Whitney
Houston herself partly blamed her ex-husband Bobby Brown for her drug
issues, but her mentor Clive Davis has spoken out in defence of the
controversial singer.
Talking
exclusively to MailOnline, as he prepares to release a live album of
her greatest performances, Clive said the R&B bad boy was not to be
blamed for Whitney's rapid decline which led to her untimely death on
February 11, 2012.
'I
don't lay her problems at his doorstep. You know I never spent time
with Bobby I knew they loved each other and it was well documented how
their problems were. It just obviously was not ultimately beneficial to
either of them,' the 82-year-old music mogul said.
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The way they were: Whitney Houston and
Bobby Brown had a tumultuous marriage but her manager Clive Davis has
insisted he doesn't blame the bad boy for her troubles and death
The music mogul and his star: Clive
Davis was responsible for introducing the world to the talent of Whitney
and is releasing a CD/DVD of her greatest live performances
Houston,
48, was found dead in a bathtub in her suite at the Beverly Hilton
Hotel hours before she was due to attend Clive's annual pre-Grammy party
in the same hotel.
She
drowned accidentally, after suffering a massive heart attack caused in
part by her prolonged drug abuse, and had cocaine in her system
according to the Los Angeles coroner.
Her
notorious troubles with Bobby whom she married in 1992, and had
daughter Bobbi Kristina, now 21, with, were well documented with the
pair dogged by rumours of drug use and domestic violence before their
divorce in 2007.
Speaking
from his office in Los Angeles, Clive - who shared an exclusive video
of Whitney performing at the BRIT Awards with MailOnline - admitted he
did not ever get to know Bobby during the time he was married to his
protegee, and has heard nothing from him since Whitney's death.
Superstar: Clive thinks popstars right
now cannot compare to Whitney and rely too much on huge productions
rather than vocal talent
'Really, my relationship with Whitney was always one on one,' he revealed to MailOnline.
'He was never present when I dealt with her about music so I never got involved there.
'He
by his non-participation, certainly was very content to allow the
professional relationship that I had with Whitney to remain one on one.'
The
five-time Grammy winner also revealed that he thinks Whitney has left a
huge void on the music scene adding: 'When I look at award shows today
with 100 people on stage because dancers are so prominent today, you
really miss that solo spotlight that Whitney had when she would come on
stage.
Don't blame Bobby: Many have blamed Brown for Whitney's descent into addiction but Clive doesn't think it was his fault
'There
are very few old timers. There's Aretha Franklin, Barbara Streisand and
Whitney Houston. As far as the voice, I think Adele has a great voice
and I look very much forward to her new album. 'Jennifer Hudson has a
magnificent voice and she is a big fan of Whitney,' he continued.
Davis, also revealed he is still very close to Houston's family and called their input into the new album 'invaluable'.
'There has never been a time when I've not been on good terms with the family.
'Obviously,
there was one or two people who felt it was inappropriate to have the
tribute to Whitney right after she passed away but everyone is entitled
to their own point of view, there are no wrongs or rights.
Aspirations: Whitney and Bobby's daughter Bobbi Kristina is now 21 and hopes to follow in her mother's footsteps as a performer
'I
could not acted without the full support of her family and they could
not have been more supportive or praiseworthy of our relationship and
they've all turned to me.
'Cissy
[Whitney's mother] certainly knew how much I loved Whitney and I am
dealing with Cissy right now as she is the background singer on the
Aretha Franklin album that is just coming out.'
Clive
also revealed his last conversation with the six-time Grammy
winner: 'You know, I'd just been with her for an afternoon two days
before her death, and she was looking forward to music and giving up
cigarette smoking and anything that would impair her voice.'
The
music mogul decided to make Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest
Performances live album to 'make sure nobody ever will forget why she
really was an incredible voice to be studied and enjoyed through the
centuries'.
His greatest discovery: While Clive has masterminded the careers of a number of stars, Whitney remains the greatest
Epic performances: Clive is releasing a double CD featuring Whitney's live performances
Calling
the experience of choosing which performances to include on the album
'bittersweet', Clive said the musical bio will 'remind everybody why she
was the greatest singer of her generation.'
'The
difficulty, was an emotional difficulty, because here I was uncovering
such reminders of her genius and her greatness and prematurely she was
no longer with us.'
The
live album does not only have her well know classic songs such as I
Will Always Love You buy also contains songs she never recorded such as
And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from Dreamgirls
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