regal presence. so many times, giving so many memorable performances here over the years. so simply put whitney would have wanted to -- that was clive davis famously discovering whitney houston and signing her to arista records when she was just a teenager. other breaking news, we continue to follow for you, a new and dangerous turn in an international crisis. tonight, black masked protesters in athens are setting fires and battling with police. historic cinemas, cafes and shops going up in flames as you see there. the protests come as the greek parliament prepares to vote on a new round of austerity measures, designed to prevent a government default that could affect worldwide markets. we'll have a live report from athens in 15 minutes from now.

now to the other big story we're following today, the death of singer whitney houston. we're learning more about the circumstances surrounding her death and we're getting reaction from her family as well. that in a moment. but first, to the investigation, cnn's casey wians is following all the developments, joining us now live from los angeles. what can you tell us? >> it looks like it may be quite a while before we actually get any results as to what actually killed whitney houston. according to producer stan wilson, he spoke with the los angeles coroner's office and they say the beverly hills police department has asked that a security hold be put on the autopsy results of whitney houston. that autopsy is expected to take place either this afternoon or tomorrow and there was some

initial thought there could be some preliminary results released right after it happened. apparently that is not the case. the beverly hills police department again asking for a security hold on those autopsy results, which means that we might not get any results for about eight weeks. fredricka? >> well, that's a pretty significant amount of time. meantime, can you tell us more about whitney houston's daughter, bobbi kristina, being rushed to a hospital just a couple of hours ago. what more do we know about her? >> well, what we know is she was taken by the fire department to cedars-sinai medical center. that according to the beverly hills police department. it was a medical transport situation. and according to the watch commander at the beverly hills police department, his understanding, it was not a life threatening situation. cedars-sinai declining any comment on whether bobbi kristina brown is at the hospital or what condition she might be in, citing federal privacy laws. >> all right, thanks so much,

casey wian, appreciate that. you've heard from a number of people who know and love whitney houston. her family too is now reaching out to fans, sharing their own sorrow while trying to console others. they released this statement saying, quote, we're devastated by the loss of our beloved whitney. this is an unimaginable tragedy and we will miss her terribly. the family goes on to say we appreciate the outpouring of love and support from her fans and friends. and whitney houston's ex-husband bobby brown releasing a written statement today. it says, quote, i am deeply saddened at the passing of my ex-wife whitney houston. at this time we ask for privacy, especially for my daughter bobbi kristina. i appreciate all the condolences that have been directed toward my family and i at this most difficult time. and, again, bobbi kristina being rushed to the hospital there cedars-sinai hospital in los angeles, but as you heard from casey wian there, nothing life threatening. tonight's grammy awards show

will go on, despite the death of singer whitney houston. authorities will not release information about the death investigation until tomorrow at the very earliest. the pop star died yesterday in a beverly hills hotel. she burst into the music industry's consciousness in the early 1980s as a phenomenal church singer. ♪ from this start, she went on to record-breaking career as a recording artist and movie star, but before that, she was a model, a teen model, singer jennifer hudson will be part of tonight's last minute tribute at the grammy awards. she apparently will be singing one of whitney houston's hit songs. we're also hearing from some of whitney houston's family members. they're devastated over the loss, but they're remembering

the iconic singer fondly. her godmother, darlene love, is joining us now from new york. darlene, our deepest condolences going out to you and other family members who are grieving on this very heavy day. what are your immediate thoughts about whitney houston? >> i met whitney when she was 8 years old. i was working for dionne warwick and cissy, myself and deedee, dionne's sister, we were the background singers. i felt when i met her, i loved her so much, she was such a sweetheart. had an unbelievable smile that i dubbed her my god daughter. i said i don't know how many you have, you're going to be my god daughter. >> she had a lot. aretha franklin among those as godmothers. >> yeah. and which is fine because we all loved her so much. she had an unbelievable smile that filled up a whole room.

there is a song out by gospel singer kirk franklin called "smile." if you listen to the lyrics of that song, you'll see -- you'll see -- we call her nippy. you'll see nippy in that whole song. it is just wonderful. >> amazing smile and i must say that her teeth to me have always just been so striking. she's got the most beautiful set of teeth. >> yes. >> she does. >> at 8, did you look at her, was there something about her where you said, you know what, i have a feeling this little girl is going to be a great woman? >> i felt that all the time. she was so forceful, you know. everything nippy did, it was like she had a reason for doing it. there was no second thought about it, she just did it. i always said, between her family, the drinker singers, who dionne was in that group, cissy

in that group and deedee in that group and it took all of that and god embodied all of that into nippy. and i can't think of -- i just have such a gut feeling that i'm hurting so in my stomach for her because i want to reach out to her and touch her, and she's not there to do that anymore. so i so very, very important to do that while they're alive. and you have no regrets when something like this happens. >> how much does it hurt to hear that she died, that her body was found in the room of a hotel, hours before she would be enjoying a party, a party that clive davis said she loved to attend all the time, and 24 hours later still be very unclear as to the circumstances, what happened? >> that hurts a lot. nobody wants to, i don't think we ever want anybody in our family, our friends to be alone when anything tragic happens. we want to be there to help

them, you know, go through anything they had to go through. and with her passing the way she did, it is really hurting because there are so many people around her that loves her. i'm so close to her mother, i love cissy so very, very, very much. we used to talk about our situations that we were having with our family. i have three boys and we talked about my boys and the problems they were having. so we had a connection. so we always prayed for one another's children. and for her to pass the way she did, it is just devastating. it is nothing else to say about it. it is very devastating. it was a perfect god-given gift that she had, and there will never be another one. and we're not even looking for another one. she's it. >> yeah, she kind of made the mold and broke it too, right? so, you know, you -- >> we said she was the mold that was broken and now he took -- god took the mold back and took it back to heaven.

that's it. >> so you, you know, you knew her, you know, much more intimately than anyone else. i mean, you being a family member. and so, you know, your heart had to hurt when she would go through that very tumultuous time that publicly people would know, you know, just kind of the -- just dribs and drabs of what she may be going through. so when she was making her come back after that seven-year kind of void, was it your feeling that, you know, she could potentially return to, you know, the whitney houston that you knew as that talent, as being that happy whitney houston, did you feel like she was close to that or had even returned to that being? >> i think anybody can return. our bodies are made so wonderful that if we stop what we're doing and take care of them, it will heal itself. and that was our prayer that she

would come back and she would come back whole, never had any doubt in my mind that she would not come back and be the whitney houston that she was because we can all do that. we can come back because, like i said, our body has a way of healing itself and just loss for words. but, you know what, we'll always remember her because the songs that she recorded, they'll live on forever. >> darlene love, thanks so much for sharing your memories, your thoughts and your love for whitney houston. >> thank you. >> and we continue to watch the developments coming out of the passing of whitney houston. and we're also watching breaking developments overseas. protests in greece have that nation on the brink of a crisis. we'll take you there live next.

now to tonight's breaking news in greece. eight protesters and seven police officers have been hurt in tonight's running battles and firebombings on the street ofs and that. the protests erupt as the greek parliament gets ready for a new round of votes. matthew chance is in athens and we're looking at new images of still more firebombing there in the streets, matthew. >> that's right. it has been very violent scenes.

there is running street battles between the protesters and riot police. police returning fire with tear gas, a lot of it being fired. it was clogging up the air earlier. also stun grenades really shocking the protesters a bit to try and get them to disperse. that seems to have happened, whether by this -- the protesters dissipated on their own volition is not clear. the parliament building, parliamentarians still there debating the austerity measures that are so controversial and so much anger in the country, fredricka. >> all right, matthew chance, thank you so much for that update. back in this country, we continue to get lots of sad reaction to whitney houston's

death and that reaction really coming from all over the world. her music and her bigger than life image made her an international superstar. more on her global impact next. . she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. [ female announcer ] it cannot change the course of the disease. hospitalization and rarely death have been reported in patients who wore more than one patch at a time. the most common side effects of exelon patch are nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. the likelihood and severity of these side effects may increase as the dose increases. patients may experience loss of appetite or weight. patients who weigh less than 110 pounds may experience more side effects. people at risk for stomach ulcers who take certain other medicines should talk to their doctor because serious stomach problems such as bleeding may worsen. people with certain heart conditions may experience slow heart rate. [ woman ] whenever i needed her, she was there for me. now i'm here for her.

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singer whitney houston served as a role model for so many other singers. but she was once the protege. here say look at her 1995 tribute to her mentor, ella fitzgerald.

♪ finding another another world ♪ ♪ ♪ >> pretty amazing talent.

whitney houston's star power was at times eclipsed by her public struggle with addiction. she opened up about the issue during a 2002 interview with diane sawyer. >> is it alcohol? is it marijuana? is it cocaine? is it pills? >> it has been at times. >> all? >> at times. >> if you had to name the devil for you, the biggest devil among them -- >> that would be me. it is my design. it is my heart. it is what i want. and what i don't want. nobody makes me do anything i don't want to do. it is my decision, so the biggest devil is me. either my best friend or my worst enemy. and that's how i have to deal with it. >> do you think of yourself as an addict? >> i am addicted to a few

things. >> like? >> making love. >> that interview with diane sawyer back in 2002. so whitney houston's fame spanned generations and crossed the oceans. earlier i talked to our he editorial producer and she told me what an enormous star whitney houston was in her native south africa. >> i remember being in south africa in 1994. that was the year that nelson mandela became president and in november of that year, whitney houston, the first major artist to visit south africa post apartheid came and did a concert for the new south africa. and i remember, fred, that all the proceeds went to south african charities. and she developed an extraordinary rapport with nelson mandela, beautiful pictures. look at this one. there he is. he called her my daughter.

that picture was taken in 2001. they had the most wonderful relationship and i spoke to nelson mandela's grandchildren this morning and they were having a lunch and was very interesting because they were playing the music of whitney houston, and david manoway, the grandson-in-law, said we are bereft. she was an exception of the family and our hearts go out to bob bobbi kristina. >> people loved her music but they loved something about her image as well, her poise. >> she transcended everything, didn't she, race, color, age, she was so extraordinary. in fact, even in dubai, there are fountains synchro thenized the music of whitney houston. >> this in tribute to -- >> in tribute to but just a celebration of this incredible talent. in china today, front page news talking about u.s. singer who dies and at the bbc telegraph speaks about terrible trajectory of modern fame, the guardian in

south africa, whitney houston, brilliant and tragic life and the australian majestic diva ravaged by drugs died at 48. so from dubai to durbin, from amsterdam to ann arbor, whitney houston, we will always love you. >> and the grammys are just a few short hours away. and there is already a lot of activity at the staples center where it will all unfold. we'll take you live to the red carpet for more on the reaction to the death of whitney houston. and football season is now finished, baseball is right around the corner. in today's human factor, dr. sanjay gupta introduces us to a little boy who wants to play baseball and he won't let anything get in his way. >> go! >> he can hit. field the ball. even slide into home plate. >> good job. give me five.

>> all the way around the plate. >> 6-year-old reese holloway wants to play in the big leagues some day. just like his favorite player, chipper jones of the atlanta braves. when reese was born, his parents were shocked to discover he didn't have a left hand. and baseball was the furthest thing from their minds. >> how is he going to tie his shoes, how is he going do this, how is it going to do anything? >> it was a hard thing. >> they weren't sure if he would learn to crawl without a second hand so they got him a prosthesis but little reese didn't want it. >> he didn't like it at all. he cried and cried and cried. it was not a good thing. >> he did learn to crawl and walk and then something remarkable happened. reese taught himself how to hit a ball when he was just 2 years old. >> he got plastic balls and would hold them under his chin and drop it and swing the bat and hit the ball, no problems. >> reese is a fan of all sports.

but baseball is still his favorite. >> he loves playing baseball. that's all he does, 24/7. >> use your other hand too. >> on or off the field, he doesn't get any special treatment. >> we make him make his bed or pick something up or hold this. we make it fun. >> we don't hold anything back. >> like other boys his age, he can do lots of things. he does flips on the family trampoline. he can break dance. and even though snaps are a bit of a challenge, he gets dressed by himself. >> only thing he can't do is tie his shoes. >> nothing stands in the way of baseball for reese. he's a natural talent and his parents believe children like their son should never be held back. >> let him do everything. >> they want to try it, let him try it. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol

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much has been said about whitney houston's voice, the power of it, the clarity, the range, her contribution to pop music is huge. it is her 1991 performance of the national anthem at the super bowl in tampa that has so many people remembering today and reflecting. here is a small piece of that performance.

♪ for the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ >> amid an outpouring of grief, tonight's grammy awards show will go on despite the death of singer whitney houston. tight lipped authorities aren't saying much, but the entertainment website tmz says it is quoting hotel employees and other sources as saying her body was discovered in the bathtub of a beverly hills hotel and that pills were found on the scene. ♪

that was whitney houston bursting into the music industry's consciousness as a phenomenal church singer in the early 1980s in newark, new jersey. singer jennifer hudson will be part of tonight's last minute tribute at this grammy awards. now this, video of what may be houston's last performance. it is from thursday night, just two days before her death. houston showed up at singer kelly price's pregrammy celebration and they sang a duet of yes, jesus loves me. ♪

>> so after this duet, price told mtv that reports houston being anything but okay were erroneous. nichelle turner is at l.a. staples center where the grammy ceremony will be taking place. thus far, what, nichelle, are people telling you? >> well, you know, fred, this -- as i was telling you earlier, this red carpet is much different than what we have seen for grammy wards in the past. it is very heavy. people are solemn, they are reflective. and a lot of people just sending their well wishes to whitney houston's family. and to her daughter bobbi kristina. we should tell you that cnn can confirm that bobbi kristina not only was taken to the hospital earlier today, she was also taken to the hospital last night. we're told she was treated for

exhaustion and for anxiety and those are two situations that they believe she was just overcome from the passing of her mother. but people here on the red carpet upon hearing this news have just said, you know, bobbi kristina has to find a way to grieve and they have seen the relationship between bobbi kristina and whitney for so many years and how it was so close. they said when you lose your mother this aand that is your a is hard it get through. a lot of heavy hearts here tonight, fred. >> okay. and, you know, there are a lot of people settling on the red carpet there behind you. any signs of, you know, some of the guests a little early who are willing to stop and talk? >> yeah, you know, we spoke with eric benet, just a little while ago. and he said this is a very sad, sad time. he expects a very solemn grammy awards. he's looking forward to the

tributes. a lot of people saying they're looking forward to hearing jennifer hudson's tribute to whitney houston, like we reported to you earlier. she will be singing "i will always love you" and there were reports that we -- we had heard that seaha that she was having a hard time in rehearsals and getting through that, so that will be a moment. we spoke with the band perry who is going to be on stage with glen campbell tonight as part of his tritribute. they were talking about the moment that they heard whitney houston passed, they were doing a concert yesterday in washington and they said, we just stopped. it was, like, we were heart broken because everyone has that memory here, fred, of the first whitney houston song they heard, the first time they heard her sing live, the first album that they -- that a lot of people bought was a whitney houston album. and right now we're also seeing her music sales spike. i know on itunes her greatest hits is number one right now. so a lot of tributes pouring out

to her here on the red carpet tonight. >> it will be a powerful evening. just in this past year there have been some incredible music industry greats that have passed, clarence clemens, don cornelius, nick ashford, etta james and whitney houston. this evening, people will really be reflecting on the power of the voices and the talents of so many. nichelle turner, thanks so much from the red carpet there at staples center. >> you're welcome. >> we'll have a political update up next as well. rick santorum says mitt romney bought a key straw poll victory.

controversy over birth control. the crisis in syria. and mitt romney's win in maine, three big topics on the sunday morning talk shows. here are the highlights. >> i hope you have been listening to our message. >> someone clearly is telling you that they think mitt romney's team, at least, paid for folks to go and vote for him at the straw poll. is that -- that's what you're saying? >> that's standard procedure at all of these straw polls, that campaigns who want to win go out and recruit people and provide,

you know, free tickets for them to come and vote. we just don't think that's a good use of our resources. and, but, governor romney obviously, you know, may have a different idea. >> do you think you can get the nomination or are you just there to get enough delegates to be a divorce at the c force at the convention. >> we live in an age where things change rapidly politically and economically and in foreign policy things change. >> it suounds like at this poin you're not convinced? >> i'm not convinced and i don't think the majority of gop voters are convinced. romney is still in the 30 percentile mark when it comes to approval and primary wins and caucus wins. >> the issue is do women have a right to contraception? we think the answer is yes. should religious institutions have their sensibilities

protected? the answer is yes. this is a challenge to reconcile two important principles and the president found a way to reconcile those. >> as far as the white house is concerned, is this done? >> we think we put out a solid plan. >> no more compromising. >> we put out the plan that reflects the way the president intended it to go. >> is there room for compromise or not? >> no, this is our plan. >> this is about freedom of religion. the government doesn't get to decide for religious people what their religious beliefs are. they get to decide that. >> i think it is time to give them help, medical help first and then i would get -- i would give them training, i would give them communications equipment, and then ultimately i would give them weapons. >> there is no question this regime will come to an end. the only question is when. we're pursuing all avenues that we can to try and bring pressure to bear on -- >> we're not arming them. we're not -- >> with the allies to support the opposition, and to deal with

the human rights problems. but the last thing needed in syria now is more violence. >> so we can't stop the violence because that would create more violence? >> i think there is a lot of pressure being brought to bear and i think it has been effective and will be effective. this regime will come to an end. >> we don't often get the inside scoop of life in the fishbowl, the white house, until now in a q and a session, michelle obama talks about life as the first mom, the first lady. >> it is a balancing act. trying to be first lady, a mom, a wife, a daughter, but i don't think that my balancing is any different from anyone else's out there. i know there are a lot of parents who are juggling in the same way that barack and i juggle. we just do it in a more high profile way. >> she also says the president has a snack weakness for nacho chips and guacamole dip. be sure to check out cnn.com

tomorrow to watch the full interview. valentine's day is just two days away. you're committed in your relationship, yes? well, are you cheating on your spouse financially, potentially? if so, it is time to come clean. christine romens and ali velshi show you how to have the money talk. >> had it comes to money, my friend ali velshi and i speak two different languages. that's okay. because thankfully we're not married to each other, we just work together and wrote a book together called "how to speak money." couples in debt is one of the topics, a big strain in our relationship. i want to look at this data from jeff do. he said wives who have no debt were 12% more likely to be very happy in marriage than wives who had between $10,000 and $20,000 debt. husbands if you look at that, they're happy no matter what. one thing we have talked about

and we wrote about in our book is that a lot of couples aren't honest to each other when it comes to debt. is it okay to hide spending or debt? >> is anybody listening to my answer? >> your wife is watching the program as we speak? >> it is not. there are two issues. when you said men don't care there are two issues. do you care about your habits on spending? a lot of guys don't care. are you completely honest about what your debt situation is. both of those are important. you can't just know about your partner's debt. you to know about how they answer that question. >> next question i want to ask you, in honor of valentine's day, is it okay for one person to handle the finances in the relationship? >> yes, absolutely. let the better person do it. in my -- believe it or not, in my family, you know it, my wife is better at this stuff. she takes the lead on it. it gets done better. there is an issue about potential ty about money. other partner should have involvement in it so they know

about it. but i think it is okay for the smarter, better, more organized one -- if you start off, if you're older -- >> you would dump me if i asked you how much student loan debt you have? >> no. >> you would dump me for other reasons. >> get to the third or fourth date and say this is working out really well, something i got to tell you. >> thank you, ali. for smart is the new rich, i'm christine romans. americans believe they should be in charge of their own future. how they'll live tomorrow. for more than 116 years, ameriprise financial has worked for their clients' futures. helping millions of americans retire on their terms. when they want. where they want. doing what they want. ameriprise. the strength of a leader in retirement planning. the heart of 10,000 advisors working with you one-to-one. together for your future.

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the most highly recommended bed in america. ♪ i want to dance with somebody i want to feel the heat with somebody ♪ ♪ yeah, i want to dance with somebody ♪ ♪ with somebody who loves me ♪ all right, that hit, "i want to dance with somebody" is the first single from whitney houston's second album entitled "whitney". the song won a grammy for best female pop vocal performance. it also was houston's biggest

selling hit after "i will always love you." music industry insiders are grieving the loss of the singer, whitney houston. i spoke to cnn's hilary rosen earlier. she was the chairman and ceo of the recording industry association of america. >> what an amazing coincidence that this would happen during grammy week, of course, when the entire music community comes together to celebrate the best of music in a series of kind of week-long events culminating in tonight's grammy awards. in some respects i feel like this -- if, you know, it is way too early for her to leave us, but the fact that she's doing it around a night where there are so many public tributes available is wonderful because i think for the last few years there has been too much negativity around whitney and what she's -- and her life and so the ability to sort of sit

back today and listen all that great music and to listen to jennifer hudson and chaka khan tonight and pay tribute to her will be magical and so well deserved. >> yeah, magical sounds like the right word. so, you know, while it is very heart breaking, you know, that's kind of the understatement, you know, that i'm making, that how heart breaking it is, the loss of whitney houston, but at the same time, you know, do you feel like it -- it feels that much more painful for people because they were hoping this comeback was really one in which to believe in, that she -- her career was potentially going to make the kind of return that suffered such an absence in recent years? >> you know, i just don't know. i mean, life is fragile and addiction is a very terrible thing. and even if drugs were not involved, clearly she's been weakened over the years by her own admitted use of drugs.

so i think, you know, hopefully we'll know more in coming days about what actually caused this. but really i think that careers in the music business are fragile as well. and when you combine the two things, it is a very troubling marriage, celebrity and addiction. it is very hard to stay on top. it is very hard and a very fickle world to constantly put out new creative works that are going to appeal to people. one of the reasons why so many people are lauding whitney houston now is because she accomplished things that other people just hadn't done. she, you know, "i will always love you" was the number one song in every single country around the world when it was released. so talk about music as a universal language, you don't get more of a powerful statement than that. and, you know, the fact that she meant so much across the globe as you've been talking about today with mandela, you know, when nelson mandela came to

washington for bill clinton, and bill clinton had a state dinner for him, whitney houston was the artist he requested come and perform for him it, you know, seems poignant that she sang "the greatest love of all," my favorite whitney song, that an cem to self-love, something that that we would have wanted whitney to have more of for herself over the years. >> hilary rosen there. fans of whitney houston have an assortment of memories. here is what some are saying in new york. >> i've been singing whitney since i was 6 years old, on my boom box, listening to her tape, dancing, singing songs and now she's gone. it is very unfortunate. >> my heart kind of dropped. i loved whitney houston ever since she came out. so it was very hurtful. >> i used to watch her as a kid. she was awesome. i used to watch "bodyguard." i used to love watching that movie. >> it is tragic, tragic. such a talented human being.

she is setting the standard for a bunch of singers now and she's gone. it is sad. i was in the gas station, grown women crying when i just remembe was, and she was very pure. so that's how i remember her. just -- she seemed like a very loving person. >> a powerful woman. just a gift from god that we're going to miss dearly. >> i haven't slept. i have been up all night just going over -- listening to her songs and remembering them singing about her life. >> whitney definitely left a legacy. she definitely left her presence felt on people, she left a lot. ♪ >> and you want to tune in tonight for a special cnn report on the death of whitney houston.

our don lemon anchors from los angeles live 7:00 eastern time right here on cnn.

checking today's top stories. in athens, greece, black-masked protesters are setting fires and batting with police tonight. reuters reports historic cinemas, cafes, and shops have gone up in flames. the protests come as the greek parliament approved a new round of austerity measures. those measures are designed to prevent a government default that could affect worldwide markets. the arab league is looking for diplomatic solutions to end the violence in syria. it proposed sending a joint arab/u.n. monitoring team to the country during a meeting in cairo. an official says russia, who earlier along with china vetoed a security council resolution to end the bloodshed has actually accepted this proposal. president obama unveils his 2013 budget proposal tomorrow. it predicts is $901 billion deficit next year. today president obama's new chief of staff addressed another big economic issue, extending

the payroll tax cut through the end of the year. and in just about two hours from now the music industry will pay tribute to the late whitney houston at the grammy awards show. she found dead yesterday in her room at the beverly hills hilton hotel in california. an autopsy could happen as early as the beginning of this week. actress and singer jennifer holiday was a good friend of whitney houston's. she spoke to cnn earlier about how much whitney helped her when she sit hard times. >> whitney was one of the most down -- just so down home and just nice and kind-hearted, and i had met her early on because i knew so many of the same people that she knew, michael jackson, all these people i knew, of course, through "dream girls" and arena franklin and singers

and staff, so i got to know her just as a nice person, and she was always very kind hearted, and when i had fallen upon hard times and i had lost my home and trying to get my career back together, she kind of stepped in to try to figure out, okay, so how are you going to get work and how are you going to do this, and she would offer me jobs. one time she had a birthday party and she said, well, i can book you to sing for that, and she and i were label mates briefly. i was with aris that records. i did one album for them and i also sang for the clive davis party which she was always at and she personally took me around to people, introduced me, and personally saw after me. she was always just trying to show that she cared about people. she was also that same way with her musicians early on, and i learned from her how to treat musicians, you know, just in terms of her piano player who was a musical director. she loved them and his death was

one of her first tragic deaths of the loss of piano player and how she cared for them and the family. so she's always been a very caring person, and i think it go all mixed up because she didn't have a lot to say about a lot of things, meaning like i'm very deep and analytical about a lot of stuff. you didn't feel darkness from her, and you know you can get that from some people, some artists. they feel dark, they feel secretive. you didn't feel that. you always felt a light from her. she was always uplifting and trying to help people, you know, by connecting them. >> thanks so much for being with me this afternoon. the cnn "newsroom" continues at the top of the hour. i'm fredricka whitfield. ted rowlands is up next. have a great week. ♪ our machines help identify

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