the music industry and fans are mourning the passing of whitney houston, the pop queen ruled the charts for a decade and a half. here's a look back at her golden years. ♪ because the greatest >> reporter: hers was a voice instantly recognized worldwide. recording artist whitney houston sold more than 170 million

albums with hit like "saving all my love for you" and "the greatest love of all" ♪ and i will always >> reporter: perhaps her crowning achievement was her 1992 cover of dolly parton's "i will always love you" from her film "the body guard" with kevin costner. whitney houston was born into a musical family in newark, new jersey, in 1963. her talent was discovered at an early age and signed by arista records in 1983. her first two albums brought seven consecutive number one hits, surpassing a record set by the beatles and begys ♪ i want to dance >> reporter: she went on to become music's most awarded female artist of all time according to the guinness book of world records and won six grammys, two emmys, 16 billboard music awards and 23 american music awards and was named

female artist of the decade at the soul train music awards in 2000. but her career stalled as she struggled with drugs and alcohol and stormy relationship with bobby brown became tabloid fodder. she filed for divorce in 2006. in 2009, a comeback. houston released her first studio album in seven years. it debuted at number one on the billboard charts. >> it humbled me and it kind of like kind of like said okay, i think i want to do this just one more time. >> reporter: but her tour was reportedly plagued with vocal difficulties. her reps blamed an upper respiratory infection. in 2011 her publicist said houston was seeking help for her addiction. the performer was set to appear in the film "sparkle" her first movie role since "the preacher's wife" in 1996. her sudden death shocked fans and musicians across the world.

>> i am absolutely devastated by this news. i'm so sad for her. she was, i mean, undoubtedly, one of the greatest super stars of all time, one of the greatest voices, you know, in our lifetime we're likely ever to hear. >> here's what we know about whitney houston's death. cnn has confirmed an autopsy will likely happen today. police say there are no obvious signs of foul play. the 48-year-old singer was found dead yesterday afternoon inside her room at the beverly hilton hotel. tmz quoting their informed sources saying that she was found unconscious in the tub, in the bathtub, her bodyguard attempted cpr and pills were found at the scene in the room.

houston was preparing to attend a pregrammy party hosted by her long-time mentor clive davis. so lots of friends and loved ones are turning out and talking about their greatest memories of whitney houston. among them, longtime friend and a woman who was a trailblazer in her own right, coming out with the first full album for a female rapper, very big in the '80s and now the president of the l.a. chapter of the grammys recording academy, mc light on the line with us right now. i understand that you are also at the staples center or at the location where some of the pregrammy events are taking place. give me your thoughts on the passing of your good friend? >> oh, boy. you know, i'm not quite sure if i'll say anything that hasn't been said already and that the music community is just

devastated and i mean moreover than losing one of the best vocalists, we're talking about a mama, you know, like we -- we just lost a very, very sweet spirit. and i don't even really know what else to say outside of i just feel for her family and her daughter and her mother and, you know, all of the other many people who deal with her on a daily basis. those are the ones that i'm most concerned about. you know, i -- we've certainly met numerous times. we've hung out. but i don't speak to whitney every day. so i'm not d i'm not the one that's going to claim oh, my god, you know. i'm not affected the way that her family is or that her daughter or mother or brothers,

you know. this is just -- it's painful. >> it is painful. and a lot of fans and, you know, friends are feeling the pain in so many different ways. it's clear that this a evening during the grammy events people will be vibtse exhibiting that showing that in so many ways. can you give me an idea of the tribute planned for this evening to embrace -- >> i can only go about i what we were all told -- >> embrace -- >> right. i can only go by what we were all told by the president of the recording academy, neil port, now which she is going to be appreciated and acknowledged for her legacy, jennifer hudson is going to grace us and, you know, not so long ago whitney presented her with an award with a grammy award and it's extremely fitting, so we're going to celebrate whitney and lift her up and i'm happy to be

a participant in showing that love and admiration and addeterioration for miss houston. >> all right. mc lyte you're at the staples center where they're having preshow rehearsals. thanks so much for your time. songwriter, mentor, actress, rapper, and now the president of the l.a. chapter of the grammys, recording academy. mc lyte thanks for your time. i-reporters are sharing their memories of whitney houston. one fan was actually at a bobby brown concert last night and that fan tells us how whitney's ex-husband broke down crying even leaving the stage. llstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have...[ roger with voice of dennis ]...allstate.

[ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.

ask me. [ male announcer ] if you think even the best bed can only lie there... ask me what it's like when my tempurpedic moves? [ male announcer ] ...talk to someone who owns an adjustable version of the most highly recommended bed in america. ask me about my tempur advanced ergo. ask me about having all the right moves. [ male announcer ] these are real tempur advanced ergo owners. find one for yourself. check out twitter. try your friends on facebook. see what they have to say unedited. goes up. ask me what it's like to get a massage anytime you want. goes down. ergonomics. ergonomics. [ male announcer ] tempurpedic brand owners are more satisfied than owners of any traditional mattress brand. [ laughs ] [ woman ] ask me why i'm glad i didn't wait till i'm too old to enjoy this. [ male announcer ] start asking real owners.

ask me how to make your first move. [ male announcer ] it's the perfect time to save up to $200 on your own ergo. find out more at tempurpedic.com. tempurpedic. the most highly recommended bed in america. all right. people all over the world are mourning the loss of whitney houston today. they are reaching out on-line, sending their thoughts and messages to us here at cnn. josh levs has been going through a number of them. what are some of the thoughts that people are passing on? >> fred, so many. tens of thousands of responses on social media by the minute. right behind me right now, is her official website, whitneyhouston.com, an amazing amount of traffic including in addition to social media out there. we've been telling you about an i-report that we received from someone who was at a new edition

concert last night where bobby brown her ex-husband and father of the child she share together was there and broke down. i want you all to hear what he said, so we've put together a clip with the words. take a look here. >> that's just a bit of the concert last night and he tells us it was absolutely emotional. there was not a dry eye in the house. everyone had heard the news by that point or if they hadn't learned from him. so emotional to be there in front of him at that moment. that i-report we received this morning, one of many from people who are affected this and have a

lot to say. what people are writing us about the worldwide impact of whitney houston and her music and her as an icon. i want you to show you some quotes we received. first one from facebook that i think says a lot. this is from a woman in africa who wrote us. she wrote us this, she said, quote, she was truly inspirational, not just in america, but all over the world, particularly here in africa. she broke the glass ceiling for many black female entertainers. sure hope she finds the peace she lacked here on earth. another one here from kl, i think represents what a lot of people are feeling. her music always brought happiness to my mom. when i grew older i would listen to whitney houston and it would make me feel better. her music is a a part of my life and mother's life. i pray for her family and friends at this time. one more, symbolic of what a lot of people are writing, using names of her songs, you were my every woman, and the queen of the night. whitney, i will always love you.

rest in peace and thank you for sharing your beautiful voice and talents with us. so many interesting messages all day. when you go to our website, i want to show you things you should check out. one is a photo spread that has classic images of whitney throughout the years. the main page of cnn.com you will be able to see this. it will also while you're there, take you over to our i-report assignment and you'll have the chance to weigh in with your thoughts. whatever you wish to say about the loss of whitney houston there. we look forward to hearing from you. i'll have some of those responses next hour. >> thanks so much, josh. of course we're going to be talking to more people in the music industry who knew her well and others who wrote about her extensively and have followed her career from the beginning and have some very poignant thoughts to share. we're following other breaking news taking place around the world. on to greece where protests have turned deadly there. this as the parliament debates

austerity measures, several buildings in athens are on fire and police say memergency crews could not reach the buildings because protesters were blocking the streets. matthew chance is there to give us a bird's eyeview. what can you tell us? >> it's like a war zone in the streets of athens in the center square here in the greek capital this evening. you can see there are thousands of protesters that continue to clash with riot police, stun grenades exploegds, actual bombs have been thrown, tear gas, the air is thick with this really acrid smoke which up until a few minutes ago, i couldn't come out on to this balcony and speak and do the reporting that i needed to do. i can tell you it's an absolutely chaotic situation down there. people are hacking up bits of the marble pavement into chunks to throw them at the riot police. it's this running street battle,

open fires, kiosks have been vandalized, shops destroyed. there are fires in at least five buildings in athens as well you can hear that, an enormous stun grenade fired by the police in an attempt to disperse the protesters. what are they protesting against? the austerity measures being debated in the building behind me. that's the greek parliament. mps are there at the moment debating these austerity measures being imposed on them by the european unionnd a the international monetary fund to get cuts so they will get access to the bailout funds they need to prevent the country from going bankrupt next month. awful lot of pressure being put on the greek government to accept those conditions, but, obviously, you can see on the streets this evening, the absolute chaos with these thousands of protesters, possibly as many as hundred thousands we're having reports of estimates according to various sources.

running riots on the streets tonight. a lot of pressure on the authorities not to pass those measures. >> thank you for that report from athens. we'll check in with you again. keep us posted. we'll have much more in the newsroom right after this. [ deep beetle exhaust ] ♪ [ door creaking ] [ dog whimpers ] ♪ ♪ get up offa that thing ♪ and dance till you feel better ♪ ♪ get up offa that thing ♪ and dance till you -- sing it now ♪ [ dog barks ] [ deep beetle exhaust, dog barks ] ♪ you feel good [ male announcer ] back. and better than ever. the all-new beetle. [ dog barks ] ♪ get up off... the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? ♪

that's why right here, in australia, chevron is building one of the biggest natural gas projects in the world. enough power for a city the size of singapore for 50 years. what's it going to do to the planet? natural gas is the cleanest conventional fuel there is. we've got to be smart about this. it's a smart way to go. ♪

this just in to cnn. a statement now by whitney houston's family. it reads, quote, we are devastated by the loss of our beloved whitney. this is an unimaginable tragedy and we will miss her terribly. we appreciate the outpouring of love and support from her fans

and friends end quote. again, the body of whitney houston found yesterday in the beverly hilton at about 3:43 local time. she was to be going to a pregrammy party that evening, but now a number of her family and friends are expressing their sentiment and their sadness upon her loss. some of the music world's biggest names are, in fact, reacting in this way. here's how they're remembering the woman who will forever be known as the voice. >> she just had such an incredible voice and, you know, she just was a beautiful, beautiful face. i remember the first time i saw her, for arista records, beautiful girl. >> i've known her from a little girl up, you know, and her family, of course, and i'm venturing out to say this and may get some flack but there will never be another voice like

that. >> whit was one of the greatest singers to ever open her mouth to sing, and i know whit would want the world to remember her that way. i know she would want people to remember her profound talent and to think of her in a positive light. whit was a sweetie pie. you know, she was a nice person. and i know that she would want to be remembered that way. >> and still undetermined the cause of death. we'll keep you posted on the investigation. meantime overseas, turmoil in greece as protesters and police clash over austerity measures. that is -- those are live pictures right now. we'll have much more on the reporting from athens and all that's unfolding right after this. [ kyle ] my bad.

[ roger ] tell me you have good insurance. yup, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...allstate. really? i was afraid you'd have some cut-rate policy. [ kyle ] nope, i've got... [ kyle with voice of dennis ] ...the allstate value plan. it's their most affordable car insurance -- and you still get an allstate agent. i too have...[ roger with voice of dennis ]...allstate. [ roger ] same agent and everything. [ kyle ] it's like we're connected. no we're not. yeah, we are. no...we're not. ♪ the allstate value plan. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate.

have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber.

look at our top stories now. in greece riot police launched stunned grenades and tear gas into protesters today. live pictures of the me lay taking place. eight protesters and seven officers were injured in the clashes and authorities detained at least 20 people. people in greece are furious about the government's plans to cut wages and benefits. the prime minister says without the cuts and a bailout from the euro zone greece will go bankrupt and descend into chaos. politics in this country, gop presidential hopeful mitt romney got some wins this weekend. he swept the caucus in maine with 39% of the vote. and the straw poll at the conservative political action conference in d.c., with 38% of the vote. also, gallup's latest poll shows

romney at the top of the heap with 34% followed by rick santorum at 24%. time for travel insider. cnn reporters and producers can often get the inside scoop on great places to go. reynolds wolf traveled about an hour north of atlanta to delon na ga, georgia, where he found one of the oldest gold mines in the country. >> reporter: you see this beautiful building here in the parking lot. but it's what's below ground that really captures the imagine nags. -- imagination. you know this wasn't dug just yesterday. it's been around since 1898. and this is the general manager of the mine. how long have people been digging for gold in this part of the world? >> gold was first discovered in 1828 and in one year over 15,000 people showed up looking for gold. it became the first major gold

rush. >> what type of mining is this? >> this is hard rock gold mining. >> there are other times. >> absolutely. we'll grab a pan and head out to the rivers and streams 37 all right. show me how this is done. >> fill that with water, heavy gold falls to the bottom. you do your job right and you should find right there gold. >> check it out. >> and i've got sand. >> you better keep your day job. >> unbelievable. thanks for your time. >> thanks for coming. >> we got to hit the road. imagine if you could always see life [music] in the best light. every time of day. outdoors, or in. transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it is meant to be seen. maybe even a little better.

experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪

much has been said about

whitney houston's voice, the power of it, the clarity, the range, her contribution to pop music is huge. but it is her 1991 performance of the national anthem at the super bowl in tampa that has so many people remembering. ♪ o' er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ whitney houston has been described as the singer who truly broke the mold, something a lot of publications wrote about. joining us from los angeles, danielle smith the editor of "billboard" magazine. good to see you. i know you have covered whitney houston's career for a long

time. what resonates most about her career to you? >> i think what resonates most with me is the purity of her voice. the sin gu hairty of her voice. that clip that you just played from the super bowl xxv, just the pride in herself, the pride in her country on that day, just the sort of easy and almost nonchalant way she went about singing that very difficult to sing song. she was an amazing, amazing voice. >> there's so many modern day artists, recent, you know, recent to hit fame, alicia keys, adele, both of them have spoken about how much they admired whitney houston. how much they learned from her range, how much they tried to emulate about her as an artist. were a lot of artists feeling that way? >> i don't think that there's -- i don't think there's a woman singer, female pop singer in the world, especially a