Written by: Jason Taylor
I want to start this by saying rest in paradise [not peace] to Whitney Houston, Don Cornelius, Heavy D, Amy Whinehouse, Etta James and to those who have also recently passed away that I didn’t mention. Now, let’s get to the matter at hand. Why is it that it takes an artist dying for their sales to sky rocket? Why can’t us as fans buy into an artist while they are alive? All I see on social networks after an artist passes away is video tributes, favorite songs being remembered, thoughts on the artist and some people giving thoughts on the same thing I’m discussing now. I believe that if we are truly fans of someone’s music, we should always support them. I can admit that I listened to a song or two sung by Whitney Houston after she passed but I’ve always listened to Whitney — crackhead or not she wa– is amazing. Whitney Houston is undeniably one of the greatest voices this world has heard and one of the most loved individuals this world has seen. Despite what you have seen or heard about her in the last part of her troubled life, YOU can’t deny that Whitney will always be great. She made music back in the 70’s and 80’s that are still relevant and relatable now. I heard that after she [Whitney] passed, her albums went way up in sales. Why couldn’t we go buy her albums while she was alive just because? I know that you couldn’t predict her death but I know walking into Amoeba or a record store and I see a Whitney Houston album, the thought of a purchase runs through my mind. The same argument can be made for Michael Jackson, Heavy D, Amy Whinehouse and we can go back as far as Aaliyah, Left Eye [TLC], Biggie and Tupac.
Amy Whinehouse’s Back to Black album for example, went through the roof in sales the Saturday after her death and the album has been out since 2007. With singles like “Rehab” and “Back to Black,” the album wasn’t bad. People all over the world wanted Amy to knock her bad habits but steadily made jokes about her and her habits. All this while she was alive and once she passed away we went and bought her albums, shared music videos, interviews and favorite songs on social sites and talked about how good she was. I guess it’s safe to say that once someone dies all the jokes and criticism MUST stop. Is that in a rule book somewhere? If it is I want to see it and I will erase this whole post. Whiney Houston passed away on the 11th of February and after that eight — count them “eight” — of her albums hit the top 100 charts on ITunes. Her Greatest Hits album became #1. Why couldn’t her albums get that far up for the simple fact of her being great? Etta James, who is a BIG influence to a lot of today’s singers like Beyonce, Jasmine Sullivan and Jennifer Hudson, saw “The Best of Etta James – 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection” released in 1999 and it became her highest charted album — after her death in 2011. Michael Jackson, The KING of Pop, passed away in 2009 and then a deal was made to sell unreleased MJ songs that can gross a quarter of a million dollars. After Ray Charles died in 2004, his last album became his first album to reach #1 on the billboard charts and his highest selling recording in his 40+ year career selling over 5 million copies. Even the prolific Bob Marley has had his sales increase after his death. The album “Legend” is STILL the highest selling reggae album of all time.
All these artists were great and in their own rights, KINGS and QUEENS of music. There is no denying that their music has been around and will be around until the end of time but why do we wait until the death of these artists to rush to the store and buy the albums? As a music fan, I buy albums, records and music in general because I love music. Nowadays ITunes is replacing the old fashioned “walk in the store and look through thousands of CD’s” mentality. However you buy music these days, buy them because you want them and not because the person who the album belongs to passed away. Don’t wait until the death of these wonderful, great and very talented artists to praise their talents. They were great for a reason and should be acknowledged before they pass away. You aren’t going to talk bad about family and then once they pass away, celebrate their life like nothing ever happened. I know some people do so and for those people who do, cherish your family NOW and not AFTER they are gone. I’ll end this by saying this: “A person’s worth should be identified and valued throughout their existence and not after” — Jason Taylor
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