Remembering Whitney Houston & Her Love for Gospel Music Six Years After Her Death

By Timothy Yap Feb 11, 2018 05:31 PM EST

Six years ago today, iconic singer Whitney Houston passed away. In 2009, Guinness World Records cited her as the most awarded female act of all time. Houston is one of the best-selling music artists of all-time, with 200 million records sold worldwide. She released seven studio albums and two soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.

Nevertheless, Houston loved God and Gospel music. She spoke about gospel music, God, and her relationship with him, in a radio interview conducted several years ago by Behind the Music (to listen to the interview, click here).

Gospel was Whitney Houston's first introduction to music. "Gospel music is my roots, it's where I come from, it's what I love the most, really, about music."

Recollecting her upbringing, Houston said, "My mother raised me to be a strong person, to stand on my own. To be independent, to never look for anybody to depend on. To depend on yourself...and to love God and trust in God."

"My mother raised us in church. Church was a part of our lives; you had to go to church whether you liked it or not," Houston said. "But growing up, I loved going to church. I loved to sing, I loved the choir, I loved the whole excitement of going to church and that feeling there."

Houston spoke about how her knowledge of God as a child was a basic one, "I didn't know much about him when I was growing up, when I was younger. I knew him through my parents, I knew him through my family, I knew him through church. I knew that whatever this God was, he sure liked to sing. He loved people to sing, loved to be praised."

Here's a listen of some of her finest Gospel songs: