On Davis’ Night, All Eyes on Houston

The “25 Years of Hits . . . “ concert Monday at the Shrine Auditorium was supposed to be a toast to the legacy of Arista Records and its founder, Clive Davis, but the marathon, six-hour affair proved to be more of a test of the credibility of Whitney Houston.

And the acclaimed singer passed, though not perhaps with the kind of knockout punch that is needed to fully dispel the dark rumors that have been flying around her since her high-profile cancellations at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner and the Academy Awards telecast.

Houston’s publicist has said the singer dropped out of both ceremonies because of throat or voice problems, but media speculation continues about Houston’s physical and emotional state. The most alarming rumor: that drug use has damaged her voice and is possibly threatening her career.

Houston has denied the drug rumors, but many in the industry saw Monday’s performance as a crucial proving ground.

Any concerns that Houston would be a no-show were eased moments before the concert’s scheduled 7 p.m. starting time. Accompanied by her husband, Bobby Brown, Houston walked into the auditorium to take her front-row seat next to Davis.

Despite striking performances early in the evening by several artists, including Annie Lennox (performing “Why”) and Sarah McLachlan (“Angel”), the acts seemed like mere preliminaries until Houston stepped on stage about two-thirds of the way through the television taping.

As her band took its place, scores in the capacity crowd began shouting encouragement. “Bring it on, Whitney,” one fan yelled. “Yeah, girl” and “We’re with you, Whitney,” others declared.

So you can imagine how hearts skipped a beat when Houston tripped slightly as she walked to the microphone. Six thousand fans at the Shrine must have pictured her falling flat on her face--literally and figuratively.

But it turned out Houston had simply stumbled on a cord or piece of tape, and she quickly regained her balance and launched into a medley that included such hits as “How Will I Know” and “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).”

Houston’s singing was striking in places, her phrasing grittier than in the old melodramatic diva days. But she didn’t reach for the high notes as consistently as she once did and she seemed tentative at times--or perhaps simply nervous. At one point during “I Will Always Love You,” she stopped and motioned to her husband, who was standing in the wings, that she needed some water.

Brown, all smiles, walked on stage, gave her a kiss and handed her some water.

After taking a sip, Houston resumed the song.

If Houston did have a case of jitters, it’s understandable. The clearest sign of how much of the evening’s focus was on her was the crowd’s exodus from the Shrine after her set. The scramble up the aisle seemed as frantic as the bull run at Pamplona.

That’s too bad, because those fans missed Toni Braxton’s spellbinding performance of “Un-break My Heart.” But they can catch it May 15, which is when NBC plans to air a two-hour version of the event.

In some ways, it was unfair that Houston dominated the attention, because this was supposed to be Clive Davis’ night, a salute to the former lawyer who built Arista from scratch, not just signing artists, but also helping select material and producers for many of them.

Houston, however, will always be known as Davis’ most important signing. In a video clip during the concert, Davis is shown telling a TV talk-show host about this exciting 19-year-old who he thinks can be the biggest star in the world.

And ironically, the drama surrounding Houston may be the strongest viewer lure for the NBC special--though Carlos Santana, whose band performed a super-charged, 18-minute medley, is as hot as anyone in pop at the moment.

Predictably, the concert seemed at times more a promotional device than a tribute. The veterans--who also included Barry Manilow, Patti Smith and Alan Jackson--certainly deserved their places on stage. But many of the younger acts, including the boy groups Westlife and LFO, simply added length rather than substance to the show.

On the positive side, the evening--which raised an estimated $1 million for various charities--wasn’t littered with sentimental “Thank you, Clive” speeches. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a lot of sentimentality.

Puff Daddy--who caused a scramble in the auditorium by having dollar bills dropped from the ceiling during his set-- brought along a massive choir to replay “I’ll Be Missing You,” his hit tribute to slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.

And Kenny G turned his “Songbird” into a salute to Davis. In the finale, much of the cast brought Davis on stage and toasted him with “That’s What Friends Are For.”

When edited down to two hours, the show should move along quite nicely. For those on hand for the taping, however, it was torturously long. It was supposed to end at 10 p.m., but stretched until 1 a.m. because of endless set changes. If it had lasted much longer, they would have had to start serving breakfast at the concession stands.