Singer Whitney Houston Dead at 48

What a waste of a great voice:

Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

Reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, Edward Lawrence said she was found on the 4th floor of the Beverly Hilton. He said paramedics tried to revive her but she was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m.

Houston was set to attend Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy party.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world’s best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

I know a kid on the Beverly Hills Fire Department. I wonder if he ran on this call?

One bit of Houston trivia I learned just last December was that her Christmas album, which included a lot of songs that have become annual standards, wasn't released until 2005, some 20 years after she hit her peak. She still had it on that album, though other singing efforts lately have suffered various degrees of trouble.

The Grammy's are tomorrow, a venue in which she shined at her peak. Sad deal.  I understand that a tribute is being hastily put together featuring Jennifer Hudson.

UPDATE:  Beverly Hills PD give some details:

At approximately 3:43 p.m. the Beverly Hills Police Department received a 911 call to respond to the Beverly Hilton hotel regarding a medical emergency. Police and fire personnel were immediately dispatched. Fire Department personnel were already on scene at the hotel due a pre-Grammy event taking place later this evening.

Fire Department personnel, accompanied by hotel security, responded to the hotel room occupied by entertainer Whitney Houston. Upon arrival, first responders discovered Whitney Houston unresponsive. They initiated CPR, but were unable to revive her. At approximately 3:55 pm. Whitney Houston, age 48, was pronounced dead at the scene. Whitney Houston was positively identified at the scene by members of her entourage, which included friends, co-workers and family. Ms. Houston’s daughter and mother were notified of her death.