Whitney Houston: the voice that conquered everything except her own demons

Whitney Houston's downfall was so prolonged and public that it overshadowed a voice that could transcend almost anything else.

Her achievements - Grammy Awards, 55 million records sold in the US alone, a string of seven consecutive number one singles - were won through her ability to bring a timelessness to almost any track through the power of her vocals.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), is a typical example. With its cheesy synthesisers and booming drums, the single could easily have slipped into obscurity along with so many of its 1980s peers.

But Houston lifted it above the average with a voice that could just as easily be found on a gospel record or opera stage.

The daughter of Cissy Houston and cousin of Dionne Warwick, Houston had talent that surpassed each of them.

Her godmother was Aretha Franklin but in her prime, Houston's voice could match the Queen of Soul's.

Didn't We Almost Have It All and How Will I Know were other tours de force, evidence that Houston could master balladry and up-tempo songs.

She was one of long-time music executive Clive Davis' greatest signings, and although Davis may not have challenged Houston enough, he at least put her in a position to shine.

Anyone who saw Houston perform The Star Spangled Banner before the 1991 Super Bowl will always remember it.
However, the 1992 film The Bodyguard and its soundtrack will remain her signature achievement.

She portrayed a superstar singer, alternatively tough and vulnerable, guarded by a former Secret Service agent played by Kevin Costner.

For the soundtrack, she took a little-known Dolly Parton song, I Will Always Love You, and made it her own.
The hits did not dry up immediately, but they became less frequent.

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to re-energise her talent and her image.

It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop's pure princess while he had a bad-boy image and already had children of his own. (The couple only had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, born in 1993.)

Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanour and bizarre public appearances.

She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once-pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

"The biggest devil is me. I'm either my best friend or my worst enemy," Houston told ABC's Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

The couple divorced in 2007 and, after two spells in rehab, Houston tried to relaunch her career once more.

But the years of abuse had taken an irreversible terrible toll on her talent. She made a comeback in 2009 with a Good Morning America concert that many of her fans found painful to watch.

She went through the motions and played hard to the crowd, but her voice could no longer hit the notes that once seemed effortless.

During a 1997 interview, Houston deflected talk about a life and marriage that was already clearly troubled.

"I didn't get in the business to talk about my personal life," she said then. "I got in the business to sing, to try to make music and to try to make people happy ... if I can.

"My life doesn't go on record. My voice does."