I read this book in 6 hours. Contrary to popular beliefs this book is not a “tell-all” book. It’s a book about Robyns life, before and after she met Whitney Houston. And since Robyn met Whitney in her teens, and was with her for 20 years, it is understandable that Whitney would be a part of her story. This honestly to me is the most real, raw, and honest version of Whitney Houston that I have read since her death. Robyn talks about Whitney in a loving way, but also discuss both of their struggles with drug use and Whitney’s self-esteem issues (which we already knew). However, the portrayal of Whitney Houston was not negative as in the most recent documentaries and biographies. I believe that this book will provide Whitney Houston fans with the knowledge and understanding of maybe the reasons why Whitney chose to use drugs at such a young age and was never able to quit. Unfortunately it was secrets and the feelings of abandonment and loneliness that failed this Fallen Angel. Coincidentally, it’s the truth (portrayed in this book) that could’ve set Whitney Houston free. Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction". The New York Times. November 25, 2019 . Retrieved 13 May 2022. It's been nearly four decades since Robyn Crawford played college basketball, but when she arrives to the O offices in New York City one chilly fall morning, she walks with the swagger of an athlete. Her face lights up whenever her wife, Lisa, looks her way, but otherwise, she wears a serious expression. Her voice is soft, her energy calm—so calm, in fact, that it’s hard to believe this is a woman on the cusp of releasing a controversial memoir about her relationship with one of history’s most iconic pop stars. But then you decide to end your physical relationship. And not long after that, you move in together. And if I can keep it 100, as I read that, I said, "This feels like a disaster waiting to happen."

Understandably, in your book you say you found it hurtful the way she responded when she was asked about her sexuality. I've seen interviews where she would respond with things like “Whitney's only gay when she's happy, honey." I came in thinking it was a biography of Whitney Houston, but it was actually Robyn Crawford’s biography that included her memories of her time with Whitney. It turned out to be a pretty long chunk of her Robyn's life, but this is still more about Robyn.
Regarding Whitney's tumultuous childhood and as a singer, this book reinforced things I already had heard or suspected of Cissy, John and the rest of the Houston family.
I commend Robin for not going out of her way to trash Bobby Brown, Whitney's ex husband, but to tell stories of the things she saw and heard while an employee of Nippy’s. Crawford writes about meeting 17-year-old Whitney in East Orange when she was 19, a moment that changed the course of their lives forever. From the day they met, they were inseparable. And right from the beginning, Crawford wrote about Whitney as a kind of ethereal light that permeated her own life. Whitney’s love for music was evident even at a young age, her ambition to be a singer a driving force of every decision she made.

Customer reviews

Whitney Houston is as big a superstar as the music business has ever known. She exploded on the scene in 1985 with her debut album and spent the next two decades dominating the charts and capturing the hearts of fans around the world. One person was there by her side through it all - her best friend, Robyn Crawford. Loved her inclusion of different moments of musical history and song-based lessons she was a part of thanks to Whitney. Robyn Crawford (born December 17, 1960) is an American author, producer, and former assistant to and creative director for Whitney Houston. [1] [2] Her credits include The Bodyguard (1992), Waiting to Exhale (1995), In Between (1987), and Cinderella (1997). [3] Early life [ edit ] Crawford claims in her book A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston, published in 2019, that she had a same-sex relationship with Houston that faded as they prioritized Houston's career. Crawford left school to aid Houston's career. [4] They lived together as a couple. [8] [2] Crawford was ostracised and sidelined by Houston's family and management as Houston's fame grew and her career progressed, and she married Bobby Brown. [8] [9]

a b "Robyn Crawford & Whitney Houston — Didn't We Almost Have It All by About A Girl". Podchaser. 2020 . Retrieved August 25, 2021. With warmth, candor, and an impressive recall of detail, Robyn describes the two meeting as teenagers in the 1980s, and how their lives and friendship evolved as Whitney recorded her first album and Robyn pursued her promising Division I basketball career. Together during countless sold-out world tours, behind the scenes as hit after hit was recorded, through Whitney's marriage and the birth of her daughter, the two navigated often challenging families, great loves, and painful losses, always supporting each other with laughter and friendship. This is all said in a tone of quiet reflection, but in the book the pain is acute. Crawford went along with Houston’s wishes, and continued to in the years that followed. As soon as Houston could afford to, she hired Crawford as her assistant and the women moved into an apartment together in Woodbridge, New Jersey. The singer’s management team was small in those days – even in the mid-1980s, when Houston’s first two albums became two of the biggest-selling debuts of all time, with some 40m copies sold worldwide (the eponymous Whitney Houston, with its huge hits How Will I Know and Saving All My Love For You; and its follow-up, Whitney, featuring I Wanna Dance With Somebody, So Emotional and Didn’t We Almost Have It All). At that time, Houston had a single manager, Crawford recalls, “and he couldn’t get her clothing out, get it pressed, get up early and send it downstairs like I could. I did all those things.”A Song for You] is a story of becoming, of starting over and loving again, of healing in immeasurable ways that are both scarring yet beautiful.” Since Whitney's death in 2012, that trusted and loyal friend, Robyn Crawford, has stayed out of the limelight and held the great joys, wild adventures, and hard truths of her life with Whitney close to her heart. In A Song for You, Robyn breaks her silence to share the moving and often complicated story of her life and relationship with Whitney. However, while she is all too happy to share about the destructive patterns of everyone else in Whitney’s life, it sometimes feels like she is unrealistically casting herself as the “hero” of this story, and the only one who ever did right by Whitney. So my role was: "I've got to protect her and let her know what's happening." I would get to the next spot on her itinerary 15 minutes ahead of time to get a vibe for the energy in the room so that when she got there, I could tell her what to expect. So here's the thing. I think people all have the same question. "Were y'all together, or not?" What I love, as a queer person myself, is that when you're describing when you were first intimate as teenagers, it felt no different than, I think, most young women's stories. I think what you describe is so innocent.

Music was in every part of the body; she loved it, craved it, and said she was going to be a professional singer. This had been her mantra since she was twelve. She was singular in her focus, outlining all the steps she needed to follow get where she needed to go. She did later tell me that she was feeling vulnerable,” she says. “She probably was feeling defeated. I think she slapped my face because she felt that I had done something, and she wanted me to know that I’d earned that slap. But she gave me a hug right after. Because she loved me.” This is Robyn’s story and it’s not a tell all but rather the life of Whitney Houston from her unique perspective. She really didn’t tell us anything that we didn’t already either know or assume and she knew Whitney MUCH LONGER than MOST.A generous, loving book that has more insight on Houston’s career—the ride, the fall—than any other single source that I’ve encountered . . . A Song for Youis unequivocally worth the wait. . . . Crawford has provided a crucial public service in her lovely, loving book.” Whitney’s name toward the end of her life was always muddled by her drug addiction, her abusive relationship with Bobby Brown and a melee of other controversies. Her devastating demise in 2012 broke the hearts of many who wished to see her rise above her circumstances.

You first met Whitney Houston in the summer of 1980 because of a summer job. Tell me about the first time you saw her. Since Whitney’s death in 2012, Robyn has stayed out of the limelight and held the great joys, wild adventures, and hard truths of her life with Whitney close to her heart. Now, for the first time ever, Crawford opens up in her memoir, A Song for You. After decades of silence, Robyn Crawford, close friend, collaborator, and confidante of Whitney Houston, shares her story. My other question is, and we're jumping ahead in time a little bit—but I can't imagine being in your shoes as maid of honor on her wedding day to Bobby Brown. I too believe this book was Robyn’s honest account of her life with Whitney. But there was also an underlying indictment of the Houston family and how they utterly failed their sister, daughter, niece, cousin friend! It also showed how, when one doesn’t live in their truth or indulge in self care, you wilt away mentally, physically and emotionally.Surely it was because she was jealous? “I would say Whitney was possessive. The jealousy I’ve witnessed was volatile – that which my mother experienced with my father, and quite frankly, the way I saw Bobby treat Whitney – that’s jealousy. Hers was possessiveness: you’re mine.” Crawford met Whitney Houston in 1980, when Crawford was 19 and Houston was 16, the pair having both been counselors at an East Orange summer camp. [6] [7] That dream was to take the music industry and the entertainment industry as a whole. Whitney knew she had a gift, and she chose me to ride shotgun all the way.