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Gladys Knight is just simply a good human being and that is why I have so much respect for her. She lost her own son Jimmy under similar circumstances. She could have remained silent about the loss of Whitney Houston, but is just not who she is. Thank you Gladys, rest in peace Whitney.
Thanks abfan!
Somebody seems to have forgotten that Gladys attended Clive's party the night of Whitney's passing.
Of course, the rest of us knew that the people who attended that party weren't evil human beings. I just thought I'd remind the one who said that.
Most of the people were already in route to Clive's Party.Some were already there.What were they to do..Turn around.But I do agree w/ Chakha,once they found out
Gladys also left very early. I think folks also should know that! Find me a picture of Gladys partying!Quote:
Originally Posted by thaperson
Thaperson will not admit that Gladys Knight left that party.Quote:
Originally Posted by abfan
In support of what I said above, read this:
http://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=2477
Exclusive: As Whitney Lies in State, the Party Goes On
by Roger Friedman [Forbes]
February 12, 2012
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The Clive Davis party was called for 6:45 in the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton. On the fourth floor, Whitney Houston was dead, and her floor was sealed off by police. Celebrities began arriving, but some of them - like Mary J. Blige - didn't actually make it until well after 10pm. There was confusion about walking the red carpet, doing press, what to say or wear. Clive Davis came in through a back door, did no press, and took a room above the ballroom where he tried to compose himself - and a speech. He was visited by just a couple of close friends - like Sean Diddy Combs and songwriter Diane Warren. Combs wound up being a godsend. His speech at the start of the party was so disarmingly eloquent that it saved the night. It was magnificent.
The dinner guests - many of whom were confused, unhappy, but talked about Whitney and tried to make sense of the whole thing - included Quincy Jones - bereft, he just sat down at his table an received visitors. "I went through this with Ray Charles, with Michael Jackson, and now this with Whitney." He just shook his head. At almost 80, he's seen everything. He talked to Gayle King for a while. Valerie Simpson, whose husband Nik Ashford died last year, and who wrote "I'm Every Woman" - a big hit for Whitney - was beside herself. This was her first real public outing. It didn't help that later when Diana Ross showboated onto the floor to sing another Ashford-Simpson hit, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - she acknowledged neither Houston nor Simpson.
Elsewhere: Gladys Knight, the legend, who left early. A group of 70s singer songwriters who'd seen drugs take their friends - Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, all superstars, sat together. Todd Rundgren made a rare appearance. There were Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Phil Ramone, Toni Braxton, Diana Krall and Elvis Costello, Carole King. There was a Hollywood table: Jane Fonda and Richard Perry, Peter Fonda, Joan Collins and Jackie Collins. Paul Shaffer brought his 18 year old daughter Victoria.
Mostly, people talked about Clive Davis, how he'd been a father figure to Whitney, and their concern for him. Everyone in the music business knows what Clive - who has four children and six grandchildren - did for Whitney. Nothing worked. When she improved, he was encouraged. When he got negative reports, he was devastated, like a parent who couldn't come up with a solution. This went on and on for years.
More guests: Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, the famous folk and pop singer Donovan, cast members from "Glee," singer Anthony Hamilton, Patti Austin, Nigel Lythgoe, India.Arie, Vivi Nevo, Ron Burkle. Sean Parker, of Facebook and Napster fame. Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas, Dr. Dre, George Schlatter, the legendary producer of "Laugh In." And Clive loyalists like Nikki Haskell, Barbara Davis, Arnold Stiefel [[newly svelte), Larry King, Denise Rich, David Foster, Penny Marshall, Kathy Griffin. They all "knew" - they've followed the stories for years.
And more: a decidedly low profile Brett Ratner, Princess Eugenie of the UK [[Fergie's daughter), Quinton Aaron from "The Blind Side." Execs from every record company. And so on.
Tony Bennett opened the show with a somber "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" Diana Krall, worried about the whole event, followed with a jazz anthem. The Kinks' Ray Davies kicked up the energy with a medley of his hits accompanied by Elvis Costello and Jackson Browne. I thought Ray did the classiest thing of the night. He'd been rehearsing his song "Days" for three days. But instead of waiting to sing it in full with Costello, he came out on stage and sang just the first verse a capella, spur of the moment. It was so touching and completely right: "Thank you for the days/Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me/I'm thinking of the days/I won't forget a single day, believe me/I bless the light/I bless the light/I bless the light that lights on you believe me/And though you're gone/You're with me every single day/ Believe me."
Gladys. Eloquent, real and around waaay before Whitney. Gladys has had her own demons to deal with. She is a FORMIDABLE lady who I've loved and admired since 'Giving Up'. Here's someone who can REALLY give a tribute.
What a wonderful tribute by one special lady for another.
What are the demons Gladys Knight faced? They are referred to often but I've never heard them spelled out; I suppose they must be in her book.
Clive Davis was as close as you get to Whitney; he made his decision and needn't apologize for anything and of course, hasn't. And that closed that story for most of the world but 1 or 2.
Gladys use to gamble.Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
Not true. They are taking Clive Davis to task in blogs all over the internet and all over Youtube. Should I mention how they are referring to Diana Ross?
Also...Chaka Khan, Sharon Osbourne and Diane Warren are a few of the celebrities who have expressed their displeasure in regards to Clive's Pre-Grammy party.
Isn't it time to move on? We have no idea what made Clive Davis go ahead with his party. Perhaps it was just too late to cancel or maybe Whitney's death hadn't really sunk in. Did the family tell him to go ahead with the party? We really don't have the answers. Regardless, Mr. Davis loved Miss Houston like she was his daughter and was there for her through her triumphs and trials. I think it's wrong to judge him or anyone else for that matter who attended the party.Quote:
Originally Posted by carlo
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
Roberta
Sharon Osbourne slams Clive Davis party after Whitney Houston death
Sharon Osbourne has insisted that Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party should have been canceled following Whitney Houston's death.
The gala celebration of the Grammys went on as scheduled on Saturday [[February 11) at the same Beverly Hilton Hotel where Houston had died hours earlier.
Davis led a tribute to his good friend Houston to open the party, but his decision to continue with the event was criticized by legendary R&B star Chaka Khan.
Khan said in a television interview this week: "I don't know what could motivate a person to have a party, in a building where the person whose life he had influenced so enormously, and whose life had been affected by her... I don't understand how that party went on."
Osbourne also condemned Davis's pre-Grammy party on Wednesday's edition on The Talk and accused the record executive of being insensitive in the wake of a tragedy.
"I think it was disgraceful that the party went on," Osbourne declared. "I don't want to be in a hotel room when there's someone you admire who's tragically lost their life four floors up."
She continued: "I'm not interested in being in that environment and I think when you grieve someone, you do it privately, you do it with people who understand you. I thought it was so wrong."
Houston's family were also reportedly shocked that the Davis party went on as planned.
Osbourne previously compared the popstar's passing to the deaths of Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson, who both struggled with addiction like Houston.
"It always takes for them to die before we shower them with praise and adulation. They were addicts and there are many addicts still alive. Don't mock them, just help them," she tweeted earlier this week....
http://www.digitalspy.ca/celebrity/n...ton-death.html
It just did not make sense to decent people.Quote:
Originally Posted by carlo
NO! We are not moving on yet. There is something to learned from all this. So we will examine it, dissect it, discuss it until we feel we have exhausted our interests in this BIZZARE and macbre event!Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberta75
But she was not his daughter. She was his client. His investment. His money-maker. It is more wrong to dance on the dead too. They partied while Whitney's body was still warm, still in the building and her daughter up there crying hysterically. Cast the first stone? Well in this case stand back and you'd better duck Roberta!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Roberta75
So why are people judging him or anyone for doing what they felt was right. Drug addicts die every day, many in that room were fed up with Whitney's behavior - INCLUDING Mary Wilson. Yes, Marv, Mary Wilson. And before you go off calling me a liar etc - talk to "your friend Mary" like you claim to do so often and ask her point blank what her thoughts on Whitney were before she died.
ANYWAY, I'm so over people judging other people's every move. If Clive wanted the party, he wanted it. If people wanted to go, they would. If not, they wouldn't. It's not like everyone in Hollywood had a love affair with Whitney Houston. She had been a hot mess for 15 years. Lots of peeps were over it. When Miss Ross was being interviewed, I could see how upset she was. That was not her interview face. By the time she got inside, she was even more upset and said it was a damn shame. Words I've never heard out of her like that. She said she came because of the tribute to her was still happening and she didn't want to disappoint them. I'm glad that as the evening wore on, the group got their groove on. To me, decent people are those who don't judge others - especially when they don't have all the facts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
Even if Gladys Knight did indeed leave early, and I question how early, early really was, she certainly spent enough time on the red carpet giving interviews to every media outlet who asked her and is seen inside Clive's party posing and grinning with Jane Fonda, Richard Branson, Berry Gordy and Tom Hanks. She also looked very happy, smiling and waving to the crowd on her way out.Quote:
Originally Posted by thaperson
I bet if Diane Ross wasn't honored that night a certain fan wouldn't be quite as judgmental.
Not a criticism, just a real perspective.
Roberta
I have a question...
If the person who died so tragically was named Jane Smith or Greg Johnson & WAS NOT a celebrity, would the people whom are protesting have stopped their party in deference to the deceased?
It seems to me as though many of the industry professionals whom are speaking are overlooking a lot of variables here & forget about fans & their opinions. Of all people the entertainers should know better & I'll tell you why they should.
This event was an event which has been planned for nearly a year. People have laid out quite a bit of money for airfare, hotel reservations & God knows what other expenses were incurred & that's just for those attending.
Anyone who was hosting a party of that magnitude for an event of this magnitude had to comeout of their pocket BIG TIME. I'm sure that there were huge catering costs, the cost of employees to cover the event, security to be paid, chefs to be paid & I'm sure a whole lot of other expenditures which Im overlooking & am not aware of.
No one could've predicted the tragic events of that night & I'm sure that no one thought that such a thing would've occurred. Now I don't know exactly how many people were invited to the bash, but I sure know that not one of those whom were in attendance had an insurance clause covering their airfare, their hotel reservations, nor anything else which would've gotten them the thousands that they spent solely for attending this event. Regardless of this tragedy, not one plane ticket nor hotel ticket was going to be refunded to anyone.
And by the way, didnt you find it just a bit disgusting when they reported that some guests were attempting to get refunds because Whitney's death caused them "inconvenience"?
I say all of this to say that it's easy to have a knee-jerk reaction to this & say what should or should not have been done. With that said, none of us had to come out of pocket, nor spent one dime to attend a function that some made arrangements to attend & paid for months ago.
Then there's the matter of contractual issues which BY LAW binds people to agreements.
Do any of the people speaking out about this even know what kind of contracts were in effect? Forget what the entertainers say because unless THEIR names appear on contracts, it's very easy for them to say what SHOULD'VE been done. And there's no one whom can possibly say that Clive didn't care about Whitney.
Artists lose recording contracts all of the time the minute that it appears that there's slippage on the charts. It's happened to some truly great names over the years. But Clive never dropped Whitney & never stopped being her champion. So all of this vitriol being directed Clive's way by some entertainers seems a bit unfair to me.
People whom had a lot of negative crap to say about her when she was living [[come on, we've seen the quotes & heard all of the jokes years ago) &now they want to give her her flowers. Exactly what were some of these folks saying last month? Last year? 2 years ago? Clive gave Whitney her flowers while she was alive. Clive honored her by standing by her & trying to help her while she was ALIVE. He never sold her out, nor did he abandon her.
Which is more than can be said for a whole lot of her celebrity ''friends", fans & a few much closer to her who couldn't wait to sell her out the first opportunity they got.
Again, if the person who died was one of us, not one of these celebrities would've stopped their party because our corpse was lying even one floor above the party. And if 99 out 100 say that they would've done that & you believe them, then I've got a couple of New York's finest bridges to sell you, real fast & real cheap.
Beautifully stated Juice. Bravo!!Quote:
Originally Posted by juicefree20
Fondly,
Roberta
Yada, yada, yada! Look Gregory....it is beyond clear that you don't REALLY these people. You don't know me or who I am and what you said is very untrue on all levels. Mary has nothing to do with this thread by the way.Quote:
Originally Posted by supremester
Bottomline is, Clive Davis has damaged his public reputation by continuing on with that party. There is not a decent person in this country that would tell you it was appropriate. You can try to defend it until the cows come home. All that does is cause people to question your morals and values. Now with that said, I am finished discussing these strange tangents you go off on. Anyone that want to discuss the topic of this thread, I welcome. Thanks.
Marv
This is what I say. Even if the person were not Whitney Houston that died, but it was someone that I knew, say Lucille Smith [[sorry Lucille, it's just for illustration purposes). I would have not partied. Most of those people at least claimed to have known Whitney Houston or her mother or Dionne or what have you.Quote:
Originally Posted by juicefree20
True there was lot of money spent and contracts to honor etc, etc. I still have to agree with Chaka Khan in that if they truly were saddened and wanted to pay tribute to Whitney after her most recent death, they could have all come together, say a prayer, ate dinner and went home. Not party hardy throughout the night with the knowledge of the body still there and her daughter upstairs grieving. This is a part of how I was raised sorry.
Roberta,
Thank you. Just trying to give another perspective whichmay be viewed as correct orincorrect depending upon ones point of view.
I appreciate your words Juice.Quote:
Originally Posted by juicefree20
Bless you,
Roberta
Marv,
There's no need to apologize for your own point of view about this. To be honest, there was a time when I'd have probably said the same thing. I guess I've seen a few things & have absorbed a few life-lessons over the past few years which have caused me to consider that perhaps my own previously-held & even current beliefs are not necessarily true, nor are they absolute.
I have no problem with anyone who doesn't share my opinion about this because again, my opinion is absolute to no one but myself & when I think about it, not even to myself because information could present itself which could place everything into a different light.
I view this as a situation that was extremely difficult to deal with. And sometimes, people make what can be viewed by most to be the wrong decision while having nothing but the best of intentions while making that decision.
I can only imagine the shock & horror that Clive & everyone else mustve felt when they got that news. Having suffered a few shocks of my own over the years, I can imagine his heart feeling as if it were going to explode. Having suffered a shock such as that, I understand how it feels to be unsure as to how to proceed forward, not wanting to deal with the grim reality, being hurt, angry, a million thoughts to process, all at the same time.
I know of people whom have suffered similar shocks & the responses were varied. I know of some who lost a parent, child, sibling or friend & they got themselves totally blitzed. Still others went out & tried to cope with it by attempting to screw as many people as they could.
Immediately after her passing, there were folks fromtalk show hosts, to comedians, to fellow musicians who wasted no time damn near appearing in sackcloth & ashes to give voice to their grief & pretty words they were.
But where were all of those pretty words when they used her as a punchline for their incessant jokes? Where were all of those pretty words when they made her the focal point of their gossip columns & when did they miss an opportunity to denigrate her? I never heard pretty words from them then & never a word of compassion & why? Because it was all too easy to kick her when she was down & why work at crafting a creative joke when they could make one at the expense of a woman who was battling some fierce demons, that's why.
This kinda brings to mind the "Good Times" episode where James died & the kids were angry because Florida wasn't showing the "appropriate" grief based upon THEIR idea of the proper way to display grief.
I don't believe that anyone here can dispute that Clive ALWAYS indicated that he had Whitney's best interests in mind. That man cared about Whitney & lets be real, he stood by her when 99.9% of other labels would NOT have. Artists get dropped for far lesser problems. We've seen record label heads who have showed up at the funerals of artists whom they exploited & jerked around their entire lives. Right here in N.Y. I've seen a few who praised the artist to the high heavens, conveniently never mentioning that despite the many wonders of the now-deceased artist, they never thought THAT highly of them while they were still alive, having never paid them a dime in royalties.
And exactly how much or what did Ms. Osborne or most of those talking about this offer Whitney in the way of help? How many of them are known to be on records as one of her champions before 3 weeks ago? Any "Hang in there Whitney" telegrams? Where can all of this love for Whitney be found in anything that most have had to say over the past 10 years or so?
If people want to judge Clive for his decision, that's one thing. But if they choose to do so, they could add least try to be fair about it & judge the man for his heart. Clive told the world that Whitney was the "Queen" when damn near a whole industry was perfectly willing to turn the page on her career.
I believe that THAT was infinitely more important to Whitney & her family than all of the pretty words & the displays of grief which we now hear from more than a few people whom weren't always quite so kind while Whitney was still alive.
Clive talked the talk & he walked the walk, not through some display of grief or carefully crafted words for the masses. He did it while she was alive, when damn near a whole industry & pundits were insinuating that he was out of his mind.
With all due respect, the man deserves better than this from people who really ought to know better.
And note, if her family was that upset with his decision, I'm sure that they could've found a way to make their displeasure known. At no point do I recall hearing Dionne say anything remotely reeking of anger or disrespect toward Clive, which makes me wonder why so many of those voices on the sidelines have chosen to do so when the family hasn't weighed in with their opinion?
Roberta,
Just trying to be fair because I believe that Clive's catching a raw deal here. I dont believe that he meant to be disrespectful. I believe that he was unsure of the best way to handle that tragedy. In the end, he may have felt that they could honor her by going on with the show & maybe, just maybe, it was a way from him to not have to deal with the finality of it all.
I've seen people make far worse judgement calls in time of tragedy. I believe that Clive deserves a pass on this one.
Isn't this issue a dead duck except on here??
Whitney Houston's family seems all fine with Clive; little else matters.
With all due respect, I would submit that grown folks arguing for the better part of a decade over incidents which occurred 30 to 45 years ago is a bit overdone & has long lived beyond its shelf life.
If folks can have a few friendly debates about who did what to whom in 1964, 1967, 1975, ad infinitum, I think that a few days of discussion about this to be a bit resonable by way of comparison.
With all due respect.
Ironically enough, this thread began as a nod to Gladys & as sometimes happens with discussions, went into another direction entirely.
I agree Juice. Clive Davis will survive this hiccup with legacy intact.Quote:
Originally Posted by juicefree20
Best to you,
Roberta
When did you last speak with them?Quote:
Originally Posted by jobeterob
What's untrue? Call me out. What's untrue? What's even questionable? I'm not the fabricator, M2. I don't need to lie, mislead or slightly fabricate . I can deal with reality as it is. We can disagree on Clive. I believe this will be forgotten in a week or two. Emotional at the time, but not even a microbe on the person Clive is.
As for me being untruthful: bring it on! List a few of my lies with your proof - be specific - and I'll do the same.
Quote:
Originally Posted by marv2
It already is. No one is talking about this anymore.Quote:
Originally Posted by supremester