Tonight, music mogul Clive Davis will dedicate his annual pre-Grammy Awards party to the memory of the late and great pop legend Whitney Houston.
Last year, just a day before the 54th Grammy Awards, the multi-platinum selling artist was found unconscious in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton just hours before Davis held his Grammy party at the same hotel. A toxicology report later confirmed that drugs were in her system.
According to Davis, his 2013 party will begin by commemorating the "I Will Always Love You" singer. "(I am) going to do something to remind everybody that her talent lived among us and in so many people... It's a different kind of opening. The opening has never been done before, with the kind of music that's unprecedented," he told People.com.
"In saying I'm proud of her legacy, I'm going to make sure that she's felt somehow during that night, yes," said the 80-year-old music producer in an interview on Thursday. He first discovered Houston back in the 1980s when she showed off her talents at his annual event. He became her mentor, producer and friend and helped lead the songtress onto a pathway of stardom.
"Whitney and I had great times at this party over the years," he said, smiling. "I'd played her new songs and she'd come over in her pajamas and be listening late at night ... so it is bittersweet. Tragedy is still foul."
The party will also honor music executive L.A. Reid, the Chairman/CEO of Epic Records.
CBS will broadcast the Grammy Awards the following night live from Los Angeles.