On the eve of the 54th annual Grammy Awards. The world bid adieu to one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth: Whitney Houston. The superstar singer was found dead in a hotel room and early reports speculate that she drowned in the tub after taking a lethal mixture of Xanax and alcohol. Another life is claimed by legal drugs.

Like Amy Winehouse, who died at 27, and even Michael Jackson, who made it to 58, Whitney was a shooting star whose light shone so bright that she didn’t need to stay long. This must be an unbearably painful time for her family and loved ones, but as a fan of the artist I can only say thank you Whitney for giving us the enormous gift of your music. Enjoy the respite from the hectic world!

Watch Whitney Houston let that amazing voice fly in some of her greatest live performances in the playlist below.

photos: olli87.tumblr.com, whitneyhouston.com, whitney-houston-fans.blogspot.com
illustration: Joe Osei Bonsu

Many people know Etta James for her the hit cover she did of Glenn Miller’s “At Last” in 1960. The woman, however, has a catalogue and a talent that’s much broader that that one song and today we pay tribute to her with the following playlist. It includes my favorite Etta James song “Tell Mama” & an amazing cover of Guns-n-Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” from her 2011 release, Dreams.

James was hospitalized in January 2010 to treat an infection caused by MRSA. During her hospitalization, her son Donto revealed that James had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2008, and attributed her previous comments about Beyoncé Knowles to “drug induced dementia”.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2011. The illness became terminal and she died on January 20, 2012, just five days before her 74th birthday, at Riverside Community Hospital in Riverside, California.

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photo: vibevixen.com

Incredibly, it’s been a year since the greatest entertainer of all time left this Earth & those of us that are die-hard fans are still reeling from the loss. It was selfish of us to want to keep him here, to be poked at, prodded, and ridiculed by the same public that raise him to his pedestal. Thankfully, he left a legacy that will ring on into eternity. And Michael Jackson left us more than music. He was a fashion visionary that was always dressed and never costume, but rather stayed true to that singular and stellar rhythm that beat in him and through him. We love you, Michael!

Who’s Bad? by eighty jane featuring Alexander McQueen

Jamon! by eighty jane featuring Old Navy t shirts

Annie, Are You O.K.? by eighty jane featuring Dries Van Noten shoes

Smooth. by eighty jane featuring Marc by Marc Jacobs shoes

Human Nature by eighty jane featuring Marc by Marc Jacobs pants

photos: scrapyourtrip.com, IvanMIchellePerezEnciso @ Photobucket.com, ilkerugur.wordpress.com