Jcan-born record exec reflects on her first meeting with Whitney Houston

The girl who became an icon

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Sunday Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, February 19, 2012

ON a cool weekday afternoon in 1985, a young lady, just 21 years old, stood on a stage in a small club called Bottom Line in New York.

The event was a private showcase — a gathering of staff from RCA records. The young woman stood at the corner of the stage and prepared to make her appearance. As she stood with her head bowed, it appeared as if she was praying. After what seemed like several minutes, the young lady raised her head and smiled at those in the room.

"It was a smile that shone brightly and lit up the room," said Jamaican-born music executive Blossette Kitson, who last week reminisced on her first encounter with Whitney Houston, the music icon whose death paralysed the world with grief last week.

Kitson, now the president of Kitson and Associates, was, at the time, the associate director of artiste and repertoire/publishing at RCA.

"The second she hit the stage I was mesmerised by the light she emitted. Everyone in the room knew she was special," recalled Kitson.

Houston's beaming dad, John, who sat next to Kitson, kept repeating, "That's my baby girl," throughout her performance. Kitson would later get the chance to commend her on her delivery.

"She graciously said 'thank you'. She asked me if I worked for Arista and I told her I worked for RCA records which was the distribution company for Arista," Kitson recalled for the Sunday Observer.

That was, according to Kitson, the start of a friendship that grew with songwriter La La Cope penning You Give Good Love, the soulful ballad that was chosen as the lead single for Houston's debut set to establish her in the black marketplace.

Kitson, who had signed La La Cope to RCA, recalled what stood out for her about the singer.

"Her graciousness was the first thing that struck me and that was something she maintained throughout her career," said the Jamaican.

Kitson said that she has had the privilege of attending several birthday parties at the home of the artiste. One of the parties she attended was held on a yacht in New York Harbour.

"I was on the set of The Preacher's Wife during the New York shoot at the Chelsea Pier studios," she said.

"Over the years I have visited her home in New Jersey," Kitson added, noting that she went there for a Sunday dinner.

"Her aunt cooked a delicious soul food dinner. Her mom, daughter and dad were there as well," said Kitson.

"She loved Jamaican music and our culture. She would often ask me to speak patois," said the record excutive, who last week said the memories she had of Houston would be forever cherished.

The singing sensation, whose powerful and peerless vocals led her to become the golden girl of the music industry, will be laid to rest next to her father, John Russell Houston Jr, at the Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey. Her father was buried there in 2003.

The death of the icon brought an end to a life that, despite many successes, was plagued by drug abuse. But this aspect of Houston's life, marked by highly publicised embarassments for the signer, has not affected Kitson's love and respect for the Houston.

"I am deeply saddened by Whitney's passing. Rest in peace, dear angel," said Kitson.