name	Metallica
landscape	yes
background	group_or_band
origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
genre	Heavy metal, thrash metal, speed metal
years active	1981–present
label	Elektra, Vertigo, Megaforce,
associated acts	Megadeth, Echobrain, Spastik Children, Leather Charm, Exodus, Trauma, Flotsam and Jetsam, San Francisco Symphony, Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne, Suicidal Tendencies, Lou Reed
website
current members	James HetfieldLars UlrichKirk HammettRobert Trujillo
past members	Ron McGovneyDave MustaineCliff BurtonJason Newsted }}

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California whose early releases included fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship that placed them as one of the founding "big four" of thrash metal alongside Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. A settlement was reached, and Napster became a pay-to-use service. Despite reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, the release of ''St. Anger'' (2003) alienated many fans with the exclusion of guitar solos and the "steel-sounding" snare drum. A film titled ''Some Kind of Monster'' documented the recording process of ''St. Anger'' and the tensions within the band during that time.

Metallica has released nine studio albums, three live albums, five extended plays, 24 music videos, and 45 singles. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, and has had five consecutive albums debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, making Metallica the first band to do so; this record was later matched by the Dave Matthews Band. The band's 1991 album, ''Metallica'', has sold over 15 million copies in the United States, and 22 million copies worldwide, which makes it the 25th-best-selling album in the country. In December 2009, it became the best-selling album of the SoundScan era, surpassing 1997's ''Come on Over'' by country artist Shania Twain. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as of the release of their latest album, ''Death Magnetic'' (2008). As of December 2009, Metallica is the fourth best-selling music artist since the SoundScan era began tracking sales on May 25, 1991, selling a total of 52,672,000 albums in the United States alone. As of 2011, Metallica is working on a new album. On October 31, 2011, a collaborative album with Lou Reed, titled ''Lulu'', was released.

History

Early years (1981–1983)

Metallica was formed in Los Angeles, California, in late 1981 when drummer Lars Ulrich placed an advertisement in a Los Angeles newspaper—''The Recycler''—which read "Drummer looking for other metal musicians to jam with Tygers of Pan Tang, Diamond Head and Iron Maiden." Guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of Leather Charm answered the advertisement. Although he had not formed a band, Ulrich asked Metal Blade Records founder Brian Slagel if he could record a song for the label's upcoming compilation album ''Metal Massacre''. Slagel accepted, and Ulrich recruited Hetfield to sing and play rhythm guitar. The band was officially formed in October 1981, five months after Ulrich and Hetfield first met.

Ulrich talked to his friend Ron Quintana, who was brainstorming names for a fanzine. Quintana had proposed the names MetalMania and Metallica. Ulrich used Metallica for the name of his band. A second advertisement was placed in ''The Recycler'' for a position as lead guitarist. Dave Mustaine answered, and after seeing his expensive guitar equipment, Ulrich and Hetfield recruited him. In early 1982, Metallica recorded its first original song "Hit the Lights" for the ''Metal Massacre I'' compilation. Hetfield played bass on the song and Lloyd Grant was credited with a guitar solo. Released on June 14, 1982, early pressings of ''Metal Massacre I'' listed the band incorrectly as "Mettallica". Although angered by the error, Metallica managed to create enough "buzz" with the song and the band played its first live performance on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California with newly recruited bassist Ron McGovney. Metallica recorded its first demo, ''Power Metal'', a name inspired by Quintana's early business cards in early 1982. In the fall of 1982, Ulrich and Hetfield attended a show at the West Hollywood nightclub Whisky a Go Go which featured bassist Cliff Burton in a band called Trauma. The two were "blown away" by Burton's use of a wah-wah pedal and asked him to join Metallica. Hetfield and Mustaine wanted McGovney out as they thought that he "didn't contribute anything, he just followed."

Metallica was ready to record its debut album, but when Metal Blade was unable to cover the additional cost, the band began looking for other options. Concert promoter Johny "Z" Zazula, who had heard the demo ''No Life 'til Leather'' (1982), offered to broker a record deal with Metallica and New York City-based record labels. After receiving no interest from various record labels, Zazula borrowed the money to cover the record's recording budget and signed Metallica to his own label, Megaforce Records.

''Kill 'Em All'' and ''Ride the Lightning'' (1983–1984)

In May 1983, Metallica traveled to Rochester, New York to record its debut album, ''Metal Up Your Ass'', with production duties handled by Paul Curcio. Band members decided to kick Mustaine out of the band due to drug and alcohol abuse and violent behavior just prior to the sessions on April 11, 1983. Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett flew in to replace Mustaine the same afternoon.

Mustaine, who went on to found Megadeth, has expressed his dislike for Hammett in interviews. He said Hammett "stole my job." Mustaine was "pissed off" because he believes Hammett became popular by playing the guitar leads that Mustaine wrote. In a 1985 interview with ''Metal Forces'', Mustaine slammed Hammett saying, "it's real funny how Kirk Hammett ripped off every lead break I'd played on that ''No Life 'til Leather'' tape and got voted No. 1 guitarist in your magazine." On Megadeth's debut album ''Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!'' (1985), Mustaine included the song "Mechanix", which Metallica reworked and retitled "The Four Horsemen" on ''Kill 'Em All''. Mustaine said he did this to "straighten Metallica up", as Metallica referred to Mustaine as a drunk and said he could not play guitar. Metallica's first live performance with Hammett was on April 16, 1983 at the nightclub The Showplace in Dover, New Jersey. In February 1984, Metallica supported Venom on the Seven Dates of Hell tour, where the band performed in front of 7,000 people at the Aardschok Festival in Zwolle, Netherlands.

Metallica recorded its second studio album, ''Ride the Lightning'', at Sweet Silence Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark. Released in August 1984, the album reached number 100 on the ''Billboard'' 200. A French printing press mistakenly printed green covers for the album, which are now considered collectors' items. Other songs on the album include "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Fade to Black", "Creeping Death" (which tells the biblical story of the Hebrews' exodus from slavery in Egypt, focusing on the final plague that was visited on the Egyptians), and the instrumental "The Call of Ktulu". Mustaine received writing credit for "Ride the Lightning" and "The Call of Ktulu". Metallica's burgeoning success was such that the band's British label Music for Nations released a limited edition "Creeping Death" single, which sold 40,000 copies as an import in the United States. Two of the three songs on the record (cover versions of Diamond Head's "Am I Evil?", and Blitzkrieg's "Blitzkrieg") appeared on the 1989 Elektra reissue of ''Kill 'Em All''. Metallica embarked on its first major European tour with Tank to an average crowd of 1,300. Returning to the U.S. marked a tour co-headlining with W.A.S.P. and Armored Saint supporting. Metallica played its largest show at the Monsters of Rock festival on August 17, 1985, with Bon Jovi and Ratt at Donington Park in England, playing in front of 70,000 people. A show in Oakland, California, at the Day on the Green festival saw the band play in front of a crowd of 60,000. The album was the band's first to be certified gold on November 4, 1986, and was certified six times platinum in 2003. Steve Huey of Allmusic considered the album "the band's greatest achievement". Following the release of the album, Metallica supported Ozzy Osbourne for a United States tour. Burton's death left Metallica's future in doubt. The three remaining members decided that Burton would want them to carry on, and with the Burton family's blessings, the band sought a replacement.

Roughly 40 people tried out for auditions including Hammett's childhood friend, Les Claypool of Primus, Troy Gregory of Prong, and Jason Newsted, formerly of Flotsam and Jetsam. Newsted learned Metallica's entire setlist, and after the audition Metallica invited him to Tommy's Joynt in San Francisco. Hetfield, Ulrich, and Hammett decided that Newsted was the one to replace Burton, and Newsted's first live performance with Metallica was at the Country Club in Reseda, California. The members took it on themselves to "initiate" Newsted by tricking him into eating a ball of wasabi.

After Newsted joined Metallica, the band left its El Cerrito practice space (dubbed ''"the Metalli-mansion"'', a suburban house formerly rented by sound engineer Mark Whitaker) and relocated to the adjacent cities of Berkeley and Albany before eventually settling in the Marin County city of San Rafael, North of San Francisco.

Metallica finished its tour in the early months of 1987. In March 1987, Hetfield broke his wrist a second time skateboarding, forcing the band to cancel a ''Saturday Night Live'' appearance. In August 1987 an all-covers extended play titled ''The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited'' was released. The extended play was recorded in an effort to utilize the band's newly constructed recording studio, test out the talents of Newsted, and to relieve grief and stress following the death of Burton. A video titled ''Cliff 'Em All'' was released in 1987 commemorating Burton's three years in Metallica. Footage included bass solos, home videos, and pictures.

''...And Justice for All'' (1988–1990)

''...And Justice for All'', the band's first studio album since Burton's death, was released in 1988. The album was a commercial success, reaching number six on the ''Billboard'' 200, the band's first album to enter the top 10. The album was certified platinum nine weeks after its release. Newsted's bass was purposely turned down on the album as a part of the continuous "hazing" he received, and his musical ideas were ignored (however, he did receive writing credit on the track "Blackened"). There were complaints with the production; namely, Steve Huey of Allmusic noted Ulrich's drums were clicking more than thudding, and the guitars "buzz thinly". The Damaged Justice tour followed to promote the album.

In 1989, Metallica received its first Grammy Award nomination for ''...And Justice for All'', in the new Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrument category. Metallica was the favorite to win; however, the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album ''Crest of a Knave''. The award was named in ''Entertainment Weekly''s "Grammy's 10 Biggest Upsets".

Following the release of ''...And Justice for All'', Metallica released its debut music video for the song "One". The band performed the song in an abandoned warehouse, and footage was remixed with the film, ''Johnny Got His Gun''. Rather than organize an ongoing licensing deal, Metallica purchased the rights to the film. The remixed video was submitted to MTV, with the alternate performance-only version held back in the event that MTV banned the remix version. MTV accepted the remix version, and the video was viewers' first exposure to Metallica. It was voted number 38 in 1999 when MTV aired its "Top 100 Videos of All Time" countdown, and was featured in the network's 25th Anniversary edition of ''ADD Video'', which showcased the most popular videos on MTV in the last 25 years.

''Metallica'' (1990–1993)

In October 1990, Metallica entered One on One studio in North Hollywood to record its next album. Bob Rock, who had worked with the bands such as Aerosmith, The Cult, Bon Jovi, and Mötley Crüe, was hired as the producer. ''Metallica'' (also known as ''The Black Album'') was remixed three times, cost US$1 million, and ended three marriages. Although the release was stalled until 1991, ''Metallica'' debuted at number one in ten countries, selling 650,000 units in the United States during its first week. The album was responsible for bringing Metallica to the attention of the mainstream and has been certified 15 times platinum in the United States, which makes it the 25th best-selling album in the country. The making of ''Metallica'' and the following tour was documented in ''A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica''. Dubbed the Wherever We May Roam Tour, it lasted 14 months and included dates in the United States, Japan, and the UK.

On August 8, 1992, during the co-headlining Guns N' Roses/Metallica Stadium Tour with Guns N' Roses, Hetfield suffered second and third degree burns to his arms, face, hands, and legs. There was confusion with the new pyrotechnics setup, which resulted with Hetfield walking into a flame during "Fade to Black". Newsted recalls that Hetfield's skin was "bubbling like on ''The Toxic Avenger''".

''Load'', ''ReLoad'', ''Garage Inc.'', and ''S&M;'' (1994–1999)

After almost three years of touring to support ''Metallica'', including a headlining performance at Woodstock '94, Metallica returned to the studio to write and record its sixth studio album. The band went on a brief hiatus in the summer of 1994 and played three outdoor shows which included headlining Donington Park in the United Kingdom, supported by Slayer, Skid Row, Slash's Snakepit, Therapy?, and Corrosion of Conformity. The short tour was titled Escape from the Studio '95. The band spent roughly one year writing and recording new songs, resulting in the release of ''Load'' in 1996, which debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and ARIA Charts, marking the band's second number one. The cover of ''Load'' was created by Andres Serrano, and was called ''Blood and Semen III''. Serrano pressed a mixture of his own semen and bovine blood between sheets of plexiglass. The release marked a change in musical direction for the band and a new image with band members receiving haircuts. Metallica headlined the alternative rock festival Lollapalooza in the summer of 1996.

During early production of the album, the band had produced enough material for a double album. It was decided that half of the songs were to be released, and the band would continue to work on the remaining songs and release them the following year. This resulted in the follow-up album, ''ReLoad''. The cover was created by Serrano, this time using a mixture of blood and urine.

In 1998, Metallica compiled a double album of cover songs titled ''Garage Inc.'' The first disc contained newly recorded covers of songs by bands such as Diamond Head, Killing Joke, The Misfits, Thin Lizzy, Mercyful Fate, and Black Sabbath. The second disc featured the original ''The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re-Revisited'', which had become a scarce collectors' item. The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number two.

On April 21 and April 22, 1999, Metallica recorded two performances with the San Francisco Symphony orchestra conducted by Michael Kamen. Kamen, who had previously worked with producer Rock on "Nothing Else Matters", approached the band in 1991 with the idea of pairing Metallica's music with a symphony orchestra. Kamen and his staff of over 100 composed additional orchestral material for Metallica songs. Metallica wrote two new Kamen-scored songs for the event, "No Leaf Clover" and "-Human". The audio recording and concert footage were released in 1999 as the album and concert film ''S&M;''. It entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number two, and the Australian ARIA charts and Top Internet Albums chart at number one.

Napster controversy (2000–2001)

In 2000, Metallica discovered that a demo of its song "I Disappear", which was supposed to be released in combination with the ''Mission: Impossible II'' soundtrack, was receiving radio airplay. Tracing the source of the leak, the band found the file on the Napster peer-to-peer file-sharing network, and also found that the band's entire catalogue was freely available. Legal action was initiated against Napster with Metallica filing a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, alleging that Napster violated three areas of the law: copyright infringement, unlawful use of digital audio interface device, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Though the lawsuit named three universities for copyright infringement, the University of Southern California, Yale University, and Indiana University, no individuals were named. Yale and Indiana complied and blocked the service from its campuses, and Metallica withdrew the universities' inclusion in the lawsuit. USC, however, had a meeting with students to decide what was going to happen with Napster. School administrators wanted it banned as its usage accounted for 40% of the bandwidth not being used for educational purposes.

Metallica hired online consulting firm NetPD to monitor the Napster service for a weekend. A list of 335,435 Napster users who were believed to be sharing Metallica's music was compiled, and the 60,000 page document was delivered to Napster's office as Metallica requested the users be banned from the service. The users were banned, and rap artist Dr. Dre joined the lawsuit against Napster, which resulted in an additional 230,142 Napster users banned.

Ulrich provided a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding copyright infringement on July 11, 2000. Federal Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered the site place a filter on the program in 72 hours or be shut down. A settlement was reached between Metallica and Napster when German media conglomerate Bertelsmann BMG showed interest to purchase the rights to Napster for $94 million. Under the terms of settlement, Napster agreed to block users who shared music by artists who do not want their music shared. However, on June 3, 2002 Napster filed for Chapter 11 protection under U.S. bankruptcy laws. On September 3, 2002, an American bankruptcy judge blocked the sale to Bertelsmann and forced Napster to liquidate its assets according to Chapter 7 of the U.S. bankruptcy laws.

At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, Ulrich appeared in a skit with host Marlon Wayans that blasted the idea of using Napster to share music. Marlon played a college student sitting in his dorm room listening to Metallica's "I Disappear". Ulrich walked in and asked for an explanation. On receiving Wayans' excuse that using Napster was just "sharing", Ulrich retorted that Marlon's idea of sharing was "borrowing things that were not yours without asking." He called in the Metallica road crew, who proceeded to confiscate all of Wayans' belongings, leaving him almost nude in an empty room. Napster creator Shawn Fanning responded later in the ceremony by presenting an award wearing a Metallica shirt, saying, "I borrowed this shirt from a friend. Maybe, if I like it, I'll buy one of my own."

Newsted's departure and ''St. Anger'' (2001–2005)

As plans were being made to enter the recording studio, Newsted left the band on January 17, 2001. His statement revealed his departure was based on "private and personal reasons, and the physical damage I have done to myself over the years while playing the music that I love." During a ''Playboy'' interview with Metallica, Newsted revealed intentions he wanted to release an album with his side project, Echobrain. Hetfield was against the idea and said, "When someone does a side project, it takes away from the strength of Metallica" and a side project is "like cheating on your wife in a way". Newsted countered his statement by saying Hetfield recorded vocals for a song in the film ''South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut'', and appears on two Corrosion of Conformity albums. Hetfield replied, "My name isn't on those records. And I'm not out trying to sell them", and pondered questions such as, "Where would it end? Does he start touring with it? Does he sell shirts? Is it his band?"

In April 2001, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky began following Metallica to document the recording process of the next studio album. Over two years, more than 1,000 hours of footage was recorded. On July 19, 2001, before preparations to enter the recording studio, Hetfield entered rehab due to "alcoholism and other addictions". All recording plans were put on hiatus and the band's future was in doubt. Hetfield left rehab on December 4, 2001,

For the duration of the recording period, producer Bob Rock played bass, both on the album and for the few live shows at which Metallica performed during that time frame. Once the record was completed, in early 2003, the band started to hold auditions for Newsted's permanent replacement. Bassists that auditioned included Pepper Keenan, Jeordie White, Scott Reeder, Eric Avery, Danny Lohner, and Chris Wyse. Following three months of auditions, Robert Trujillo, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne's band, was chosen as the new bassist. As Metallica moved on, Newsted joined Canadian thrash metal band Voivod in 2002, and was Trujillo's replacement in Osbourne's band during the 2003 Ozzfest tour, which included Voivod as part of the touring bill.

In June 2003, Metallica's eighth studio album, ''St. Anger'', debuted at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, and drew mixed reactions from critics. Ulrich's "steely" sounding snare drum, and the absence of guitar solos received particular criticism. Kevin Forest Moreau of ''Shakingthrough.net'' commented that "the guitars stumble in a monotone of mid-level, processed rattle; the drums don't propel as much as struggle to disguise an all-too-turgid pace; and the rage is both unfocused and leavened with too much narcissistic navel-gazing", and Brent DiCrescenzo of ''Pitchfork Media'' described it as "an utter mess". However, ''Blender'' magazine called it the "grimiest and grimmest of the band's Bob Rock productions", and ''New York Magazine'' called it "utterly raw and rocking". The title track, "St. Anger", won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2004, and was used as the official theme song for WWE's ''SummerSlam 2003''.

Before the band's set at the 2004 Download Festival in England, Ulrich was rushed to the hospital after having an anxiety seizure, and was unable to perform. Having toured for two years in support of ''St. Anger'' on the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003 and the Madly in Anger with the World Tour, with multi-platinum rockers Godsmack in support, Metallica took a break from performing and spent most of 2005 with friends and family. However, for two shows on November 13, 2005, and November 15, 2005, Metallica opened for The Rolling Stones at AT&T; Park in San Francisco.

''Death Magnetic'' (2006–2011)

In December 2006, Metallica released a DVD containing all the music videos from 1989 to 2004. The DVD, titled ''The Videos 1989–2004'', sold 28,000 copies in its first week, and entered the ''Billboard'' Top Videos chart at number three. Metallica recorded a cover of Ennio Morricone's "The Ecstasy of Gold" for a tribute album titled ''We All Love Ennio Morricone'', released in February 2007. The cover received a Grammy nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards for the category "Best Rock Instrumental Performance". A recording of "The Ecstasy of Gold" has been played as the introduction for Metallica performances since the 1980s. However, this new version features the band itself performing the piece, giving a new guitar-based interpretation to the music.

In 2006, Metallica announced on its official website that after 15 years, long-time producer Bob Rock would not be producing Metallica's next studio album. The band chose to work with producer Rick Rubin. Metallica scheduled the release date for ''Death Magnetic'' as September 12, 2008, and the band filmed a music video for the album's first single "The Day That Never Comes".

On September 2, 2008, a French record store began selling copies of ''Death Magnetic'' nearly two weeks ahead of its scheduled worldwide release date, which resulted in the album being made available on peer-to-peer clients. This prompted the band's United Kingdom distributor, Vertigo Records, to officially release the album two days ahead of schedule, on September 10, 2008. Rumors of Metallica or Warner Bros. taking any legal action against the retailer were unconfirmed, though drummer Lars Ulrich made such responses to the leak as, "...We're ten days from release. I mean, from here, we're golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me," and, "By 2008 standards, that's a victory. If you'd told me six months ago that our record wouldn't leak until 10 days out, I would have signed up for that."

''Death Magnetic'' debuted at number one in the United States selling 490,000 units with Metallica becoming the first band to have five consecutive studio albums debut at number one in the history of the ''Billboard'' 200. After a week of its release, ''Death Magnetic'' remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, the European album chart, and became the fastest selling album in Australia for 2008. ''Death Magnetic'' remained at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart for three consecutive weeks. Metallica was one of two artists, along with Jack Johnson with the release of the album ''Sleep Through the Static'', to remain on the ''Billboard'' 200 for three consecutive weeks at number one in 2008. ''Death Magnetic'' had also remained at number one on ''Billboard'''s Hard Rock, Modern Rock/Alternative and Rock album charts for five consecutive weeks. Internationally, the album reached number one in 32 countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

In November 2008, Metallica came to the end of its record deal with Warner Bros., and the band is now considering its options for the future and, according to Ulrich, one of the band's options is to release its next album through the internet.

On January 14, 2009, it was announced that Metallica would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009, and that former bassist Jason Newsted (who left the band in 2001), would perform with the band at the ceremony. Initially, it was announced that the matter had been discussed, and that current bassist Trujillo had agreed not to play, as he "wanted to see the Black Album band". However, during the band's set of "Master of Puppets" and "Enter Sandman", both Trujillo and Newsted were on stage. Ray Burton, father of the late Cliff Burton, accepted the honor on his behalf. Although he was not to be inducted with them, Metallica also invited Dave Mustaine to take part in the induction ceremony. Mustaine declined however, citing his touring commitments in Europe.

Metallica, along with Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax, performed on the same bill for the first time on June 16, 2010 at Bemowo Airport (Warsaw, Poland). It was the first performance of that bands played as a part of Sonisphere Festival series, one of the following (Sofia, Bulgaria, June 22, 2010) was sent via satellite in HD to cinemas. They also went on to play in Bucharest, Romania (June 26, 2010) and then in Istanbul, Turkey (June 27, 2010) also as part of the Sonisphere Festival. On June 28, 2010, ''Death Magnetic'' was certified 2X platinum by the RIAA.

The band's World Magnetic Tour ended on November 21, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. The band had been touring for over two years in support of ''Death Magnetic''. To go with its final tour dates in Australia and New Zealand, a live limited edition EP of past performances in Australia was released called ''Six Feet Down Under''. The EP was also followed by ''Six Feet Down Under (Part II)'', which was released on November 12, 2010. Part 2 contains a further 8 songs recorded during the first two Oceanic Legs of the World Magnetic Tour.

On November 26, 2010, Metallica released another live EP, titled ''Live at Grimey's'', which was recorded in June 2008 at Grimey's Record Store, just prior to its appearance at Bonnaroo that year.

In a June 2009 interview with Italy's Rock TV, Ulrich stated that Metallica was planning to continue touring through August 2010, stating there were no plans for a tenth album, but was sure that they would collaborate with producer Rick Rubin again. According to Blabbermouth.net, the band may start thinking about recording their next album in the second half of 2011. In a November 2010 interview with The Pulse of Radio, Ulrich stated that Metallica wants to get back to writing again for 2011. Ulrich stated: "There’s a bunch of balls in the air for 2011, but I think the main one is we really want to get back to writing again. We haven’t really written since, what, ’06, ’07, and we want to get back to kind of just being creative again. Right now we are going to just chill out and then probably start up again in, I’d say, March or April, and start probably putting the creative cap back on and start writing some songs." In an interview at the April 2011 Big Four concert, bassist Robert Trujillo said that Metallica will work with Rick Rubin again as the producer for the new album and were "really excited to write some new music. There's no shortage of riffage in Metallica world right now." He also added, "The first album with Rick was also the first album for me, so in a lot of ways, you're kind of testing the water. Now that we're comfortable with Rick and his incredible engineer, Greg Fidelman, who worked with Slayer, actually, on this last record – it's my hero – it's a great team. And it's only gonna better; I really believe that. So I'm super-excited." As of June 2011, according to Rubin, Metallica has begun writing their new album.

On November 9, 2010, Metallica announced that it would be headlining the Rock in Rio, in Rio de Janeiro, on September 25, 2011. On December 13, 2010, the band announced that it would once again play as part of the "big four" during the Sonisphere Festival U.K., on July 8, 2011. It was the first time all of the "big four" members played on the same stage in the United Kingdom. The performance took place at Knebworth House, Hertfordshire. On December 17, 2010, Another "big four" Sonisphere performance was announced that would take place in France on July 9. On January 25, 2011, another "big four" performance was announced in the United States. It took place on April 23, 2011 in Indio, California at the Empire Polo Club. It was the only scheduled concert in the United States, it was also the first time all of the "big four" members played on the same stage in the United States. On February 17, 2011, another show was announced in Europe. The performance took place in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on July 2, 2011. On February 22, another "big four" show was announced, also in Europe. It took place in Milan, Italy on July 6, 2011. On March 2, 2011, again another "big four" concert was announced, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden on July 3, 2011 at the Ullevi Stadion.

''Lulu'' and tenth studio album (2011–present)

On June 15, 2011, Metallica announced that recording sessions with singer-songwriter Lou Reed had concluded. The album, titled ''Lulu'' was recorded over several months, and resulted in ten songs based on Frank Wedekind's "Lulu" plays, ''Earth Spirit'' and ''Pandora's Box''. The album was released on October 31, 2011.

On October 16, 2011, Robert Trujillo confirmed that the band was back in the studio and writing new material, stating "The writing process for the new Metallica album has begun. We've been in the studio with Rick Rubin, working on a couple of things, and we're going to be recording during the most of next year."

Metallica were due to make their first appearance in India at the "India Rocks" concert, supporting the 2011 Indian Grand Prix. However, the concert was cancelled when the venue was proven unsafe. Fans raided the stage during the event and the organizers were later arrested for fraud. Metallica later made their Indian debut in Bangalore on October 30, 2011. On November 10, it was announced that Metallica would play at the Download Festival at Donington Park, England, headlining the main stage on Saturday June 9, 2012, and that they would be playing the ''The Black Album'' in its entirety.

From December 2011, Metallica began releasing songs online, they were written for ''Death Magnetic'', but were not present on the final album. On December 13, 2011 they were released on ''Beyond Magnetic'', a digital EP release only on iTunes.

Also in December Metallica celebrated its 30 year anniversary by playing 4 shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The shows were exclusive only to Met Club members and tickets were only being charged at 6$(or 19.81 for all 4 nights). The shows consisted of songs spanning their entire career and guest appearances by multiple artist that either helped or influenced Metallica. These shows were notable for having Dave Mustaine, Jason Newsted, Glenn Danzig, Ozzy Osbourne, Apocalyptica, members of Diamond Head, King Diamond among others join Metallica on stage for all appropriate songs.

Style and lyrical themes

Influenced by early heavy metal and hard rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, and Scorpions. New Wave of British Heavy Metal bands such as Venom, Motörhead, Diamond Head, Judas Priest, and Iron Maiden. As well as early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Misfits. Early Metallica releases contained fast tempos, harmonized leads, and nine-minute instrumentals. Steve Huey of Allmusic said that ''Ride the Lightning'' featured "extended, progressive epics; tight, concise groove-rockers". Huey felt Metallica expanded its compositional technique and range of expression to take on a more aggressive approach in following releases, and lyrics dealt with more personal and socially conscious issues. Lyrical themes explored on ''Master of Puppets'' included religious and military leaders, rage, insanity, monsters, and drugs.

In 1991, with new producer Bob Rock, Huey felt Metallica simplified and streamlined its music for a more commercial approach to appeal to the mainstream audience. The band abandoned its aggressive, fast tempos to expand its music and expressive range, said Robert Palmer of ''Rolling Stone''. The change in direction proved commercially successful as ''Metallica'' was the band's first album to peak at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200. Metallica noticed changes to the rock scene created by the grunge movement of the early 1990s. In ''Load'' (an album that has been described as "an almost alternative rock" approach), the band focused on non-metal influences and changed musical direction. Moving away from lyrical themes dealing with drugs and monsters, Metallica's new lyrical approach focused on anger, loss, and retribution. Some fans and critics were not pleased with this change, which included haircuts, the cover of ''Load'', and headlining the alternative rock concert Lollapalooza. David Fricke of ''Rolling Stone'' described the move as "goodbye to the moldy stricture and dead-end Puritanism of no-frills thrash" and called ''Load'' the heaviest record of 1996. With the release of ''ReLoad'' in 1997, the band displayed more blues and early hard rock influences, incorporating more rhythm and harmony in song structures.

''St. Anger'' marked another large change in the band's sound. Guitar solos were excluded from the album, leaving a "raw and unpolished sound". The band used drop C tuning, and Ulrich's snare drum received particular criticism. ''New York Magazine'''s Ethan Brown noted it "reverberates with a thwong". Lyrics on the album dealt with Hetfield's stint in rehab, including references to the devil, anti-drug themes, claustrophobia, impending doom, and religious hypocrisy. At the advice of producer Rick Rubin, for its ninth studio album, ''Death Magnetic'', the band returned to E tuning (though all songs were tuned half step down live) and guitar solos, and adapted Middle Eastern influences.

Legacy and influence

Metallica has become one of the most influential heavy metal bands of all time, and is credited as one of the "big four" of thrash metal, along with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth. The band has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, including 59 million in the United States. The writers of ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'' felt Metallica gave heavy metal "a much-needed charge". Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Greg Prato of Allmusic said Metallica "expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions", calling the band "easily the best, most influential heavy metal band of the '80s, responsible for bringing the music back to Earth."

Jonathan Davis of Korn respects Metallica as his favorite band and comments, "I love that they've done things their own way and they've persevered over the years and they're still relevant to this day. I think they're one of the greatest bands ever." Vocalist and guitarist Robb Flynn of Machine Head said that when creating the band's 2007 album, ''The Blackening'', "What we mean is an album that has the power, influence and epic grandeur of that album ''Master of Puppets'' – and the staying power – a timeless record like that". Trivium guitarists Corey Beaulieu and Matt Heafy said that when they heard Metallica they wanted to start playing guitar. M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold stated touring with Metallica was the band's career highlight, and said "Selling tons of records and playing huge shows will never compare to meeting your idols ''Metallica''." God Forbid guitarists Doc and Dallas Coyle grew up with Metallica as an inspiration, and the band's bassist John Outcalt admires Burton as a "rocker". Ill Niño drummer Dave Chavarri finds early Metallica releases as "heavy, raw, rebellious. It said, 'fuck you'", and Adema drummer Kris Kohls says the band is influenced by Metallica.

''Kerrang!'' released a tribute album with the April 8, 2006, edition of the magazine, titled ''Master of Puppets: Remastered'', which celebrated the 20-year anniversary of ''Master of Puppets''. The album featured cover versions of Metallica songs by the bands Machine Head, Bullet for My Valentine, Chimaira, Mastodon, Mendeed, and Trivium, all who are influenced by Metallica. Over 15 Metallica tribute albums have been released. On September 10, 2006, Metallica guest starred on ''The Simpsons'' eighteenth season premiere "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer", and Hammett's and Hetfield's voices were used in three episodes of the animated television series ''Metalocalypse''.

The Finnish cello metal band Apocalyptica released a tribute album, ''Plays Metallica by Four Cellos'', which featured eight Metallica songs recorded with cellos. A parody band named Beatallica plays music using a combination of The Beatles and Metallica songs. Beatallica faced legal troubles when Sony, who own The Beatles' catalogue, ordered a cease and desist claiming "substantial and irreparable injury"—ordering the group to pay damages. A fan of Beatallica, Ulrich asked Metallica lawyer Peter Paterno to help settle the legal case.

Metallica was ranked by MTV as the third "Greatest Heavy Metal Band in History", was listed fifth on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'', and was number one on VH1's ''20 Greatest Metal Bands'' list. ''Master of Puppets'' was ranked number 167 on ''Rolling Stone''s ''The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time'', and ''Metallica'' was number 252. ''Master of Puppets'' was named in ''Q Magazine'''s "50 Heaviest Albums of All Time", ranked number one on IGN's "Top 25 Metal Albums", and number one on the Metal-rules.com "Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums" list. The song "Enter Sandman" was ranked number 399 on ''Rolling Stone''s "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

On March 7, 1999, Metallica was inducted into the San Francisco Walk of Fame. The mayor of San Francisco, Willie Brown, proclaimed the day "Official Metallica Day". Metallica was awarded the MTV Icon award in 2003, and a concert was held paying tribute to the band with artists performing Metallica songs. Performances included Sum 41 with a medley of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "Enter Sandman", and "Master of Puppets". Staind covered "Nothing Else Matters", Avril Lavigne played "Fuel", hip-hop artist Snoop Dogg performed "Sad but True", Korn played "One", and Limp Bizkit performed a rendition of "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)".

The popular ''Guitar Hero'' series added a number of Metallica's songs into their games. The first instance was ''Guitar Hero III'' when "One" was a track in the game. In the sequel, ''Guitar Hero World Tour'', the song "Trapped Under Ice" was featured. Eventually in 2009, Metallica collaborated to make ''Guitar Hero: Metallica'', in which a number of Metallica's songs were included. Harmonix' Rock Band series included "Enter Sandman", with "Ride the Lightning", "Blackened", and "...And Justice for All" released as downloadable tracks. The song "Battery" was featured in the game's sequel ''Rock Band 2''.

Awards

Grammy Awards:

1990: Best Metal Performance – "One"

1991: Best Metal Performance – "Stone Cold Crazy"

1992: Best Metal Performance – ''Metallica''

1999: Best Metal Performance – "Better than You"

2000: Best Hard Rock Performance – "Whiskey in the Jar"

2001: Best Rock Instrumental Performance – "The Call of Ktulu" with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony

2004: Best Metal Performance – "St. Anger"

2009: Best Metal Performance – "My Apocalypse"

MTV Video Music Awards:

1992: Best Metal Video – "Enter Sandman"

1996: Best Metal Video – "Until It Sleeps"

American Music Awards:

1996: Favorite Artist: Heavy Metal/Hard Rock: Metallica – ''Load''

1996: Favorite Metal/Hard Rock Song – "Until It Sleeps"

''Billboard'' Music Awards:

1997: ''Billboard'' Rock and Roll Artist of the Year – Metallica (RIAA Diamond Award)

1999: Catalogue Artist of the Year – Metallica

1999: Catalogue Album of the Year – ''Metallica''

''Kerrang!'' Awards:

2003: Hall of Fame – Metallica

2003: Best International Band – Metallica

2004: Best Band on the Planet – Metallica

2008: Inspiration Award Winner – Metallica

2009: Best Album – ''Death Magnetic''

Band members

Current members

James Hetfield – lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1981–present)

Lars Ulrich – drums (1981–present)

Kirk Hammett – lead guitar, backing vocals (1983–present)

Robert Trujillo – bass, backing vocals (2003–present)

Former members

Ron McGovney – bass (1982)

Dave Mustaine – lead guitar, backing vocals (1982–1983)

Cliff Burton – bass, backing vocals (1982–1986)

Jason Newsted – bass, backing vocals (1986–2001)

Timeline

Discography

;Studio albums

''Kill 'Em All'' (1983)

''Ride the Lightning'' (1984)

''Master of Puppets'' (1986)

''...And Justice for All'' (1988)

''Metallica'' (1991)

''Load'' (1996)

''ReLoad'' (1997)

''St. Anger'' (2003)

''Death Magnetic'' (2008)

;Collaboration albums

''Lulu'' (with Lou Reed) (2011)

See also

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart

List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area

List of best-selling music artists

List of Metallica concert tours

References

Sources

External links

Category:Metallica Category:American hard rock musical groups Category:American thrash metal musical groups Category:Heavy metal musical groups from California Category:Thrash metal musical groups from California Category:Speed metal musical groups Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Music of the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Musical groups established in 1981 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical quartets Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Warner Bros. Records artists

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name	Bill Bailey
birth name	Mark Bailey
birth date	January 13, 1964
birth place	Bath, Somerset, England
active	1989–present
genre	Surreal humour, Musical comedy
spouse	Kristin Bailey (1998–present)
religion	Pagan
website
notable work	''Black Books''''Never Mind the Buzzcocks''''Hot Fuzz''
notable role	Manny Biancoin ''Black Books''Bilboin ''Spaced'' }}

Bill Bailey (born Mark Bailey; 13 January, 1964) is an English comedian, musician and actor. As well as his extensive stand-up work, Bailey is well known for his appearances on ''Black Books'', ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'', ''Have I Got News for You'', and ''QI''.

Bailey was listed by ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy in 2003. In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the 7th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups. Bill Bailey is a patron of International Animal Rescue.

Personal life

Bailey was born in Bath, Somerset and spent the majority of his childhood in Keynsham, a town situated between Bath and Bristol in the West of England. His father was a medical practitioner and his mother was a hospital ward sister. His maternal grandparents lived in an annexe, built on the side of the house by his maternal grandfather who was a stonemason and builder. Two rooms at the front of the family house were for his father's surgery.

Bailey was educated at King Edward's School, an independent school in Bath where he was initially an academic pupil winning most of the prizes. However, at about the age of 15 years, he started to become distracted from school work when he realised the thrill of performance as a member of a school band called Behind Closed Doors, which played mostly original work. He was the only pupil at his school to study A-level music and he passed with an A grade. He also claims to have been good at sport (captain of KES 2nd XI cricket team 1982), which often surprised his teachers. He would often combine the two by leading the singing on the long coach trip back from away rugby fixtures. It was here that he was given his nickname Bill by his music teacher, Ian Phipps, for being able to play the song "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" so well on the guitar.

He started an English degree at Westfield College of the University of London but left after a year.

He spent his early years listening to Monty Python records, and rehearsing with a band called the "Famous Five", who he himself confesses were very bad but still much better than him and who actually only had four members. However, he is a classically trained musician and received an Associateship Diploma from the London College of Music as well as being made an honorary member of the Society of Crematorium Organists. Despite this, he has said that he always had the temptation to be silly with music, a trait that influences his stand-up shows.

Bailey often mythologises his early years in his stand-up. In his show ''Bewilderness'', he claims to have attended Bovington Gurney School of Performing Arts and Owl Sanctuary. He talks about a succession of jobs he had before becoming a comedian, including lounge pianist, crematorium organist, door-to-door door-salesman and accompanist for a mind-reading dog. A clip of Bailey's appearance in the dog's routine was shown during his ''Room 101'' appearance. He also is self-deprecating about his appearance, suggesting he is so hairy that he is part troll, or that his hair or beard is a small animal named Lionel whom he has trained to sit 'very very still.'

Bailey also talks about his role as a "Disenfranchised Owl" in an experimental Welsh theatre troupe. Other acting roles included a part in a Workers' Revolutionary Party stage production called ''The Printers'', which also featured Vanessa Redgrave and Frances de la Tour. His trivia page on IMDb also claims that he was awarded Best Actor in the 1986 Institut Français awards.

Bailey married Kristin in 1998. An avid ''Star Trek'' fan, he named his son (born 2003) not after the'' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' character Dax as is often reported, but after a childhood friend, and often refers to himself as a Klingon (once claiming during his "Part Troll" tour that his ear-mounted microphone made him resemble "a wizard in a call centre" and "a Klingon motivational speaker").

He currently lives in Hammersmith and supports Queens Park Rangers. In 2010, Bailey endorsed the Labour Party in the upcoming General Election, appearing in the party's fifth party election broadcast of the 2010 campaign. He is also an outspoken feminist and supporter of the Fawcett Society.

Career

Early stand-up

Bailey began touring the country with other comedians such as Mark Lamarr. In 1984 he formed a double act, the Rubber Bishops, with Toby Longworth (a former fellow pupil at King Edward's Bath). They achieved a certain amount of success on the club circuit, partly due to their rigorous schedule – sometimes as many as three or four gigs a night. It was here that Bailey began developing his own unique style, mixing in musical parodies with deconstructions of or variations on traditional jokes ("How many amoebas does it take to change a lightbulb? One, no two! No four! No eight..."). According to comedy folklore, after a reviewer once criticised his act for its lack of jokes, Bailey returned the following night, at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, to perform a set composed entirely of punchlines. Toby left to join the RSC in 1989 and was replaced by Martin Stubbs.

Stubbs later quit to pursue a more serious career, and in 1994 Bailey performed ''Rock'' at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with Sean Lock, a show about an ageing rockstar and his roadie, script-edited by comedy writer Jim Miller. It was later serialised for the Mark Radcliffe show on BBC Radio 1. However, the show's attendances were not impressive and on one occasion the only person in the audience was comedian Dominic Holland. Bailey almost gave up comedy to take up a telesales job.

He persevered, however, and went solo the next year with the one man show ''Bill Bailey's Cosmic Jam''. The show was very well received and led to a recording at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London which was broadcast in 1997 on Channel 4 as a one-hour special called ''Bill Bailey Live''. It was not until 2005 that this was released in DVD uncut and under its original title. It marked the first time that Bailey had been able to tie together his music and post-modern gags with the whimsical rambling style he is now known for.

After supporting Donna McPhail in 1995 and winning a ''Time Out'' award, he returned to Edinburgh in 1996 with a critically acclaimed show that was nominated for the Perrier Comedy Award. Amongst the other nominees was future ''Black Books'' co-star Dylan Moran, who narrowly beat him in the closest vote in the award's history.

Bailey won the Best Live Stand-Up award at the British Comedy Awards, 1999.

Television

Though he didn't win the Perrier in 1996, the nomination was enough to get him noticed, and in 1998 the BBC gave him his own television show, ''Is It Bill Bailey?''

This was not Bailey's first foray into television. His debut was on the children's TV show ''Motormouth'' in the late 1980s, playing piano for a mind-reading dog. The trick went hilariously wrong, and Bailey reminisced about the experience on the BBC show ''Room 101'' with Paul Merton in 2000. In 1991, he was appearing in stand-up shows such as ''The Happening'', ''Packing Them In'', ''The Stand Up Show'', and ''The Comedy Store''. He also appeared as captain on two panel games, an ITV music quiz pilot called ''Pop Dogs'', and the poorly received Channel 4 science fiction quiz show, ''Space Cadets''. However ''Is it Bill Bailey?'' was the first time he had written and presented his own show.

With his star on the rise and gaining public recognition, over the next few years, Bailey made well received guest appearances on shows such as ''Have I Got News For You'', ''World Cup Comedy'', ''Room 101'', ''Des O'Connor Tonight'', ''Coast to Coast'' and three episodes of off-beat Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'', in which he played comic-shop manager Bilbo Bagshot.

In 1998, Dylan Moran approached him with the pilot script for ''Black Books'', a Channel 4 sitcom about a grumpy bookshop owner, his put-upon assistant, and their neurotic female friend. It was commissioned in 2000, and Bailey took the part of the assistant Manny Bianco, with Moran playing the owner Bernard, and Tamsin Greig the friend, Fran. Three series of six episodes were made, building up a large cult fanbase, providing the public awareness on which Bailey would build a successful national tour in 2001.

When Sean Hughes left his long-term role as a team captain on ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' in 2002, Bailey became his successor. His style quickly blended into the show, possibly helped by his background in music. He soon developed a rapport of sorts with host Mark Lamarr, who continually teased him about his looks and his pre-occupation with woodland animals. It was announced on 18 September 2008 that Bill would be leaving the series and be replaced by a series of guest captains including Jack Dee and Dermot O'Leary. Whilst touring in 2009, Bailey joked that his main reason for leaving the show was a lack of desire to continue humming Britney Spears' Toxic to little known figures in the indie music scene. It was during this time that he also left his position as "curator" of The Museum of Curiosity, and declared his intention to "retire" from panel games, although he has since appeared on QI many more times and hosted Have I Got News For You.

Bailey has appeared frequently on the intellectual panel game ''QI'' since it began in 2003, appearing alongside host Stephen Fry and regular panellist Alan Davies. Other television appearances include a cameo role in Alan Davies' drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' as failing street magician Kenny Starkiss and obsessed guitar teacher in the "Holiday" episode of Sean Lock's ''Fifteen Storeys High''. He later appeared with Lock again as a guest on his show ''TV Heaven, Telly Hell''. He has also appeared twice on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. Bill also hosted his own show "Comic's Choice", which aired in 2011.

Bailey also presented ''Wild Thing I Love You'' which began on Channel 4 on 15 October 2006. The series focuses on the protection of Britain's wild animals, and has included rehoming badgers, owls, and water voles.

Bailey has most recently appeared in the second series of the E4 teenage "dramedy" ''Skins'' playing Maxxie's Dad, Walter Oliver. In episode 1, Walter struggles with his son's desire to be a dancer, instead wishing him to become a builder, which is what he himself does for a living. Walter is married to Jackie, played by Fiona Allen.

Bailey appeared on the first episode of Grand Designs Live on 4 May 2008, helping Kevin McCloud build his eco-friendly home. In 2009 Bailey appeared in the BBC show "Hustle" as the Character "Cyclops", a side-line character. In the Autumn of 2009, Bailey presented Bill Bailey's Birdwatching Bonanza.

As a continuation of Bailey's recent foray into natural history, he presented ITV1's half-hour wildlife mini-series ''Baboons With Bill Bailey''. The series was filmed in Cape Town and spanned 8 episodes, with exclusive content available on itvWILD.

International tours

In 2001, Bailey began touring the globe with ''Bewilderness'', which became a huge success. A recording of a performance in Swansea was released on DVD the same year, and the show was broadcast on Channel 4 that Christmas. A modified version of it also proved successful in America, and in 2002 Bill released a CD of a recording at the WestBeth Theatre in New York. The show contained all his trademarks, popular music parodies (such as Unisex Chip Shop, a Billy Bragg tribute which he actually performed with Billy Bragg at the 2005 Glastonbury Festival), "three men in a pub" jokes (including one in the style of Geoffrey Chaucer) and deconstructions of television themes such as ''Countdown'' and ''The Magic Roundabout''. A 'Bewilderness' CD was sold outside gigs, which was actually just a mixture of studio recordings of songs and monologues Bill had performed in the past – it was later released in shops as ''Bill Bailey: The Ultimate Collection... Ever!''. That same year he also presented a Channel 4 countdown, ''Top Ten Prog Rock''.

Bailey premiered his show ''Part Troll'' at the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A critical and commercial success, he then transferred it to the West End where tickets sold out in under 24 hours, and new dates had to be added. Since then he has toured it all over the UK as well as in America, Australia and New Zealand. The show marked the first time Bailey had really tackled political material, as he expanded on subjects such as the war on Iraq, which he had only touched upon before in his ''Bewilderness New York'' show. He also talks extensively on drugs, at one point asking the audience to name different ways of baking cannabis. A DVD was released in 2004.

2005 finally saw the release of his 1995 show ''Bill Bailey's Cosmic Jam''. The 2-disc set also contained a director's cut of ''Bewilderness'', which featured a routine on Stephen Hawking's ''A Brief History of Time'' not seen in the original version.

Bailey performed at show at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe entitled "Steampunk". It looked set to become the fastest selling fringe show ever (beating the record Bailey set with The Odd Couple in 2005). But a ticketing mix-up forced the last 10% of tickets to be purchased in person from the venue rather than pre-booked, meaning the venue filled at a slower overall rate than it should have.

Bailey appeared at the Beautiful Days festival in August 2007. The UK leg of the ''Tinselworm'' tour enjoyed 3 sell-out nights at the MEN Arena in Manchester, Europe's largest indoor arena, and culminated with a sell-out performance at Wembley Arena.

Early in 2007, a petition was started to express fans' wishes to see him cast as a dwarf in the 2010 film ''The Hobbit'', after his stand-up routine mentioned auditioning for Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings''. The petition reached its goal in the early days of January, and was sent to the producers. It was hoped that as the Tinselworm tour took him to Wellington in New Zealand where the film is in pre-production, that he would be able to audition.

Bill Bailey's most recent tour, titled ''Dandelion Mind'', was released on DVD on 22 November 2010.

Other appearances

2000

A small role in British comedy film ''Saving Grace''

2001

19 July: Panelist in Radio 4's show ''The 99p Challenge''

2002

Voice for a BMW Mini advertising campaign

Writer and performer for a series of British Airways adverts in which, through the use of music, he took a humorous look at several locations around the world

Guest panellist on BBC Radio show ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''

2003

Juror No. 4 in ''Twelve Angry Men'', directed by Guy Masterson for the 2003 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Panelist on Radio 4's show ''Just a Minute'' (twice)

4 February: Panelist (for a second time) on Radio 4's show ''The 99p Challenge''

21 October: Presented ''Good Vibrations: The History of the Theremin'' on Radio 4

2005

Voice of the sperm whale in the 2005 film ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''

Co-starred as Oscar in ''The Odd Couple'' (alongside Alan Davies), directed by Guy Masterson for the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

One of the acts in the Birmingham show "Jasper Carrott's Rock with Laughter", alongside other performers including Bonnie Tyler, Lenny Henry, Bobby Davro and the Lord of the Dance troupe

Returned to Radio 4's ''Just a Minute'' for a third show as a panellist

2006

15 March: Interviewed by Lenny Henry for BBC Radio 4 show ''Chain Reaction''

22 March: Returned to ''Chain Reaction'' to interview Simon Pegg

2007

A minor part in Simon Pegg's and Edgar Wright's film ''Hot Fuzz'', as a pair of desk sergeant twins. (Bailey had originally meant to also appear in Pegg and Wright's earlier film, ''Shaun of the Dead''. but the commentary included with the DVD of that movie explains that he was busy with other commitments at the time.)

February: Organised, produced, and starred in West End show Pinter's People, a collection of sketches by playwright Harold Pinter. The show also starred Kevin Eldon, Sally Phillips and Geraldine McNulty

March: Appeared at the International Human Beatbox Convention at the South Bank Centre in London, introducing Shlomo to the stage for the climax of the concert, as well as showing off his own beatboxing

4 May: Guest presenter for an episode of BBC One's ''Have I Got News for You'' (a role he returned to on 9 May 2008)

July: Narrator for 'Nessy Tales', a series of animated reading books for dyslexic children

2008

Guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs

February: Co-host of the first series of BBC Radio 4's panel show ''The Museum of Curiosity''

9 May: Guest presenter for an episode of BBC One's ''Have I Got News for You''

9 June: Guest on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Later that day, appeared as Rushton in the first episode of an adaptation of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists on the same station 7 September: Guest on live Australian TV show 'Rove'. In a questionnaire to win in 20 seconds, host Rove McManus asked his usual question, "Who would you turn gay for?". Bailey replied, "The pope" September: One of the hosts of the ''So You Think You're Funny'' comedy gala at the ''Edinburgh Festival Fringe''

11 October: Guest on BBC Radio 4's ''Loose Ends''

12 November: Performed for "We Are Most Amused", a special comedy performance to celebrate the 60th birthday of Prince Charles

2010

30 March: took part in ''Channel 4's Comedy Gala'', a benefit show held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, filmed live at the O2 Arena in London.

27 June: appeared on Top Gear's ''Star in a Reasonably Priced Car'', while impersonating Angelina Jolie. He finished with a time of 1:50.8 in the Kia Cee'd.

28 September: the first guest on new ABC TV conversation program ''A Quiet Word With ...''.

Music

Bailey is a talented pianist and guitarist, and has perfect pitch; of this he has said }} His stand-up routines often feature music from genres such as jazz, rock (most notably prog rock from the early seventies), drum'n'bass, rave and classical, usually for comic value. Favourite instruments include the keyboard, guitar, theremin, kazoo and bongos. He also mentioned in an interview that he has achieved Grade 6 Clarinet. He was part of punk band Beergut 100, which he founded in 1995 with comedy writer Jim Miller and also featured Martin Trenaman and Phil Whelans, with Kevin Eldon as lead singer. The band performed at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Trenaman and Welans had previously appeared in ''Cosmic Jam'' under the name "The Stan Ellis Experiment", and Trenaman and Eldon later featured with John Moloney in the Kraftwerk homage "Das Hokey Kokey" on the ''Part Troll'' tour. Bill claims that he and the three other performers are a Kraftwerk tribute band called ''Augenblick''. To mark the final gig of the ''Part Troll'' tour on 1 January 2005 the band reappeared on stage after the "Das Hokey Kokey" joke to play an hour-long encore of music.

In February 2007, Bill appeared on two occasions with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Anne Dudley in a show entitled ''Cosmic Shindig''. Performed in The Colosseum in Watford on 24 February and in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 26 February, the show contained orchestrally accompanied versions of many of Bill's previously performed songs, an exploration of the instruments of the orchestra and a number of new pieces of music. The Queen Elizabeth Hall performance was aired on BBC Radio 3 on 16 March 2007 as a part of Comic Relief 2007.

Bill had planned to put himself forward as Britain's Eurovision entry in 2008, as a result of several fan petitions encouraging him to do so.

In October 2008 he performed ''Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra'' at the Royal Albert Hall with the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Anne Dudley.

In 2009, Bailey presented a project about the explorer and naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, in the form of an Indonesian travelogue. Bailey said in an interview that Wallace had been "airbrushed out of history", and that he feels a "real affinity" with him.

In November 2009 he was a guest on ''Private Passions'', the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.

In July 2011, Bailey performed at the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, headlining the Saturn Stage.

Tours

''Cosmic Jam'' (1995)

''Bewilderness'' (2001)

''Part Troll'' (2004)

''Steampunk'' (2006) (Edinburgh Festival)

''Tinselworm'' (2008)

''Bill Bailey Live'' (2008–09) (Theatre Tour with Some Material from Tinselworm, but Mostly New Material)

''Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra'' (2009)

''Dandelion Mind'' (2010)

DVD releases

!Title	!Released	!Notes
''Bewilderness''	12 November 2001
''Part Troll''	22 November 2004	Live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo
''Cosmic Jam''	7 November 2005	Live at London's Bloomsbury Theatre
''Tinselworm''	10 November 2008	Live at London's Wembley Arena
''Remarkable Guide to the Orchestra''	23 November 2009	Live at London's Royal Albert Hall
''Dandelion Mind''	22 November 2010

Filmography

''The James Whale Radio Show (TV series)'' (circa 1990) (Guest)

''Blue Heaven (Channel 4 TV series)'' (1994)

''Asylum'' (1996)

''Space Cadets'' (1997) (Regular team captain)

''Is It Bill Bailey?'' (1998)

''Spaced'' (1999–2001)

''Have I Got News for You'' (guest 1999, 2001, 2005; guest presenter 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)

''Saving Grace'' (2000)

''Maid Marian and her Merry Men (1992). Cameo court jester to King John

''Black Books'' (2000–2004)

''Jonathan Creek''

* "Satan's Chimney" (2001)

* "The Tailor's Dummy" (2003)

''Wild West'' (2002–2004)

''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' (2002–2008) (Regular team captain)

''QI'' (2003–present) (Frequent guest)

"15 Storeys High" – "The Holiday" (2004)

''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (2005) (Voice of the Sperm Whale)

''The Libertine'' (Small cameo role as advisor to Charles II of England).

''Wild Thing I Love You'' (2006) (Presenter)

''Top Gear (A Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car)

''Hot Fuzz'' (2007)

''Run Fatboy Run'' (2007) (Cameo)

''Skins'' (2008)

''Love Soup'' (2008)

''We Are Most Amused'' (2008) (''One-off special'')

''Hustle''

* "Return of the Prodigal" (2009)

* "Diamond Seeker" (2009)

''Steve's World'' (2009)

''Burke and Hare'' (2010)

''Bill Bailey's Bird Watching Bonanza'' (2010)

''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'' (2010)

''Talkin' 'bout Your Generation'' (2010); one episode

''Chalet Girl'' (2011)

References

External links

.

Bill Bailey on Chortle.

Category:1965 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:20th-century writers Category:21st-century writers Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Category:Alumni of Westfield College Category:English buskers Category:English comedians Category:English comedy musicians Category:English composers Category:English film actors Category:English guitarists Category:English stand-up comedians Category:English television actors Category:English television writers Category:Living people Category:Never Mind the Buzzcocks Category:People from Bath, Somerset Category:People from Keynsham Category:People educated at King Edward's School, Bath

cy:Bill Bailey fr:Bill Bailey ga:Bill Bailey nl:Bill Bailey no:Bill Bailey ru:Бэйли, Билл (комедиант) simple:Bill Bailey fi:Bill Bailey sv:Bill Bailey

birth name	Whitney Elizabeth Houston
background	solo_singer
born	August 09, 1963Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
origin	East Orange, New Jersey
instrument	Vocals, piano
genre	R&B;, pop, dance, soul, gospel
occupation	Singer, actress, model, film producer, record producer, songwriter
years active	1977–present
label	Arista/Sony Music
associated acts	Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, Kim Burrell, CeCe Winans, Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Jermaine Jackson
website	}}

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American R&B;/pop singer, actress, and former fashion model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. Houston is also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide on relatively few releases.

Inspired by several prominent soul singers in her extended family, including mother Cissy Houston and cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, as well as her godmother, Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing with New Jersey church's junior gospel choir at age 11. After she began performing alongside her mother in night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. As of 2011, Houston has released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.

Houston's 1985 debut album, ''Whitney Houston'', became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. Her second studio album, ''Whitney'' (1987), became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV, starting with her video for "How Will I Know", enabled several African-American female artists to follow in her success.

Houston's first acting role was as the star of the feature film ''The Bodyguard'' (1992). The movie's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. The album makes her the only female act ranked in the list of the top-10 best-selling albums, at number four. Houston continued to star in movies and contribute to soundtracks, including with the films ''Waiting to Exhale'' (1995) and ''The Preacher's Wife'' (1996). Three years after the release of her fourth studio album, ''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records. She released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney'', in 2002, and the Christmas-themed ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' in 2003. Amid widespread media coverage of personal and professional turmoil, Houston ended her 14-year marriage to singer Bobby Brown in 2006. In 2009, Houston released her seventh studio album, ''I Look To You''.

Biography

1963–76: Early life

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle-income neighbourhood of Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of John and gospel singer Cissy Houston. She is mostly African-American, with some Native-American and Dutch ancestry. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle class area in East Orange, New Jersey when she was four.

At the age of eleven, Houston began to follow in her mother's footsteps and started performing as a soloist in the junior gospel choir at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where she also learned to play the piano. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah".

When Houston was a teenager, she attended a Catholic girls high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she describes as the "sister she never had." While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing. In addition to her mother, Franklin, and Warwick, Houston was also exposed to the music of Chaka Khan, Gladys Knight, and Roberta Flack, most of whom would have an impact on her as a singer and performer.

1977–84: Early career

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she was a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her young daughter to finish school first. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a larger hit for herself on her monster-selling ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack album. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson. In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared as a lead vocalist on a Paul Jabara album, entitled ''Paul Jabara and Friends'', released by Columbia Records in 1983. She appeared in ''Seventeen'' and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of the magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages ''Glamour'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Young Miss'' and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time. While modeling, she continued her burgeoning recording career by working with producers Ben Dover, Bill Laswell and Martin Bisi on an album they were spearheading called ''One Down'', which was credited to the group Material. For that project, Houston contributed the ballad "Memories". Robert Christgau of ''The Village Voice'' called her contribution "one of the most gorgeous ballads you've ever heard."

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980 and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R; representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on ''The Merv Griffin Show''.

Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, ''Love Language''. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B; hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–86: Rise to prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's self-titled debut album was released in February 1985. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine praised the new talent, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while ''The New York Times'' called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent." The first single, the dance-funk "Someone For Me", failed to chart in the US and UK. The next single, "Thinking About You", reached the top ten of the US R&B; Chart, as the album sold modestly. The release of the next single, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love", peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and went to #1 on the R&B; Charts. As a result, the album began to sell strongly, and Houston continued promoting the album by touring nightclubs in the US. She also began performing on late-night television talk shows, which was not usually accessible to black acts. The jazzy ballad "Saving All My Love for You" was released next and it would become Houston's first #1 hit single in both the US and the UK. She was now an opening act for singer Jeffrey Osborne on his nationwide tour. At the time, MTV had received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by African-American artists while favoring rock acts. The next single, "How Will I Know", peaked at #1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. This would make the singer the second African-American female artist to receive heavy rotation on the network(Donna Summer was the first with "She Works Hard For The Money"). By 1986, a year after its initial release, ''Whitney Houston'' topped the Billboard 200 album chart and stayed there for 14 non-consecutive weeks. The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking #1 and remaining there for three weeks. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a female artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, ''Greatest Love Tour''. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13x Platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including ''Album of the Year''. She was ineligible for the ''Best New Artist'' category due to her previous duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for 'Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female' for "Saving All My Love for You". At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit; that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a ''Record of the Year'' nomination. Houston's debut album is currently listed as one of ''Rolling Stone's'' 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Whitney Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today''. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.

1987–91: ''Whitney'', ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' and "The Star Spangled Banner"

Houston’s second album, ''Whitney'', was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. ''Rolling Stone'' said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating." Still, the album enjoyed commercial success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the US and UK album chart while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first four singles, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "So Emotional," and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. ''Whitney'' has been certified 9× Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.

At the Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including ''Album of the Year'', winning her second Grammy for ''Best Female Pop Vocal Performance'' for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Houston also won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the ''Moment of Truth World Tour'' which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tour and her albums ranked Houston #8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to ''Forbes Magazine''. She was the highest earning African-American woman and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy. The list included her concert grosses during 1986 and 1987.

Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. In June 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Over 72,000 people attended Wembley Stadium, and over a billion people tuned in worldwide as the rock concert raised over $1 million for charities while bringing awareness to apartheid. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her current world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–1988 according to ''Forbes'' magazine.

In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". They felt her singing on record lacked the soul that was present during her live concerts. At the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards, when Houston's name was called out for a nomination, a few in the audience jeered. Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it." Houston took a more urban direction with her third studio album, ''I'm Your Baby Tonight'', released in November 1990. She produced and chose producers for this album and as a result, it featured production and collaborations with L.A. Reid and Babyface, Luther Vandross, and Stevie Wonder. The album showed Houston's versatility on a new batch of tough rhythmic grooves, soulful ballads and up-tempo dance tracks. Reviews were mixed. ''Rolling Stone'' felt it was her "best and most integrated album". while ''Entertainment Weekly'', at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial". The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified four times platinum in America while selling twelve million total worldwide. Two of the singles released from the album reached number one in the US.

With America at war, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991. VH1 listed the performance as the 12th greatest moment that rocked TV. Her recording of the song was released as a commercial single, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached #50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the Red Cross. As a result, the singer was named to the Red Cross Board of Governors. Later that year, Houston put together her ''Welcome Home Heroes'' concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour.

1992–94: Marriage to Bobby Brown and ''The Bodyguard''

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. She then met R&B; singer Bobby Brown at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. After a three year courtship, the two were married on July 18, 1992. Nearly a year later, Houston gave birth to their daughter Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, her first and only child, his fourth. Brown would go on to have several run-ins with the law, including some jail time.

With the commercial success of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston’s first film role was in ''The Bodyguard'', released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston played Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. ''USA Today'' listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years. The movie is also notable for not mentioning or needing to explain its interracial aspect. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind. Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's ads intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial aspect. In an interview with ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is—I'm black. You can't hide that fact." Houston received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress. ''The Washington Post'' said Houston is "doing nothing more than playing Houston, comes out largely unscathed if that is possible in so cockamamie an undertaking", and ''The New York Times'' said she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100.

The film's soundtrack also enjoyed success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's adjoining soundtrack album. ''Rolling Stone'' said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B; chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks. The song also hit number-one in many other countries. The soundtrack debuted at #1 and remained there for twenty non-consecutive weeks and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. At one point the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to do so. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both peaking in the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 20 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the United States with worldwide sales of 42 million, making ''The Bodyguard'' the only album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums. Houston won three Grammys for the album, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won eight American Music Awards at that year's ceremony, including the Award of Merit, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour in 1993 and 1994. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–1994, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to ''Forbes Magazine''. Houston placed in the top five of ''Entertainment Weekly's'' annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by ''Premier Magazine'' as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela."

1995–97: ''Waiting to Exhale'', ''The Preacher's Wife'' and ''Cinderella''

In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film ''Waiting to Exhale'', a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston plays the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers". After opening at number one and grossing $67 million in the US at the box office and $81 million worldwide, it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as ''How Stella Got Her Groove Back'' and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. ''The New York Times'' said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture," but lost to her co-star Bassett.

The film's accompanying soundtrack, ''Waiting to Exhale: Original Soundtrack Album'', was produced by Houston and Babyface. Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B; female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at #1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the #2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B; Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at #1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. The soundtrack received strong reviews as ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "the album goes down easy, just as you'd expect from a package framed by Whitney Houston tracks.... the soundtrack waits to exhale, hovering in sensuous suspense" and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. ''Newsday'' called it "the most significant R&B; record of the decade." Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work

In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy ''The Preacher's Wife'', with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice." Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. ''The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album'' included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, such as that of ''USA Today'', noted the presence of her emotional depth, while ''The UK Times'' said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for."

In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's ''Cinderella''. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. However, Halle Berry also had rights to the project and she got her version going first. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Dionne Warwick by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert ''Classic Whitney'', live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund.

1998–2000: ''My Love Is Your Love'' and ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits''

After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures and their adjacent soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed ''My Love Is Your Love'', was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen in the US. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B;, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity. The album featured several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US #15, UK #4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998s The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, it also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US #2, UK# 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, and number one on the US R&B; chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US #4, UK #3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award; "My Love Is Your Love" (US #4, UK #2); and "I Learned from the Best" (US #27, UK #19). These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the U.S. Dance/Clubplay Chart. The album sold four million copies in America (4× platinum) and a total of eleven million worldwide. The album gave Houston some of her strongest reviews ever. ''Rolling Stone'' said Houston was singing "with a bite in her voice" and ''The Village Voice'' called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999, Houston participated in ''VH-1's Divas’ Live '99'', alongside Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date ''My Love Is Your Love'' worldwide tour. The European leg was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year.

In May 2000, ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' was released. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States and reached number one in the United Kingdom. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album is notable for featuring house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits, in place of their original version. Also included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine". Along with the album, an accompanying DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits. The greatest hits album was certified triple platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of ten million. Houston and Chase, along with Warner Brothers, were then set to produce a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle about a 1960s singing group of three sisters in Harlem. Aaliyah, who was to star in the remake, was killed in a plane crash in 2001 before production began.

2000–05: ''Just Whitney'', drug allegations and personal struggles

Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the '80s and early '90s, by the late '90s, her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaii airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against her and Brown, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but did not attend. Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach. Her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation. In his book ''The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards'', author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant," and that while Houston was to sing "Over the Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company.

In August 2001, Houston signed the biggest record deal in music history with Arista/BMG. She renewed her contract for $100 million to deliver six new albums, on which she would also earn royalties. She later made an appearance on ''Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special''. Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The song peaked at #6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position. Houston donated her portion of the proceeds.

In 2002, Houston became involved in a legal dispute with John Houston Enterprise. Although the company was started by her father to manage her career, it was now actually run by company president Kevin Skinner. Skinner filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit and sued for $100 million (but lost), stating that Houston owed the company previously unpaid compensation for helping to negotiate her $100 million contract with Arista Records and for sorting out legal matters. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.

Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her then-upcoming album. The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." The line would become infamous. Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times.

In December 2002, Houston released her fifth studio album, ''Just Whitney...''. The album included productions from then-husband Bobby Brown, as well as Missy Elliott and Babyface, and marked the first time Houston did not produce with Clive Davis as Davis had been released by top management at BMG. Upon its release, ''Just Whitney...'' received mixed reviews. The album debuted at number 9 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. The four singles released from the album, didn't fare well on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but became Hot Dance Club Play hits. ''Just Whitney...'' was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.

In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album ''One Wish: The Holiday Album'', with a song listing of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. A single titled "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US. Having always been a touring artist, Houston spent most of 2004 touring and performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Russia. In September 2004, she gave a surprise performance at the World Music Awards, in tribute to long time friend Clive Davis. After the show, Davis and Houston announced plans to go into studio to work on her new album.

In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, ''Being Bobby Brown'' (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The ''Hollywood Reporter'' said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.

2006–present: Return to music, ''I Look to You'' and tour

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the next month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. Less than a month later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In October 2007, Arista released another compilation ''The Ultimate Collection'' outside the United States. Houston released her new album, ''I Look to You'', on August 2009. The album's first two singles are "I Look to You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at #1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since '' The Bodyguard '', and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's ''Whitney''. Houston gave her first interview in seven years, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere on September 2009. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade". The interview was so candid that Whitney admitted using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown describing to Oprah that she "laced marijuana with rock cocaine". Houston has also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look to You" on the German television show ''Wetten Dass.'' Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on ''The X Factor'' in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes". 200px|thumb|left|Whitney Houston at the [[The O2 Arena (London)|O2 Arena, April 28, 2010, as part of her Nothing but Love World Tour]] The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look to You" went gold. Houston appeared on the Italian version of X Factor, performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to good reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States. On January 26, 2010, her debut album, was re-released in a special edition entitled ''Whitney Houston – The Deluxe Anniversary Edition''.

Houston later embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing But Love Tour. It was her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention. Houston canceled some concerts due to illness and received widespread negative reviews from fans who were disappointed in the quality of her voice and performance. Some fans reportedly walked out of her concerts.

In January 2010, Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single "I Look to You." On January 16, she received the BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and aired February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper ''The Mirror'' reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and would like to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration. Houston also performed the song "I Look to You," on the 2011 BET ''Celebration of Gospel'', with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staple Center, Los Angeles. The performance aired on January 30, 2011. Early in 2011, she gave an uneven performance in tribute to cousin Dionne Warwick at music mogul Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. In May 2011, Houston enrolled in rehabilitation center again, as an out-patient, citing drug and alcohol problems. A representative for Houston said that it was a part of Houston's "longstanding recovery process."

Legacy

Voice

Houston is a mezzo-soprano. Her vocal range extends from G below middle C (G₃) to high B-flat (B₅); she can belt out to treble F (F₅). She came in third on MTV's 22 Greatest Voices, and sixth on ''Online Magazine COVE''s list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is a tour de force." Describing Houston's voice, Mariah Carey states "[She] has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of ''I Look To You'', music critic Ann Powers of ''Los Angeles Times'' writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators," adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano."

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, commercially rivaling Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. Stephen Holden from ''The New York Times'', in his review of Houston's Radio City Music Hall concert on July 20, 1993, praised her attitude as a singer highly, writing "Whitney Houston is one of the few contemporary pop stars of whom it might be said: the voice suffices. While almost every performer whose albums sell in the millions calls upon an entertainer's bag of tricks, from telling jokes to dancing to circus pyrotechnics, Ms. Houston would rather just stand there and sing." He added the comments on her singing style: "Her [Houston's] stylistic trademarks―shivery melismas that ripple up in the middle of a song, twirling embellishments at the ends of phrases that suggest an almost breathless exhilaration―infuse her interpretations with flashes of musical and emotional lightning." Elysa Gardner of ''Los Angeles Times'' in her review for ''The Preacher's Wife Soundtrack'' praised highly for Houston's vocal ability, commenting "She is first and foremost a pop diva―at that, the best one we have. No other female pop star―not Mariah Carey, not Celine Dion, not Barbra Streisand―quite rivals Houston in her exquisite vocal fluidity and purity of tone, and her ability to infuse a lyric with mesmerizing melodrama." Houston is commonly referred to as "The Voice", in reference to her exceptional vocal talent.

Influence

During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became one of the few black female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Baker commented that "Because of what Whitney and Sade did, there was an opening for me... For radio stations, black women singers aren't taboo anymore." Allmusic also noted her contribution to success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity; the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake." ''The New York Times'' stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of ''TIME'' magazine commented about her first success breaking various barriers as follows; "Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse [Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace." Mary J. Blige said that Houston's inviting her onstage during VH1's ''Divas Live'' show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world."

According to ''The New York Times'', Houston has "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the ''Los Angeles Times'' referred to the singer as a "national treasure". She is what many consider to be a "singer's singer" who has influenced countless other vocalists, both female and male. Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singer - male or female - in her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. ''Rolling Stone,'' on her biography, stated that Houston "redefined the image of a female soul icon and inspired singers ranging from Mariah Carey to Rihanna." ''Essence'' ranked Houston the fifth on their list of 50 Most Influential R&B; Stars of all time, calling her "the diva to end all divas."

A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence. Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told ''USA Today'' that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't." Brandy stated "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing," picking Houston's first album as a work of inspired. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told ''Newsday'' that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called the New Whitney Houston, also cites her as an influence. Lewis stated that she idolized her as a little girl. Kelly Rowland, in an ''Ebony'''s feature articles for celebrationg black music in June 2006, recalled that "[I] wanted to be a singer after I saw Whitney Houston on TV singing 'Greatest Love of All'. I wanted to sing like Whitney Houston in that red dress." She added that "And I have never, ever forgotten that song[Greatest Love of All]. I learned it backward, forward, sideways. The video still brings chills to me. When you wish and pray for something as a kid, you never know what blessings God will give you." Beyoncé Knowles told the ''Globe and Mail'' that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did." Alicia Keys, in the interview on her new studio album with the ''Billboard'' magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl." American recording artist Lady Gaga said that Houston has been one of her "vocal idols" for years. In an interview with IBN Live Gaga revealed that she used to listen Houston's version of The Star Spangled Banner over and over again. At the 2011 Grammys, Gaga gave a shout-out to Houston, and said that she wrote the song "Born This Way" thinking about Houston's vocals.

Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson, Amerie, Destiny's Child, Regine Velasquez, Lady Gaga, and Charice have all cited Houston as a musical inspiration.

Awards and achievements

Houston is the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 29 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010. She holds the all-time record for the most AMAs of any female artist and shares the record with Michael Jackson for the most AMAs ever won in a single year (1994) with 8 wins. Houston won a record 11 Billboard Music Awards at its 4th ceremony in 1993. She also has the record for the most WMAs won in a single year, winning five Awards at the 6th World Music Awards in 1994. In May 2003, Houston placed at number three on VH1's list of "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era," behind Madonna and Janet Jackson. She was also ranked at number 116 on their list of the "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons of All Time." In 2008, ''Billboard'' magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. Similarly, she is ranked as one of the Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by VH1 in September 2010. In November 2010, ''Billboard'' released its "Top 50 R&B; / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years" list and ranked Houston at number three whom not only went on to earn eight No. 1 singles on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but also landed five No. 1s on R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums.

Houston's debut is currently listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and is on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Definitive 200 list. In 2004, ''Billboard'' picked the success of her first release on the charts as one of 110 Musical Milestones in its history. Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to ''USA Today'' in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey’s chart-topping vocal gymnastics. In 1997, the Franklin School in East Orange, New Jersey was renamed to The Whitney E. Houston Academy School of Creative and Performing Arts. In 2001, Houston was the first artist ever to be given a BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Houston is also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she has released relatively few albums, she is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone.

She holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humanities from Grambling State University, Louisiana.

Discography

''Whitney Houston'' (1985)

''Whitney'' (1987)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight'' (1990)

''My Love Is Your Love'' (1998)

''Just Whitney'' (2002)

''One Wish: The Holiday Album'' (2003)

''I Look to You'' (2009)

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes and awards
1992	''The Bodyguard''	Rachel Marron(Main role)	Nominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Female PerformanceNominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough PerformanceNominated — 1993 MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo with co-star Kevin CostnerNominated — 1992 Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
1995	''Waiting to Exhale''	Savannah Jackson(Main role)
1996	''The Preacher's Wife''	Julia Biggs(Main role)	Won — 1997 NAACP Image Award for
Television
Year	Title	Network	Role	Notes
	''[[Gimme a Break!">NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture

Television
Year	Title	Network	Role	Notes
	''[[Gimme a Break!''	NBC	Rita	"Katie's College" (Season 3, Episode 20)
	''Silver Spoons''	NBC	As herself	"Head Over Heels" (Season 4, Episode 1, Air date: September 15, 1985)She performed the edit version of "Saving All My Love for You," changing some of the words—"making love the whole night through" was changed to "holding each other the whole night through"—for the censors on the episode.
			Fairy Godmother
	''Boston Public''	Fox	As herself	She performed her current hit Try it On My Own from the 2002 studio album, Just Whitney.

TV Commercial
Year	Company	Promoting	Country	Notes
	''Dr Pepper/Seven Up''	Canada Dry(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston appeared in this commercial before debut as a professional singer and sang the praises of sugar free Canada Dry Ginger Ale.
	''Coca-Cola''	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the Diet Coke theme song, "Just for the taste of it." (see the commercial)
	''Coca-Cola''	Diet Coke(soft drink beverage)	United States		* Houston sang the other version of the Diet Coke advertising slogan at the time, "Just for the taste of it." (see the commercial)	* Outside the United States, the second version of advertising was released, in which "Greatest Love of All" was used as background music. (see the commercial)	1989 MTV Video Music Awards#Video of the Year>Video of the Year winning "This Note's for You" by Neil Young, parodied parts of this advertising to criticize pop/rock stars who make commercial endorsements, most notably Michael Jackson for Pepsi and Houston for Diet Coke, using look-alike for them.
		Electronics(the stereo, TV)	Japan		Keith Thomas (producer)>Keith Thomas. It was released as a CD single in Japan and included in Japanese edition of ''I'm Your Baby Tonight.''
	''AT&T;''	Telephone services	United States		* Houston sang its theme song, "True Voice." (see the commercial)

Production
Year	Title	Director	Notes and awards
1997		Robert Iscove	Executive producerNominated — 50th Primetime Emmy Awards
2001		[[Garry Marshall	ProducerWon — 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Family Feature Film - ComedyNominated — 2002 Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film (Live Action) Nominated — 2002 Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Family FilmNominated — 2002 Teen Choice Award for Film - Choice Movie, Comedy
2003		Oz Scott	Producer
2004	''The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement''	Garry Marshall	Producer
2006		Kenny Ortega	Co-executive producer

Tours and concerts

;World tours

''Greatest Love World Tour'' (1986)

''Moment of Truth World Tour'' (1987–88)

''I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour'' (1991)

''The Bodyguard World Tour'' (1993–94)

''My Love Is Your Love World Tour'' (1999)

''Nothing But Love World Tour'' (2010)

;Regional tours

''Feels So Right Tour'' (1990)

''The Pacific Rim Tour'' (1997)

''The European Tour'' (1998)

''Soul Divas Tour'' (2004)

;Notable concerts

''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' 1988

''Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston'' 1991

''Super Bowl XXV'' 1991

''The Concert for a New South Africa'' 1994

''Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.'' 1997

Further reading

See also

Whitney Houston chart records and achievements

Grammy nominations for Whitney Houston

American Music Award nominations for Whitney Houston

List of best-selling music artists

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

Honorific nicknames in popular music

Melisma

References

External links

Whitney Houston at ''Whitney Info''

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1963 births Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:Arista Records artists Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Newark, New Jersey

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