pacific time. within two minutes, police and paramedics responded. they were unle to revive her. several bystanders also had tried to revive her before that. all of those efforts were unsuccessful and she was declared dead about 32 minutes later at 3:55 this afternoon. according to the beverly hills police department, they say there are no obvious signs of criminal intent, no signs of foul play and no obvious signs of drug involvement at this point. we are only about three hours into the investigation at this point. and lots of information is coming in. whitney houston was at the beverly hilton to celebrate her mentor and the man who really gave her her career, clive davis, the music executive and legend in his own right. he has an annual pre-grammy gala he puts on at the beverly hilton every year. some of the top names in r&b and pop were invited to come

tonight. we are trying to find out because whitney houston was supposed to be part of that event, we're trying to find out if that event is still supposed to be happening. sources say it will go one of two days. one, it is completely cancelled and everyone will be told to stay away, or clive davis will tell everyone on the list you better get here and we start paying tribute to whitney houston. this happens to be music's biggest weekend, the grammy awards tomorrow night at staples center in los angeles. every musical talent, the who's who in town to celebrate the event. it is unclear how the event will unfold. will there be a tribute to whitney at the top of the show, will the show be more somber than it was. it clearly will be, but will the agenda change, lineups change, will there be whitney inspired musical acts. right now, you can imagine the folks organizing the grammys are in a flutter. detectives meanwhile are at the

beverly hilton, we're told it is quite a scene over there. we're expecting another press conference from the beverly hills police department hopefully sometime tonight. we'll bring details as we get it. >> thank you. we'll check back in a moment. right now, we have reverend al sharpton, host of "politics nation" and he is in l.a. now. reverend sharpton, you knew whitney houston, you know her family well. what are you hearing right now? >> well, we're hearing all kinds of calls from people that are shocked. i am here in beverly hills ironically with the pregrammy festivities unfolding, and everyone is reaching out to the family. there's no direct contact from me, but i am reaching out, cissy houston, through all the ups and down, whitney loved her mother, was close to her mother, and

clive davis who stood by her through it all, and it is just a shock. people are literally numb, walking around just numb. this was totally unexpected, and you look at a time that i don't know it is possible to get immediate answer to what's going on. i just keep in my own mind thinking of her song i look to you, i look to you, and that was one of her last hits, and i think that's all we can do, look to god in prayer to try to make sense out of what has happened. pray for her daughter and her mother who i can only imagine how they're feeling at this hour and remember this great talent. she was one of the most gifted and talented people you've ever seen. i would hope as the media goes through the whole analysis and whole trying to find out what happened that we don't get into

the scandal, we need to lift this up, that's what she should be remembered for. >> that's right, that voice. reveren reverend, you know her family. what kind of upbringing did she have in new york? >> she grew up in the church. her mother, cissy houston is legendary gospel singer. when i was a kid, cissy houston used to sing, even later in life, she loved singing in the church in newark, new jersey, never left the road, never was not a gospel superstar, and still performs and is in high demand. whitney grew up learning from her mother and dionne warwick, and she came out of a musical family, a gospel family. solid family that nurtured that great gift she brought the world. she was an example of a

tradition of music that reached this ultimate and her rise in breaking barriers. she was a pop star all over the world, and no one had seen anyone rise where she went. certainly she had her tribulations, certainly she had her troubles, but the mark she made i think far outweighs some of the valleys she had to tunnel through. >> absolutely. reverend sharpton, i'm going to ask you to hold on a moment. joyce berkshire is on the phone, former publicist of whitney houston. joyce, thanks for joining us. what are your thoughts? >> absolutely devastated, as is the rest of the world, and i am just grateful knowing that whitney knew the lord and it was the foundation on which her life was built. it may not have looked like that to all of you, but we who worked closely with her knew where her heart rested with god, and for something so tragic to happen to

her so soon, we know that hopefully she's one with him tonight. >> when was the last time you saw whitney? >> oh, i last saw her around 1997. >> what was she like to work with? >> she was a joy to work with, very cooperative, very appreciative. she extended herself graciously to the staff at arista records for whatever was needed and she worked well with all of us. >> it's interesting you said that no matter what people say, she knew the lord. was she a deeply religious woman in the later years? >> she was religious. i wouldn't say religious, i would say she had a relationship with jesus christ, and there is quite a difference in rereligion ee osity and having a relationship with jesus christ and you don't know how people are on their knees behind closed

doors, how they're praying, how they have been prayed for, how they have been prayed through, and whitney has been prayed for and through, and she also knew how to pray for herself. >> lajoyce you were a publicist for her. you saw the ups and downs. did you ever think about reaching out to her and giving her advice? >> certainly i reached out to her privately and reached out to her crew privately, no advice is needed because they certainly knew what to do as well, but you know, sometimes we all fall down, but it is how we get up. whitney was in the process of making that transition. you know. when our lives play out in public, and hers did, then you know, we're just under the scrutiny of the magnifying glass of the public. so you know, sometimes you're not allowed to make those

mistakes. but we have to be able to be given room to go through our valleys. >> you make reference to the crew she surrounded herself with. a lot of people have been talking about that tonight. what does this mean, are these agents? who are you all talking about when you reference the crew. >> we in the business when we talk about our crew, we're talking about our internal agents, managers, publicists, those that book us for certain events. those are people you staff personally, your personal assistant, executive assistant. those people are near and dear. you're not going to find anyone to say anything bad about whitney on this day or any other. my public speaking engagements, people would say oh, you worked with whitney houston, i would say don't ask me any questions. you may ask me nothing. there are certain confidences that we keep close to ourselves that we may know and that we may have seen, and i would always

encourage people to pray for whitney, not to count whitney out, and certainly even in her death she shouldn't be counted out tonight. >> no, that is for sure. you were at arista records, clive davis who found her, discovered her, everyone is talking about how this was such an important seminal relationship. what can you tell us about it. >> it was an important relationship. he discovered her, helped mold her into the superstar she is, but that's because she was moldable, groomable. a lot of people want to be stars, but a lot of people don't want to conform, and there's certain conformity that needs to transpire in order for you to reach the massive stardom she was able to attain, and that was only able to be possible because whitney wanted it, and we wanted it for her. >> so she really followed clive

davis' direction? >> absolutely. we all shared the vision. it was easy to see with a talent so great like that before you, wow, you know. when you have an opportunity to be a part of something on a team like that, it's just awesome to watch, awesome to unfold and very saddening today to see. >> do you remember the first time you heard whitney houston sing? >> oh, yeah. >> where were you? >> i was a writer and a producer at sheridan broadcasting network in new york city, and we had the "i'm your baby tonight" album, and it was like wow, wow, and we were invited to like i guess a luncheon, little dinner for her, just a very intimate, about 25 people, press people, and we were called and she came, you know, sat at everyone's table, and we chatted and talked about how puffer the album was, but just on the scene around the

town in new york city, even before she had gotten her deal, used to see a lot of whitney around at the warehouse, sweetwater's restaurant where she had her showcase. i saw her at the warehouse one day, a girl standing on top of a speaker singing. yeah. when she came out later, i thought that's the girl from the warehouse. >> was her voice amazing that day. >> singing at the top of her lungs over the music at the house music place. >> wow. >> just incredible even then. >> clive davis was so instrumental obviously and standing by her through thick and thin. were there periods when it seemed like she wasn't taking his direction, when she was getting derailed? >> i wouldn't call it that, page. >> no? how would you characterize it. >> no comment. >> how do you think she's going to be remembered? it's so sad to me we're all talking about how this was a voice from god, the likes of

which we will probably never hear in a person again, and yet her life was marred by very public dramas. >> uh-huh. i think, again, like i said, when we're under a magnifying glass, we're not at liberty to live our lives and make mistakes as we would and get back up and find our way again. i think that was one of the things whitney was plagued with, not being able to find her way without being under the microscope, and that was unfair to her, that her life played out in public like this, that she could not do it comfortably. she didn't have a safe place where she could do it without being scrutinized. i mean, it got to the point even if you go to church, you hear the flash bulbs and video cameras, then you're on youtube even worshipping god, that's not fair. >> lajoyce brookshire, worked with her at arista records,

thanks for joining us. we want to look at a sad scene, the beverly hilton. the beverly hills police are conducting an investigation. whitney was declared dead there. her body was removed from the beverly hilton around 4:00 p.m. today. that's also the site of the clive davis party and a lot of people are staying there for the grammys. sad night. the beverly hills police ruled out any foul play and any obvious drug use. they're continuing the investigation and we're going to be letting you know what we get from that. meantime, i want to bring back in reverend al sharpton, host of "politics nation." reverend sharpton, you spent most of your life in the spotlight, very publicly. you know what that's like. why is it some people can handle it very well and other people like whitney houston maybe didn't have a filter or didn't know when to leave the cameras. what do you think was her problem in terms of her pr?

>> i think the problem was that many of those in the entertainment media were more looking for negative and sensationalism than looking for the beauty of the art and allowing her the privacy of her life that had challenges of anyone. i think i always say to reporters, if we could turn the cameras and go through their ups and downs, we would probably be stunned at what we see. i think of the fact she was under that magnifying glass, and because she was so huge an artist that they could never turn it off. she started in the late '80s, and went all the way into an era of youtube, cable television, and tmz, so where everything became public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there was a time people could cut the public off.

you would get a big estate, put up a wall, you didn't know what was going on. today, there is no shutting it off. i don't think it was her problem, i think it was the culture can change to where there is no privacy when you get as big as she had gotten, and i think that when you are able to embellish it, blow up the sensational parts of one's pitfalls, it may have been more than if it was just observed as a normal process of growing. when she would bounce back and come back, it was not as hot of a story, and even then if they would cover the story, they would do it with doubt and say is this real, is it going to stick, you got up, are you going to stay up. so it was a relentless pursuit of we got you, we caught you,

and i think that was the sad thing, which is why tonight i would hope we give her what we didn't give her, and that is the peace of remembering the beauty of why we knew her, and that was her beautiful voice. >> unique voice. you know cissy houston very well. how did her mother feel about her fame and everything that happened to her? >> you know, i think that from what i know of cissy, she saw it as a gift from god, as a challenge to whitney because she spent so many years on the road, and as i said, she reached the top of the gospel field and never left, but i think she saw whitney as a gift from god, always encouraged her to remain faithful to that. i think as we saw her last recordings with like i keep repeating the song i look to you, she was talking about doing gospel. she was planning to do this movie and we talked from time to time with cissy, talk to people

around whitney, i would run into whitney a couple times last year. i think whitney was really on the rebound, and i think that's what i want to always remember, that she didn't give up, no matter how deep the pit was, she was climbing out of the pit, and i don't think we should look at her as a tragedy, because all of us had those tips in our lives, it is just that we're not as magnified as she was. >> you touched on something so true, there was a sense when she would come back of waiting for her to fall again. seemed like the media was following her to an absurd degree. when you saw her last year, how did she seem to you, how did she look, how did she sound? >> she looked healthy. she looked like she was on her way back. she was working towards a rebound, and i think that the fact, you know, it's almost something that is telling, that she was in beverly hills tonight to give tribute to a man that

helped start her, clive davis, and i think that she was getting right on the rhythm of what brought her to stardom. she was not in beverly hills for any trivial matter, she was here at the big pre-grammy party honoring clive davis who believed in her, helped elevate her, and she did a good tribute to him, in many ways, the unfortunate end was in many ways where it began, with those that started and believed in her through it all. i remember three or four years ago, clive davis honored aretha franklin and i was at the next table. she was always there, thankful to clive davis and i believe she was in town to give gratitude tonight. >> he stuck with her through thick and thin. >> that's correct, that's correct. and i think in the music industry that's always i think

one that will throw you to the side when you go through problems, clive davis was there, deserves a lot of credit for staying with whitney, and i think he was rare in that respect. >> he certainly was. when you think she had dionne warwick as her aunt, enjoyed a huge career, her mother, cissy houston, legendary gospel singer, they had careers. they haven't had any sort of public problems. what lessons did whitney not learn? >> well, i don't know. i think a lot of their careers might have been before we were in this kind of climate. i don't know what she did learn, and i think tonight to not talk about her mistakes, it is a night to remember her greatness. >> what's a word you would use to describe whitney houston? >> gifted, but never took her gifts for granted. one thing you would know is she worked hard, rehearsed hard.

she would reach ranges in her vocals that few could reach, but she worked and rehearsed and sang like someone with natural gifts. >> great point. thank you so much. go to michelle franzen of nbc news, following reaction on twitter. what are you hearing? >> page, we have been following reaction from people that knew whitney houston just as the reverend al sharpton was talking about her. we're also getting a sense of the impact she had around the world from her fans, from other stars who may have taken in her music. on social websites like facebook as well as twitter, the outpouring of emotion of people sending condolences through social media is certainly taking place right now. and it has certainly been keeping social media very busy with updates.

a lot of people saying rest in peace, talking about the impact she had on them musically, whether they were growing up or her gospel influences, and just wanting to connect through this so-called social media that ends up being this very modern sort of tool of sending condolences these days. of course, whitney houston burst onto the scene taking the country and the world by storm in the '80s and '90s, she started out singing in church, of course, and ended up singing backup for some of the greats, including chak a can. we heard from people like the new york mayor, cory booker speaking out, speaking about how whitney houston should rest in peace, how she was a legend. of course, she hailed from

newark, new jersey. >> that's right. they always said she was a girl from newark. michelle franzen, thank you so much. a statement from mariah carey. statements are pouring in from all over the entertainment industry. mariah carey says heartbroken and in tears over the shocking death of my friend, the incomparable whitney houston. my heartfelt condolences to whitney's family and friends through the world. she will never be forgotten as one of the greatest voices to ever grace the earth. mariah carey sending condolences about whitney's death. let's go to lola from the "today" show. what are you hearing? >> social media is talking about this in great deal. the outpouring of emotion about whitney houston's passing is tremendous. one of the five top trending topics on twitter are about her. so it is clear around the world, people are feeling the loss and people are wanting to share fond

memories of not only whitney houston but her music, what it meant to their childhood. many people said her music was a sound track of their youth. people are sharing their memories, sharing song lyrics, posting their favorite whitney houston videos from youtube on their facebook pages, so this is very much an experience that is being shared by millions on social media. >> do you think, reverend sharpton was saying hopefully in the coming days, there will be more focus on that incomparable voice as mariah carey said, versus ups and downs which he made the point today in public life, you can't get away from it, they're going to follow you, they're going to catch you doing whatever. it's not 40 years ago. >> historically, if you were celebrity and you were going through trials, you were able to do them somewhat privately. that no longer exists any more with the advent of social media,

everyone, not only celebrities, but the average person is living under a microscope. it is more intensified by someone that's a celebrity and someone of the celebrity of the stature of a whitney houston. i think in the coming weeks, we will see people not only rediscover her music, but really, really celebrate her life, and what a contribution, powerful contribution she made to music. >> it is amazing. looking at a picture of her with bruce springsteen, and we were talking about what universality she had. >> one of the great things about her, not only could everyone relate to her music, they felt like her voice tran sended everything, race, gender, politics. everyone could agree this woman was a phenomenal talent. i said before, all you have to do is listen to her rendition of the star-spangled banner to know that woman had an other worldly voice.

>> that's true. something we will probably never hear the likes of again in our lifetime. thanks, lola. following breaking news out of los angeles, tragic news. pop star, superstar, it seems not even right to say pop star, iconic star whitney houston, found dead in the beverly hilton. she was in l.a. for the grammys, ironically to attend an event hosted by her mentor, the man that founded her, clive davis, tonight. people mourning her death all over the world. we're going to continue our coverage of this story out of los angeles. whitney houston, dead at the age of 48. stay with msnbc. we'll be right. ♪ is easy to achieve ♪ learning to love yourself, it is the [ woman ] we take it a day at a time.

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i'm page hopkins. you're watching msnbc's coverage of breaking news. whitney houston, the pop superstar, dead at the age of 48. she died earlier this evening at the beverly hilton. she was in los angeles for the grammys, and to pay tribute to her mentor, clive davis. she was supposed to attend an event tonight honoring clive davis at the beverly hilton. she was found dead earlier this evening in her row hotel room. they say there were no obvious signs of foul play or drug use. meanwhile, they are conducting an investigation. this is all very fresh. whitney houston dead at the age of 48. i want to be to gina kim in l.a. >> reporter: we are learning her body is still at the beverly hilton as we speak. as you can imagine, police detectives are swarming the

hotel. it is also the scene of a huge gala event she was supposed to attend tonight with legendary r&b pop stars arriving at the hotel in tribute to clive davis. he is the one that puts on a pre-grammy party every year at the hotel, and whitney houston was supposed to be part of that. she was staying at her room on the fourth floor when she was discovered shortly after 3:00 this afternoon pacific time. time of death, they pronounced her dead at 3:55 p.m. they're not saying very much more than that, but they are saying they can confirm there are no obvious signs of criminal intent as you said, and no obvious signs of drugs as of yet. i can tell you this is an investigation that will go on for days if not weeks. they have to do so many tests, and as i said, the body is still at the hilton now, so the

coroner's office hasn't even been able to get hold of it to start doing any kinds of tests or autopsies. they say that the cause of death is unknown, and i imagine that that will stay that way for awhile. who found her, how long she had been expired when she was found this afternoon, what could have led up to her death, no one really knows right now, but the last time she was seen publicly was within the past couple of days when she performed an impromptu song at the true club in hollywood where there was another pre-grammy, and she sang a song from yes, jesus lives me, and someone recorded it, and it is being circulated online. it is the last glimpse of whitney houston, appearing completely normal, not looking distressed. she was supposed to possibly perform at the gala event tonight, and there was word it might be cancelled in light of this news and with all the

detectives at the beverly hilton. but we're now told that that party is continuing. no longer a party, more of a tribute to whitney houston, some of the biggest names in hollywood and the r and b and pop world are converging on the beverly hilton right now to join everyone else in remembering her, and share the grief. beverly hills police department is supposed to be having another update tonight. we will try to bring you that. i wanted to say you were talking to al sharpton, reverend al sharpton within the past hour. >> yes. >> and he is calling for a national prayer tomorrow morning. he is going to be conducting services in the morning, he is asking for a moment of silence, at ame churches across the nation. he is going to remember her life and what he knows about her at this service tomorrow.

also tomorrow, we all know this, the biggest event in music is happening, the grammy awards at the staples center. right now, everyone is all in a flutter in los angeles over what is going to happen at this awards ceremony. they had a lineup, had rehearsals, everything was already in place. now all of that has been thrown up in the air. it's not clear how the show will go, whether songs will change, whether artists will change. we certainly expect it to open with a tribute to whitney houston, but this happens to be just one of the biggest weekends here in los angeles, and this news comes untimely, possibly coincidentally, so we'll be watching for news updates about the grammy awards tomorrow as well, page. >> the timing, such tragic irony, the night of clive davis' party. thank you. let's go to christopher farley, "the wall street journal" entertainment editor.

i understand you actually knew whitney houston a decade ago? >> yes, i interviewed her in 1995 for the release of the movie and sound track "waiting to exhale." i talked to her before then, and i was familiar with her when i was a critic for time magazine. >> what did you think of her? >> at the time she was known to the world as a perfect pop princess. a terrific, pure vocal tone. she was a hit almost out of the box. took awhile for the public to discover the album, but it indeed became a hit. later, some of her tumultuous personal life came out, the erratic marriage to bobby brown that ended. stories of substance abuse made the news, and she had been look to go apparently make a come back. she was, according to numerous reports, she was in discussions to perhaps take a roll in simon

cowell's talent show, the x factor. and i think had that happened, it would have put her on the map in the same way christina aguilera had success on the show "the voice." sadly that won't happen. she was an enormous talent. i think her songs obviously were incredibly popular. but in interviews, she could be erratic. when i talked to her in miami in 1995, it was very odd. i remember bobby brown showed up to the interview, too -- >> and what was that like in 1995, bobby brown is there with her. how did you find her. you keep saying erratic. >> it was very strange. at the time, they were supposed to be split. he showed up to the interview, which was supposed to be a solo interview with her. then i got bobby brown, too. they went into their own world of pdas as me, a reporter, was watching them. that was part of whitney's world.

she was doing her own thing, didn't care what the public thought, what interviewers thought, she was handling things her own way, and it is something that helped put her on top and led to some of the depths of her career as well. >> did you feel she was poised for a strong come back now? >> i think people love a come back story with divas. people like to see them come back. there's a lot of affection for whitney houston and her music, i think although sometimes during her career she was said to have music overly processed. you think of some of the big hit songs, hard not to remember them fandly, remember performance of the star-spangled banner at the super bowl, and i think had she gotten something on the right reality show, she had the potential to come back and come back big. >> interesting you say you felt maybe people thought some of her

songs were homogenized, when you compare her with singers today, she had the real deal, a real voice. >> she definitely did. when you saw her in concert, it was always surprising to see the kind of soul she infused them with in concerts that wasn't always in the version on the radio. she was a great soul singer. when you watch some of her old performances on things like the mer of griffin show, you can find them on youtube. it is startling to see the talent she had from a young age, a talent she worked on, honed, perfected in later years, even when her voice wasn't as pure, ragged around the edges, giving performances that were erratic, she still gave performances well worth watching. >> how did you find her last time you saw her? >> last time, i can't remember the last time i saw her in concert, but i remember seeing her in concert maybe in the late -- around turn of the

millenium. i remember seeing her pouring sweat like james brown, surprised how hard she had to work to get the songs out there. but it was still a perfect concert. still enjoyed myself. the crowd seemed to be in it. she had talent to entertain the masses. >> thank you for joining us today. we continue our coverage of this breaking story out of los angeles. whitney houston, dead at the age of 48, beverly hills police are at the beverly hilton where she was found dead in her room. we're going to continue to bring this breaking story as more details become available to us. we'll be right back. ♪ and i will always love you ♪ i will always love you as someone who uses insulin,

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. welcome back to msnbc's coverage of the death of whitney houston at the age of 48. she was in los angeles for the grammys and to pay tribute at an event for the man that was her mentor that discovered her, clive davis. whitney houston dead at the age of 48. let's go to reverend joe watkins. he's known whitney houston for quite a long time, actually worked with her. reverend watkins, all of these tributes that are pouring in are so moving. i want to read a couple. smoky robinson, i've known whitney since she was a little girl and i loved her. she was like family to me. i will miss her. also hearing from aretha franklin, the great aretha franklin. i just can't talk about it now. it is so stunning and unbelievable. i couldn't believe what i was reading across the tv screen. my heart goes out to cissy, her

daughter bobbi. give us your reaction as you digest this. >> it is a shock to me also having worked with and admired her. it is shocking, unexpected. seemed like things were moving in the right direction for her, and i was so happy to see this movie getting ready to come out, and the resurgence of her career. she did so well in the 1980s and 1990s, sold so many records, had so many fans all around the world, made a terrific entry into the movie business, did very, very well with the films she appeared in, and i just was happy to see her coming back in the way she was, and then to hear this so suddenly is such a shock, such a sad thing. i'm just praying for her family, praying for her daughter, her

mom, and others and her ex-husband and everybody in her family. >> and of course, want to remind everybody that the beverly hills police are still conducting an investigation. they have said there were no obvious signs of drug use or obvious signs of foul play. actually, her body is still at the beverly hilton right now as they're continuing the investigation. something, reverend watson, people are saying they saw her in concert, the athleticism that the concerts demanded of her. one person said watching her sing, she would sweat, it was so much for her to sing. you were on the road with her. what was that like? >> she preferred it to be warm as opposed to cold in a venue, but yes, she would perspire when she sang. she put her heart and soul into her singing, and you could see it if you were back stage or near the stage in clear view of her. she put her heart and soul into it. in a lot of concerts, certainly

earlier one, a lot of athleticism was required because she was dancing as she was singing. she did a tour in the '90s, "i'm your baby tonight" and she had dancers, and we went venue to venue, she was singing and dancing with the dancers, so just took a lot of work. she had to be in great physical condition and it was very taxing on her, but she handled it very, very well. >> reverend sharpton said there was a sense with her, every time she would come back, he felt the media was perhaps waiting for her to fall again, was putting her under a microscope that maybe they didn't put other people under. do you think that was the case? >> i think there's a need for people in the media to sell advertising space and newspapers and the like, so i think that she was somebody that they watched closely, and they weren't always kind to whitney, which is unfortunate.

that part saddens me. i know certainly in the 1980s, early 1990s, most of the press she got was very favorable. i know that over the course of the last decade and a half, some of it was less favorable, but as i said, she was really on the rebound, and coming back strong, and i was so excited to see her coming back in the way she was, to see it come to an end like this so suddenly is really a shock and very, very sad. but i guess, you know, if there's -- it is interesting that she passed on the day before the grammys. >> isn't it? right. >> this is the biggest event in the music world, and tomorrow night, if anybody had forgotten her, guess what, tomorrow night, they have to all remember whitney houston. they're all going to focus and talk about whitney houston and her tremendous contribution to music. >> yes. what kind of a mother was she, with bobbi kristina.

did you ever see them together? >> i thought she was a very loving mother. and mothers in show business have i guess pressures on him that other mothers don't have, but she was a loving mother. she loved her daughter very, very much. and she even had her in one of her songs, when bobbi was a little girl, had her in one of the songs, i think it was "my love is your love" and bobbi kristina is in that song, says sing it, mommy. i remember one time i saw her in concert with that. and after little bobbi kristina at the time, was a little small girl, she said sing it, mommy, and whitney stopped in the song and just started laughing, said isn't that sweet, that's my girl. i know she loved her daughter. >> what about her family, how was her relationship with her family when she had this very public, tumultuous relationship with bobby brown? >> her family was around her much of the time, certainly in the '80s and '90s and even in

recent years, much of her family was involved in her business. i think that was a good thing. she was surrounded by people that knew her and loved her and people she trusted and believed in and i thought it was a big help to be surrounded by her family members, because i think they gave her strength. >> what happened because there was sort of a derailing of her career. >> of course, these things happen in life, and i think it is well documented and her ex-husband had challenges with the law in the late 1990s, and i don't think that helped her image at all. in the 1980s and early 1990s, she was the golden girl so to speak, i mean that in the best way, singing at the super bowl, having the concerts sold out around the world, she was really

just a superstar, and very much untarnished. i think some of the troubles her ex-husband had had some impact on the kind of press she got, but they got past it. they both got past it. certainly he has really cleaned up his life, is doing much, much better, and whitney was having a resurgence, as i said. that's why it is such a shock. the thing i expected to see was her perform tomorrow night in honor of clive davis, and then for her movie to come out, and i was expecting to see all of this. >> as we all were. reverend joe watkins, stay with us. we are following breaking news out of los angeles. whitney houston dead at the age of 48. superstar. we're going to continue to follow this breaking story as more details become available. keep it here on msnbc

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♪ and i will always love you ♪ i will always love you we are following the breaking news story of whitney houston dead at the age of 48. i want to go to allison samuels of the daily beast. she's at the beverly hilton where whitney's body was found. allison, what can you tell us?

>> just here all day, doing by interview for vh 1. whitney was supposed to interview after me, talk about brandy for behind the music on vh1. someone came down, said she wouldn't be able to do it because she was dead, had passed away. so it has been a chaotic scene since then of people coming in for clive davis' party, because it is too late to let people know not to come, and people are walking around sort of in a daze, not believing what happened. >> do people appear to have had the news as they enter the party? >> some had, some hadn't. it was a period mix of people being aware of it, and a lot of guests in the hotel not being aware of what happened, just sort of being clueless to why the crime lab was outside, and sort of why the police are around. >> we understand there were reports that the beverly hills police were saying her body is still at the beverly hilton in

that room. is that true? have you heard that? >> my understanding is that she hasn't been removed as of yet. >> do we know if clive davis is in the beverly hilton yet for his event? >> most of the party guests had arrived, one would assume he was already here and he had been here yesterday and here earlier today, so i think he is here with the family. >> can you tell us what the party looks like, does it seem obviously a somber occasion, what are you seeing? >> just people are dressed up, you know, there's a sadness, there's a definite, no one is stopping to talk to cameras or reporters, they're going in, sort of being hurried along by security in the lobby. so it is a somber mood here. >> this is a tragedy that's laden with so much irony. for her to pass away on the day of this event, paying tribute to a man who started her career.

>> right. right. it is irony in so many ways. she was mentoring to brandy and monica, helping them rehearse yesterday, seemed in good spirits, doing well, enjoying herself. i guess she had a late night out last night. and for this to happen the next day, i think everybody is just in shock. people thought she was really getting a little better, and sort of -- i think we're all just in shock. >> had you heard any reports from people that saw her out last night, did she seem well? >> i think there were reports they were partying hard, heard reports from people last night, party was going strong, so i guess a lot of people are saying they don't know if that had anything to do with her actual death, but the party went very

long last night. >> allison, thank you so much. i want to bring in lola ogunnaike. what are you hearing? >> i heard allison that the party is indeed going on which is surprising. i thought they might have cancelled it. i am assuming they're deciding they want to make it an evening that will turn into a celebration of whitney houston's life and her music, as well as an opportunity for her fellow artists to mourn her together. >> right. >> but i think what i'm wondering is what will actually become of the show tomorrow, will it become a grand tribute to whitney houston's life and music? everything was already pretty buttoned up, the idea that the grammy people have to scramble, essentially remake the entire show, it is going to be a herculian fete. >> is she that important a figure? her voice is