New Whitney Houston documentary a 'compelling portrait'

Houston in 1988
Whitney Houston poses with her Grammy at the Grammy Awards on March 3, 1988.
Mark Lennihan | AP 1988

Today's Morning Edition music is from Whitney Houston singing "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," which was released 30 years ago.

A new documentary about the pop icon opens Friday in some theaters and on Showtime next week. It's called "Whitney: Can I Be Me?", a reference to one of Houston's favorite sayings.

According to her saxophonist, Houston would say "Can I be me?" so often that they put music to it.

NPR's Eric Deggans says the film "provides a compelling portrait of a supreme talent isolated by fame, dysfunctional relationships and a crushing drug habit."

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