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Her mother (Cissy) sang backup for Elvis Presley, her aunt (Dionne)was one of the most successful female acts of the 1960’s and 1970’s and her godmother (Aretha) is the Queen of Soul. So it was no surprise when, in 1985, Whitney Houston’s debut album soared to record sales and set a benchmark for pop/R&B females to follow.

Houston’s large voice carried her to a record-setting seven consecutive No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart (though in-between the streak, one single failed to crack the Hot 100, though reaching No. 10 on the R&B chart). Her greatest success would come with 1992’s The Bodyguard, her motion picture debut. Though the film was a box office smash, critical reaction was not so kind. That did not stop the soundtrack- or a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”- from becoming monster hits. Whitney transformed Parton’s classic country song into a showstopping vocal routine, singing as if her life depended on it. Other Houston cuts on the soundtrack included a cover of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” as well as ”I Have Nothing” and “Run to You.”

Houston appeared in two more films- 1995’s Waiting to Exhale and 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife- and landed additional soundtrack hits like “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” “I Believe in You and Me” and “Step by Step.” With 1998’s quadruple-platinum My Love is Your Love (her first non-soundtrack project since 1990’s I’m Your Baby Tonight), she scored three top five hits, including the title track and “It’s Not Right But it’s Okay,” the latter energized by an anthmic Thunderpuss dance mix. (Surprisingly, a duet with onetime Whitney clone Mariah Carey failed to crack the top 10.)

Despite all the success and ubiquity of much of her music, Houston’s greatest cultural impact probably came with a 1991 rendition of America’s National Anthem. Appearing at Super Bowl XXV, Houston’s stirring performance registered with a country embroiled in the Gulf War, and patriotism was running rampant. The single reached No. 20 on the Hot 100 as a result, and a decade later, returned to the charts following Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Once again a source of comfort at a difficult time in America’s history, Houston’s “The Star Spangled Banner” became her 23rd top 10 hit; alas, it also was her last top 10- at least until she attempts her long-delayed comeback.

And many of us are rooting for her to return to past glories. Her last album of new material- 2002’s Just Whitney- was released just as Houston publicly acknowledged her long-rumored drug use. Selling fewer than 750,000 copies, the album was the lowest seller of her career, and quite a decline from its predecessor, My Love is Your Love. Since, she’s released only a holiday album, One Wish, which also has sold disappointingly.

But amidst the commercial failures and personal issues, we can’t forget that at her peak, Whitney was The Voice. Her debut album’s sophisticated pop/R&B set the template from which the wanna-be’s took their cue- most notably, the aforementioned Mariah Carey, whose 1990 debut album seemed to be lifted straight from the Houston playbook. While unlike Houston, Carey co-writes the bulk of her material, that does not diminish Houston’s gift as an interpreter of song.

Some of Houston’s biggest hits- “Saving All My Love For You,” “The Greatest Love of All,” “All the Man That I Need,” “I Will Always Love You”- were covers. But in Whitney’s hands, most of those songs reached their greatest potential and launched a thousand (or more) pageants and talent competitions.

Regardless of whether she can make a startling comeback or not, Whitney’s status as one of the premier vocalists of the last 20 years remains in tact. No matter that she hasn’t been much ofa critical darling for most of her career (a common complaint being that her material hasn’t been strong enough to suit her talents)- her vocal styling continue to inspire and influence many an American Idol contestant; yet try as they may to replicate, there’s just no duplicating The Voice.

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