It’s been a rough black history month for the music industry this year. An icon from 3 different generations has “gone on to glory” as my grandmother would say. Etta James, Don Cornelius, David Peaston, and now Whitney Houston.

With Etta we had some warning. She was sick and her publicist let us know she wouldn’t be around much longer. So we pulled out our favorite Etta songs and remembered the best moments of our lives that her music became the soundtrack for. Do you remember the first time you heard “At Last”? I was watching Pleasantville with my mother in law and she kept playing that part over and over again just to hear the song. Etta’s soul-inspiring voice was rare during her time, and in my opinion very much underrated. Thank you for sharing your beautiful voice with the world Ms. James.

Don Cornelius’s passing was a bit of a shock to us all. Not so much the fact that he’s gone (he was getting up there in age) but the circumstances surrounding it. Taking your own life is not something you hear about black men doing too often, especially celebrated ones like him, so it was even harder for the world to swallow. Don was another Saturday morning staple in many homes, teaching the world all the new jams and dances while instilling in us the values of “Peace, Love, and Soul”. Do you remember your favorite artist performing on Soul Train? I loved watching the dancers. My favorite was the asian chick with the super long hair. Thank you Mr. Cornelius for introducing the world to the musical world of black folks.

Whitney Houston… sigh… oh Ms Houston. I had so many issues with you. You inspired me as a little girl and then let me down with your marriage to Bobby Brown. Follow that with a lifestyle of drugs and you lost me (and probably others) as a fan. It pained me to listen to your songs as it reminded me that the black princess was not all we thought she was. But here we are, years later, we’ve all grown up and we realize that in life we’re going to make stupid mistakes, but that can’t take away from the root of the matter. For me, that root is Whitney’s voice.

Many have said she has the voice of an angel, one of the best of all time. Not me. Angels were meant to sing in choirs and while I’m sure she’d be wonderful in a choir, I believe her voice is much more enjoyable on a solo-scale. While I was so busy being disappointed in her lifestyle choices, she was busy inspiring others to sing their hearts out no matter what. That was the lesson I missed. No matter how bad things got, she sang. Even when her voice wasn’t what  it once was, she sang. The poor woman couldn’t dance to save her life, but still, she sang. Thank you Ms. Houston for inspiring a generation of young girls to get up and sing.

I would be amiss if  I didn’t mention the smooth voice of David Peaston that we’ve lost this month as well. Although complications from diabetes claimed his physical life, God claimed his soul a long time ago. He’s another wonderful voice that never stopped singing, no matter how hard life got. In 2006 he released what would be his final album, in spite of the loss of his legs. Thank you Mr. Peaston for never letting go of your faith and crooning your way into so many hearts.

It’s only the 12th of the month and we’ve already lost 4 icons. Part of me wonders who’s next, while the other part of me wonders who the next icons will be. We have a responsibility to teach the younger ones about the history of the black community and to me there is no better way to do that than by honoring and remembering the lives that helped to mold the world we live in. Although we usually remember the people that helped free the slaves, or invented things, or fought for civil rights, it’s important that we remember the ones that shaped the culture as well. The artists (visual and musical) is what kept those great people going, inspiring them to be the greatest they can be.

Please join me in saying “Thank You” to the artists (living and non) that have given us all reasons to hope, to love, to give, and to do.

Happy Black History Month

~Honey