you desperately
1:31:35 > 1:31:40# Can you please tell me
1:31:40 > 1:31:45- # Oh - Where do broken hearts go?
1:31:45 > 1:31:48# Can they find their way home
1:31:49 > 1:31:56# Back to the open arms of a love that's waiting there, Lord?
1:31:56 > 1:32:01- # If somebody loves you - If they love you
1:32:01 > 1:32:04# Won't they always love you?
1:32:04 > 1:32:08- # I look in your eyes - I look in your eyes... #
1:32:08 > 1:32:13At the end, like any other man, you know,
1:32:13 > 1:32:20I guess he started dating, messing around with somebody else,
1:32:20 > 1:32:22which was painful for Whitney.
1:32:26 > 1:32:29He was my drug. I didn't do anything without him.
1:32:29 > 1:32:32I wasn't going out by myself. It was with him.
1:32:32 > 1:32:36We were partners. And that's what my "I" was - him,
1:32:36 > 1:32:39he and I being together. And whatever we did, we did together.
1:32:39 > 1:32:41No matter what, we did it together.
1:32:43 > 1:32:47# No matter how I try
1:32:47 > 1:32:49# You're always... #
1:32:49 > 1:32:52Bobby getting into another relationship was real
1:32:52 > 1:32:54painful for her.
1:32:57 > 1:33:01So I think that's why she reverted back to drugs...
1:33:04 > 1:33:07..because when you're using, you don't care about nothing.
1:33:07 > 1:33:09Especially crack.
1:33:12 > 1:33:16I have to say, for ten years or so
1:33:16 > 1:33:20I started waiting for the phone call that we all finally got...
1:33:22 > 1:33:25..that she had passed.
1:33:31 > 1:33:33When I opened the door...
1:33:35 > 1:33:37..it was dark.
1:33:37 > 1:33:39But...
1:33:41 > 1:33:43..she wasn't in the bed.
1:33:51 > 1:33:53- SHE SIGHS - She wasn't in the bed.
1:33:58 > 1:34:00SHE SIGHS
1:34:02 > 1:34:04So...
1:34:08 > 1:34:10..I walked into the bathroom.
1:34:14 > 1:34:17My baby was in the tub.
1:34:26 > 1:34:28- SIREN WAILS - Go, go, go, go, go!
1:34:55 > 1:34:59This is Camera 4 there tonight with Whitney Houston's family,
1:34:59 > 1:35:02including her mother and daughter.
1:35:02 > 1:35:04VOICE FADES OUT
1:36:11 > 1:36:12Oh, God!
1:36:12 > 1:36:15How would I like to be remembered?
1:36:15 > 1:36:18It probably doesn't even matter anyway, because they're
1:36:18 > 1:36:20going to remember me how they want to remember me anyway!
1:36:20 > 1:36:23They're going to write books, write this, write that,
1:36:23 > 1:36:25and everybody's going to have their own idea.
1:36:25 > 1:36:28I don't know, I just think I want people just to remember me
1:36:28 > 1:36:29just being a real nice person!
1:36:31 > 1:36:33You know? Somebody who cared, you know?
1:36:33 > 1:36:38Somebody who tried to do, you know, everybody righteously, you know?
1:36:38 > 1:36:41I don't want to go down for being a hag!
1:36:43 > 1:36:45- You know? - I don't think you will.
1:36:45 > 1:36:49- Don't worry about it.- Yeah.- OK, so that's it for me.- OK.- Finished.
1:36:49 > 1:36:51Great. Nice talking to you.
1:36:51 > 1:36:55# Whatever you want
1:36:55 > 1:36:58# Whatever you need
1:36:58 > 1:37:00# Oh, baby
1:37:00 > 1:37:03# Anything you want done, baby
1:37:03 > 1:37:07# I will do it naturally
1:37:07 > 1:37:13- # Cos I'm every woman - Every woman
1:37:13 > 1:37:17# It's all in me
1:37:20 > 1:37:30# It's all in me
1:37:30 > 1:37:31# Oh!... #
1:37:31 > 1:37:35Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
1:37:35 > 1:37:38- # Anything you want - Anything
1:37:38 > 1:37:41# Anything you want, anything
1:37:41 > 1:37:43# Oh, yeah! #
1:38:01 > 1:38:03NO SOUND