"She can sang!" exclaimed Mikal Nabors. "And sing like nobody's business."
The subject is Whitney Houston, who, more than a decade after her death, remains one of the legendary voices of pop music. From 1985 to 1995, Houston's way with a song was a constant of pop radio, resulting in 11 No. 1 singles and innumerable inspired listeners.
Among those who continue to look to the Jersey-born singer as a guiding light are members of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. The group is devoting this weekend's annual Pride concerts at Minneapolis' Ted Mann Concert Hall to the pop diva's repertoire, taking for the program's title what might be the most memorable two words she ever sang: "And IIIIIIII…"
Yes, the opening words of the chorus of "I Will Always Love You," which may have been written by Dolly Parton, but became Houston's trademark song as soon as she belted it out in the film "The Bodyguard" in 1992.
Nabors, 58, of Minneapolis, is a first tenor in the chorus, which was founded in 1981 and has been a staple of local Pride celebrations since. He and other chorus members told the Star Tribune why Whitney Houston remains so important to them.
"She had an unmatched ability to tap into our collective desire to dream big, and to feel big," said bass Justin Rudnick, 36, of Brooklyn Center. "Whitney lived a big life full of extreme highs and lows, and in a lot of ways our LGBTQ community does, too.
"My favorite song of hers is one of her first," Rudnick continued. "When Whitney sings, 'How will I know if he really loves me?' a lot of thoughts and feelings stir within me. … Pride this year is accompanied by a renewed onslaught against the liberties and safety of many folks in the LGBTQ community, and with those attacks come a heightened sense of fear and insecurity. Do the people around us really love us? Will we be supported here? Will we be safe?"
Another chorus member said if his life were a movie, Whitney Houston's music would be the soundtrack.
