Greg "Fiddler" Holt. PHOTO BY SANDY HECTMAN

Those who frequent live music offerings around the Suncoast have most likely encountered a bearded, straw cowboy hat-wearing fella that goes by the name “Fiddler.” While many may know his real name is Greg Holt, few are probably aware of how he came to reside in Sarasota.

Long before becoming one of the area’s most active musicians for hire (see schedule), Holt led a very different life. After graduating from UCLA with a degree in biochemistry, he worked as a cosmetic chemist in Beverly Hills, followed by a job in New York City tracking corporations on Wall Street. He had learned some violin growing up, but playing music was not a part of his life.

Then one morning in 2001, everything changed: “When the first plane hit, I put on my rollerblades and went down there,” recalls Holt. “On my way, the second plane hit. I was under the buildings and people were jumping and I heard a big creak and I knew everybody down there was going to die, so I just started booking it.”

The emotional toll of living in post-9/11 NYC led Holt’s boss to move the company to Sarasota in early 2002. Holt followed, but his brain had shifted. Every night he would strap a fiddle to his Harley and hit up various blues jams all over town, seldom showing up for work the next day. During a jam at Will’s Honky Tonk one night, someone suggested he move to Nashville. So, he did.

Holt struggled through the next few years learning the ropes of a professional musician — reteaching himself to read music and studying the ways of gigging, touring and session work. He developed the skill set of a “utility player,” becoming proficient with not only fiddle, but mandolin, steel, banjo and keys. His first big break came with a spot playing for Grand Ole Opry star Mel McDaniel: “After you land that kind of gig in Nashville, people start hiring you a lot.”

After a few years of widespread touring, recording and sitting in with countless musical greats from across the country, blues and rock spectrums, Holt came to realize that musicians don’t have to live in Nashville to be successful. So, in November 2010 he sold his Nashville home, loaded up a U-Haul, and headed back to Sarasota. His plan was to connect with former SteppinStone guitarist Jimmy Popovich and start up an original project. The week after Holt arrived, Popovich passed away.

Knowing barely anyone else in town, Holt took a walk through Siesta Village to contemplate his next move when two members of Dickey Betts’ band, Michael Mac and Frankie Lombardi, spotted the fiddle on his back and invited him up to jam. He later followed them to a party where he made friends with Michael Kach’s band. Within a month, he was sharing a stage with Dickey Betts himself.

“So what originally seemed like a bad idea after Jimmy died, turned out to be the best idea I’ve had,” Holt says. “Sarasota seems like a little backwoods town. But in reality there are a lot of deep musical connections here and all these huge names that have been here for years … The Dickey Betts’s of the world aren’t going to walk up and say let’s play. You have to know some people.”

But Sarasota’s musical royalty aren’t the only local artists Holt has collaborated with since his return. He’s lent his skills to just about every musical happening from “Not A Silent Night” to “End of the Dial Tone” and all points between, regardless of genre or professional level. His latest undertaking is solo shows, recently landing gigs to play during the Downtown Sarasota Alliance’s new “Live From Downtown” events, as well as the halftime show spots during Tampa Bay Lightening Games.

“Ironically, 9/11 was a gift to me,” Holt says. “It was horrifying, and I had friends die. But it put me in this position.”

Thurs., Feb. 16: 5-10 p.m., Get Down Downtown, Old Main St., Bradenton; Fri., Feb. 17: 8-11 p.m., Cafe Palm, 1341 Main St., Sarasota; Sat., Feb. 18: 7 p.m., Tampa Bay Lightning Game, Tampa Bay Times Forum, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa; Tues., Feb. 21: 7-11 p.m., SKOB Open Mic, 5238 Ocean Blvd., Siesta Key; Weds., Feb. 22: 5:30-8 p.m., Salon First Open House, 1269 1st St., Sarasota.

Harper

Harper and The Midwest Kind
Fri. Feb. 17, 8 p.m., Ace’s Live, 4343 Palma Sola Blvd., Bradenton, $10
Australian singer/songwriter Harper performs blues, rock, funk, soul and world music through his prolific harp skills, and the eerie buzz of didgeridoo. Harper is backed by the Michigan-based band Midwest Kind. Harper’s current CD “Stand Together” was #10 on the Billboard Charts and US Roots Music Charts. Harper was recently inducted into The Hall of Fame at The Blues Museum on December 17 by The South Canadian Blues Society.

Whitney Houston fans dance to her music to honor her memory with a candlelight vigil in Leimert Park in Los Angeles on Monday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

By DAVID PORTER / The Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J. — Whitney Houston’s funeral service will be held Saturday in the church where she first showcased her singing talents as a child.

The owner of the Whigham Funeral Home in Newark said Tuesday that Houston’s funeral will be held at noon at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. The funeral home said that no wake would be held and that there would be no public memorial at Newark’s Prudential Center, the sports arena that the family had discussed as a possible venue.

The 48-year-old Houston died Feb. 11 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., just hours before she was set to perform at producer Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy Awards bash. Officials say she was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub.

After an autopsy Sunday, authorities said there were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma on Houston. It could be weeks, however, before the coroner’s office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death.

Los Angeles County coroner’s assistant chief Ed Winter said there were bottles of prescription medicine in the room. He would not give details except to say: “There weren’t a lot of prescription bottles. You probably have just as many prescription bottles in your medicine cabinet.”

Her body was returned to New Jersey late Monday.

Houston was born in Newark and was raised in nearby East Orange. She began singing as a child at New Hope Baptist Church, where her mother, Grammy-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston, led the music program for many years. Her cousin singer Dionne Warwick also sang in its choir.

Whitney Houston's fans William Alexander, left, and Juliette Tate honor her memory at a candlelight vigil Monday night in Leimert Park in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

An impromptu memorial for Houston was held Sunday during a sadness-tinged Grammys, with Jennifer Hudson saluting her memory with a performance of “I Will Always Love You.” Viewership for the awards show soared over last year by 50 percent, with about 40 million viewers tuning in to the program on CBS.

On Monday, mourners left flowers, balloons and candles for Houston at the wrought-iron fence around the tall brick church, which sits near the edge of an abandoned housing project near the train line leading to New York City.

“She was an inspiration to everybody,” said Gregory Hanks, an actor who grew up in the neighborhood and who dropped off a bouquet. He saw Houston perform in New Jersey years ago.

“I grew up listening to her as a little boy, and to hear her sing, you knew she was special,” he said.

A sensation from her first album, Houston was one of the world’s best-selling artists from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, turning out such hits as “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” “How Will I Know,” “The Greatest Love of All” and “I Will Always Love You.” But as she struggled with drugs, her majestic voice became raspy, and she couldn’t hit the high notes.

Houston left behind one child, daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, 18, from her marriage to singer Bobby Brown.

– AP Entertainment Writer Lynn Elber contributed to this report from Los Angeles.

The Delta Skyline

Young SRQ trio The Delta Skyline is recording its first album at Bradenton’s Junkyard Rehearsal Studio and the budding rockers are receiving general band guidance (including its photography; see sidebar) from Junkyard owner Barry Waddell (guitarist/vocalist for Seasons of the Wolf).

In addition, TDS is also prepping for the first round of Gorilla Music’s “Battle of the Bands” that’ll be held March 18 at The Orpheum in Tampa.

Beforehand, however, it performs at the (oddly named) Jonapalooza 3, 9 p.m. Friday at Rusty Hook Tavern, with Palmetto’s self-described “rock, experimental, alternative, punk” quartet Airsickness, along with Sarasota’s Devil Made Microphones and The Once and Future Kings. $5.

DOOD CHANGE

Sarasota hard-rockers The Distinguished Order of Disobedience aka The D.O.O.D.  has tweaked its lineup.

Vocalist/guitarist Lee Kay (also in RMisery) takes over for former frontman Mike Partee, who vacated the spot last year (having joined  Seven Years Past for a while, then, recently, playing bass at a few shows for national act Tantric).

As well,  original members Ray Gunderson (guitar, vox), Jonzey (bass) and Jerry Sullivan (drums) welcome guitarist Parker Wojtanek to the fold.

The new three-guitar re-formation hits Venice’s Club 41 (408-8447) for “Bike Night,” Feb. 24, with As Bridges Burn, Kadaver Dolls, Lethal Blend and Pushmower.

SEVEN FOLLOWUP

In case folks weren’t at the show where Seven Years Past revealed its mystery drummer (who replaced instrument-switcher Brett Jones), the new guy is seasoned percussionist Allen Pryor (from The Almighty North among many others).

CATS OUT

After a pre-release cassette put out in October, Cats in the Basement delivers its seven-song debut “Doo Bee Doo La Dee Day Dum Be Dum Drink Your Blood” digitally Tuesday. (Unfortunately, there’s no word on when, exactly, its 10-inch, glow-in-the-dark vinyl version comes out.)

For now, CITB entices fans with a free download of the album’s single “godlovesex” at its Bandcamp page.

Next week, it begins a monthlong tour (some dates with David-Byrne-produced The Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt), during which it’ll perform in numerous Atlantic Coast states (to New York), through Virginia and Tennessee, then along coastal Gulf states to Texas.

One of the first tour shows is at downtown Sarasota’s Blue Owl on March 25.

– Send musings and news to dawnzig@hotmail.com

Adele hauled in six Grammy Awards Sunday night. AP PHOTO

Winners in selected major categories at Sunday’s 54th Annual Grammy Awards:

Album of the Year: “21,” Adele

Record of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele

Song of the Year: “Rolling in the Deep,” Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth

New Artist: Bon Iver

Pop Solo Performance: “Someone Like You,” Adele

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group: “Body and Soul,” Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

Pop Vocal Album: “21,” Adele

Alternative Album: “Bon Iver,” Bon Iver

Rock Song: “Walk,” Foo Fighters

Rock Album: “Wasting Light,” Foo Fighters

Rock Performance: “Walk,” Foo Fighters

Hard Rock/Metal Performance: “White Limo,” Foo Fighters

R&B Album: “F.A.M.E.,” Chris Brown

R&B Song: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green, Melanie Hallim & Jack Splash

R&B Performance: “Is This Love,” Corrine Bailey Rae

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: “Fool For You,” Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

Rap Album: “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Kanye West

Rap Performance: “Otis,” Jay-Z and Kanye West

Rap Song: “All of the Lights,” Jeff Bhasker, Stacy Ferguson, Malik Jones, Warren Trotter & Kanye West

Rap/Sung Collaboration: “All of the Lights,” Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie

Dance Recording: “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex

Dance/Electronica Album: “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” Skrillex

Musical Theater Album: “The Book of Mormon,” Robert Lopez, Trey Parker & Matt Stone

World Music Album: “Tassili,” Tinariwen

Latin Pop Rock, Rock or Urban Album: “Drama y Luz,” Mana

Tropical Latin Album: “Last Mambo,” Cachao

Banda or Norteno Album: “Los Tigres Del Norte and Friends,” Los Tigres Del Norte

Regional Mexican or Tejano Album: “Bicentenario,” Pepe Aguilar

Country Solo Performance: “Mean,” Taylor Swift

Country Album: “Own the Night,” Lady Antebellum

Country Performance by a Duo or Group: “Barton Hollow,” The Civil Wars

Country Song: “Mean,” Taylor Swift

Jazz Vocal Album: “The Mosaic Project,” Terri Lyne Carrington & various artists

Jazz Instrumental Album: “Forever,” Corea, Clark & White

Improvised Jazz Solo: “500 Miles High,” Chick Corea

Large Ensemble Jazz Album: “The Good Feeling,” Christian McBride Big Band

Blues Album: “Revelator,” Tedeschi Trucks Band

Folk Album: “Barton Hollow,” The Civil Wars

Pop Instrumental Album: “The Road From Memphis,” Booker T. Jones

Bluegrass Album: “Paper Airplane,” Alison Krauss & Union Station

Americana Album: “Ramble at the Ryman,” Levon Helm

Reggae Album: “Revelation Pt. 1: The Root of Life,” Stephen Marley

New Age Album: “What’s It All About,” Pat Metheny

Children’s Album: “All About Bullies… Big and Small,” various artists

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Paul Epworth

Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: “Cinema (Skrillex remix),” Sonny Moore

Gospel Song: “Hello Fear,” Kirk Franklin

Gospel/Contemporary Christian Performance: “Jesus,” L’Andria Johnson

Gospel Album: “Hello Fear,” Kirk Franklin

Choral Performance: “Light & Gold,” Eric Whitacre

Classical Contemporary Composition: “Elmer Gantry,” Robert Aldridge & Herschel Garfein

Producer of the Year, Classical: Judith Sherman

Orchestral Performance: “Brahms: Symphony No. 4,” Gustavo Dudamel

Opera Recording: “Adams: Doctor Atomic,” Alan Gilbert, conductor

Spoken Word Album: “If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won’t),” Betty White

Comedy Album: “Hilarious,” Louis C.K.

Compilation Soundtrack Album For Visual Media: “Boardwalk Empire,” various artists

Score Soundtrack Album For Visual Media: “The King’s Speech,” Alexandre Desplat

Song Written For Visual Media: “I See the Light,” Alan Menken & Glenn Slater

Historical Album: “Band on the Run (Paul McCartney Archive Collection – Deluxe Edition),” Paul McCartney

Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists: “Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me),” Jorge Calandrelli

Adele sings "Rolling in the Deep." AP PHOTO

(Also see: complete list of Grammy Award winners ~ Photo Gallery: Grammy Best & Worst Dressed ~ Photo Gallery: Grammy Awards ~ Photo Gallery: Whitney Houston 1963-2012)

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Entertainment Writer 

The splintered music world truly coalesces only one night of 365 for the Grammy Awards, and this year was united in the triumph of recovered British soul singer Adele’s trophy haul and the tragedy of Whitney Houston’s death.

Adele swept the major honors of song, record and album of the year Sunday (Feb. 12) for her lost-love epic “21″ and its driving single “Rolling in the Deep.” She picked up her final two awards after making her first public performance in months after being sidelined for throat surgery. Her total of six Grammys matched Beyonce for most ever by a female act.

After seeming almost sheepish in picking up some of the trophies (“This is ridiculous,” she said after winning record of the year), Adele’s tears flowed upon winning best album.

“This record is inspired by something that is really normal and everyone’s been through it — just a rubbish relationship,” she said. “It’s gone on to do things that I can’t tell you how I feel about them. It’s been the most life-changing year.”

The Foo Fighters won five Grammys for music that singer Dave Grohl said was made in his garage, and ceremony no-show Kanye West won four. Indie rockers Bon Iver won best new artist.

Show host LL Cool J’s neat pivot allowed the assembled industry leaders to mourn Houston while enjoying the night’s music. He offered a prayer at the outset for Houston, who died Saturday in a Beverly Hills hotel. Later, Jennifer Hudson, under a portrait of the late vocalist, sang a portion of “I Will Always Love You.” Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, Rihanna and Stevie Wonder all saluted Houston.

“This night is about something truly universal and healing,” LL Cool J said. “This night is about music.”

Foo Fighters

Artists have fewer opportunities these days to reach large, diverse audiences and it has made the Grammys an increasingly important venue. Producers take advantage of the star power to pack the night with performances, deemphasizing the actual awards. Sunday’s was a sprawling variety show, occasionally historic.

Bruce Springsteen sang a new populist anthem, “We Take Care of Our Own.” Rihanna dueted with Chris Martin of Coldplay. Katy Perry debuted a shiny blue haircut. Keys and Bonnie Raitt honored Etta James. The Foo Fighters sang “Walk” and later participated in a tribute to new dance artists. Chris Brown hoofed it up a series of steps, although his voice was barely recognizable. Glen Campbell, soon to retire due to Alzheimer’s, appeared in a tribute.

Maroon 5 and Foster the People played Beach Boy songs, then joined the Boys as they reunited for their 50th anniversary. Many believed Brian Wilson and Mike Love, who looked slightly stiff going through “Good Vibrations,” would never appear on stage together again.

Paul McCartney sang a jazzy new song from his album of standards, then was joined by Springsteen, Grohl, Tom Petty and Joe Walsh on the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” closing medley.

Then there was the truly unexplainable: Nicki Minaj’s exorcism outing, ending with her levitating above the stage.

Adele was the uniting force. Her album was a critical hit and commercial powerhouse, and it would have been an upset if she hadn’t joined Eric Clapton, the Dixie Chicks, Carole King, Paul Simon and Christoper Cross among artists to sweep the three biggest awards in one night.

“It’s nice to see as music keeps evolving that something as authentic as she’s putting out can still be not just relevant but dominating,” said Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, last year’s record of the year winners.

Adele said backstage that her victories hadn’t sunk in yet. She said she enjoyed the two months where a throat ailment forced her to keep quiet.

“I’m actually quite mouthy,” she said.

Hearts poured out for Whitney Houston, who was found dead on the eve of the Grammys.

As for the subject of “21,” she said, “I think he’ll be very happy for me.”

Dan Wilson, who co-wrote Adele’s “Someone Like You” and two other tracks on the disc, said he’s excited about how well Adele has done because her songs are performed simply. It’s all about the message and the emotion, he said.

“She stands up onstage and delivers them with tons of soul and heart,” he said. “It almost seems like a trick she’s doing that. She doesn’t have any, like, elephants walking with her or, you know, fire and stuff like it. It seems like she has the most amazing trick, which is she’s doing it with almost nothing, and is still blowing us away.”

Paul Epworth, who worked with Adele on the album, won a Grammy for producer of the year.

While Adele’s vocals are powerful, the singing of best new artist winner Justin Vernon of Bon Iver is often delicate, the music atmospheric. He won a competitive and diverse category with Minaj, The Band Perry, J. Cole and Skrillex. Appearing onstage in an ill-fitting suit jacket, Vernon talked about writing for the inherent reward of writing songs, not for trophies.

It doesn’t mean he wasn’t honored and grateful for the award, he said backstage later.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. AP PHOTO

“At some point, I got really nervous,” he said. “Maybe it was because I didn’t feel like I deserved to be here … This is the biggest night in music but it’s also a very small Staples Center, and there’s so much music out there in the world and it’s so hard to feel like it’s collecting the whole thing.”

He gave an onstage shout-out to Eau Claire, Wis., probably a Grammy first.

Grohl shouted “long live rock ‘n’ roll” as producers played LMFAO’s “Party Rock” over the loudspeakers to get him offstage after the Foo Fighters won for best rock performance. He made a plea for musicians to recognize that the human element is what makes their art most important.

“It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about sounding absolutely correct. It’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here and what goes on in here,” he said, pointing to his head and his heart.

Whitney Houston had more than 40 chart singles in the United States over a 28-year career, including 11 No. 1s and 22 Top 10s — from 1985′s “You Give Good Love” to 1999′s “My Love Is Your Love.”

Here are some of Houston’s greatest moments in music video:

(See a video tribute to Whitney Houston)

LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music’s queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Houston’s publicist, Kristen Foster, said Saturday (Feb. 11) that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

News of Houston’s death came on the eve of music’s biggest night — the Grammy Awards. It’s a showcase where she once reigned, and her death was sure to cast a heavy pall on Sunday’s ceremony. Houston’s longtime mentor Clive Davis was to hold his annual concert and dinner Saturday; it was unclear if it was going to go forward.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world’s best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

Her success carried her beyond music to movies, where she starred in hits like “The Bodyguard” and “Waiting to Exhale.”

She had the perfect voice and the perfect image: a gorgeous singer who had sex appeal but was never overtly sexual, who maintained perfect poise.

She influenced a generation of younger singers, from Christina Aguilera to Mariah Carey, who when she first came out sounded so much like Houston that many thought it was Houston.

But by the end of her career, Houston became a stunning cautionary tale of the toll of drug use. Her album sales plummeted and the hits stopped coming; her once serene image was shattered by a wild demeanor and bizarre public appearances. She confessed to abusing cocaine, marijuana and pills, and her once pristine voice became raspy and hoarse, unable to hit the high notes as she had during her prime.

“The biggest devil is me. I’m either my best friend or my worst enemy,” Houston told ABC’s Diane Sawyer in an infamous 2002 interview with then-husband Brown by her side.

It was a tragic fall for a superstar who was one of the top-selling artists in pop music history, with more than 55 million records sold in the United States alone.

She seemed to be born into greatness. She was the daughter of gospel singer Cissy Houston, the cousin of 1960s pop diva Dionne Warwick and the goddaughter of Aretha Franklin.

Houston first started singing in the church as a child. In her teens, she sang backup for Chaka Khan, Jermaine Jackson and others, in addition to modeling. It was around that time when music mogul Clive Davis first heard Houston perform.

“The time that I first saw her singing in her mother’s act in a club … it was such a stunning impact,” Davis told “Good Morning America.”

“To hear this young girl breathe such fire into this song. I mean, it really sent the proverbial tingles up my spine,” he added.

With Kevin Costner in "The Bodyguard"

Before long, the rest of the country would feel it, too. Houston made her album debut in 1985 with “Whitney Houston,” which sold millions and spawned hit after hit. “Saving All My Love for You” brought her her first Grammy, for best female pop vocal. “How Will I Know,” ”You Give Good Love” and “The Greatest Love of All” also became hit singles.

Another multiplatinum album, “Whitney,” came out in 1987 and included hits like “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”

The New York Times wrote that Houston “possesses one of her generation’s most powerful gospel-trained voices, but she eschews many of the churchier mannerisms of her forerunners. She uses ornamental gospel phrasing only sparingly, and instead of projecting an earthy, tearful vulnerability, communicates cool self-assurance and strength, building pop ballads to majestic, sustained peaks of intensity.”

Her decision not to follow the more soulful inflections of singers like Franklin drew criticism by some who saw her as playing down her black roots to go pop and reach white audiences. The criticism would become a constant refrain through much of her career. She was even booed during the “Soul Train Awards” in 1989.

“Sometimes it gets down to that, you know?” she told Katie Couric in 1996. “You’re not black enough for them. I don’t know. You’re not R&B enough. You’re very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.”

Some saw her 1992 marriage to former New Edition member and soul crooner Bobby Brown as an attempt to refute those critics. It seemed to be an odd union; she was seen as pop’s pure princess while he had a bad-boy image, and already had children of his own. (The couple had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, in 1993.) Over the years, he would be arrested several times, on charges ranging from DUI to failure to pay child support.

But Houston said their true personalities were not as far apart as people may have believed.

“When you love, you love. I mean, do you stop loving somebody because you have different images? You know, Bobby and I basically come from the same place,” she told Rolling Stone in 1993. “You see somebody, and you deal with their image, that’s their image. It’s part of them, it’s not the whole picture. I am not always in a sequined gown. I am nobody’s angel. I can get down and dirty. I can get raunchy.”

It would take several years, however, for the public to see that side of Houston. Her moving 1991 rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Super Bowl, amid the first Gulf War, set a new standard and once again reaffirmed her as America’s sweetheart.

With Bobby Brown

In 1992, she became a star in the acting world with “The Bodyguard.” Despite mixed reviews, the story of a singer (Houston) guarded by a former Secret Service agent (Kevin Costner) was an international success.

It also gave her perhaps her most memorable hit: a searing, stunning rendition of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” which sat atop the charts for weeks. It was Grammy’s record of the year and best female pop vocal, and the “Bodyguard” soundtrack was named album of the year.

She returned to the big screen in 1995-96 with “Waiting to Exhale” and “The Preacher’s Wife.” Both spawned soundtrack albums, and another hit studio album, “My Love Is Your Love,” in 1998, brought her a Grammy for best female R&B vocal for the cut “It’s Not Right But It’s Okay.”

But during these career and personal highs, Houston was using drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2010, she said by the time “The Preacher’s Wife” was released, “(doing drugs) was an everyday thing. … I would do my work, but after I did my work, for a whole year or two, it was every day. … I wasn’t happy by that point in time. I was losing myself.”

In the interview, Houston blamed her rocky marriage to Brown, which included a charge of domestic abuse against Brown in 1993. They divorced in 2007.

Houston would go to rehab twice before she would declare herself drug-free to Winfrey in 2010. But in the interim, there were missed concert dates, a stop at an airport due to drugs, and public meltdowns.

She was so startlingly thin during a 2001 Michael Jackson tribute concert that rumors spread she had died the next day. Her crude behavior and jittery appearance on Brown’s reality show, “Being Bobby Brown,” was an example of her sad decline. Her Sawyer interview, where she declared “crack is whack,” was often parodied. She dropped out of the spotlight for a few years.

Houston staged what seemed to be a successful comeback with the 2009 album “I Look To You.” The album debuted on the top of the charts, and would eventually go platinum.

Things soon fell apart. A concert to promote the album on “Good Morning America” went awry as Houston’s voice sounded ragged and off-key. She blamed an interview with Winfrey for straining her voice.

A world tour launched overseas, however, only confirmed suspicions that Houston had lost her treasured gift, as she failed to hit notes and left many fans unimpressed; some walked out. Canceled concert dates raised speculation that she may have been abusing drugs, but she denied those claims and said she was in great shape, blaming illness for cancellations.

Nicki Minaj

Sometimes the Grammys get it right when it comes to the Best New Artist award … Bobby Darin, The Beatles (duh!), Sade, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, Adele, to name a few, were no-brainers.

But when they get ‘em wrong, boy, look out.

Milli Vanilli, anyone?

Heck, one year (1967), they didn’t even bother to hand out the award — I couldn’t find out why until I discovered a Grammy expert through a friend. His response? “Here’s my best guess: The total number of categories dropped from 47 for 1965 to 42 for 1966, so it appears it was part of an overall streamlining. For 1967, the number ballooned back to 48, so there must have been complaints from members and/or the industry about the cuts. Whatever the reason, it does seem odd to cut one of their four marquee categories (along with Record, Album and Song of the Year.)”

This year’s Grammys are on Sunday night (Feb. 12) on CBS. Up for Best New Artist? The Band Perry, Bon Iver, J. Cole, Nicki Minaj and Skrillex. (The odds are in Minaj’s favor, but ya never know.) Vote for your favorite in our poll below.

Here are just a few times when the Grammy voters got it right … and got it wrong.

THEY GOT IT RIGHT:

Bobby Darin – 1959
The Beatles – 1965 … the first rock band to win the award, and rightfully so
Carly Simon – 1972
Natalie Cole – 1976
Cyndi Lauper – 1985
Sade – 1986
Tracy Chapman – 1989
Mariah Carey – 1991
Arrested Development – 1993
Sheryl Crow – 1995
Lauryn Hill – 1999
Christina Aguilera – 2000
Alicia Keys – 2002
Norah Jones – 2003
John Legend – 2006
Amy Winehouse – 2008
Adele – 2009

THE ALSO-RANS (they shoulda-won!):

The 4 Seasons - 1963, lost to Robert Goulet
The Byrds - 1966, lost to Tom Jones
Cream - 1969, lost to Jose Feliciano
Led Zeppelin - 1970, lost to Crosby, Stills & Nash
Elton John - 1971, lost to Carpenters
Barry White - 1974, lost to Bette Midler
Bad Company - 1975, lost to Marvin Hamlisch
Boston - 1977, lost to Starland Vocal Band … in the video clip below, the look on the Beach Boys’ faces when they announced the winner says it all
Foreigner – 1978, lost to Debby Boone
Elvis Costello - 1979, lost to A Taste of Honey
The Pretenders - 1981, lost to Christopher Cross
Terence Trent D’Arby - 1988, lost to Jody Watley
Neneh Cherry - 1990, lost to Milli Vanilli … ugh.
Erykah Badu - 1998, lost to Paula Cole
Jill Scott - 2001, lost to Shelby Lynne

Jill Sobule. PHOTO BY KRISTINE LARSEN

Jill Sobule is loving her visits to Sarasota.

The L.A.-based singer-songwriter has come here twice the past three months, to watch rehearsals and oversee the original music she wrote for the Asolo Rep’s version of “Yentl,” adapted for the stage by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer. She was also there for opening night last month.

Now she’s back Monday night (Feb. 13) for her own concert at Asolo Repertory Theatre.

“I have a feeling some of the kids in the cast are going to come and sing with me,” she says.

Sobule says she never has a setlist; she just wings it. “When you’re spontaneous and don’t plan anything, 97 percent of the time it turns out really good. That 3 percent, you go, ‘What was I thinking?!’ ”

Oddly enough, she says, fans don’t clamor for her 1995 hit “I Kissed a Girl.” They want her other signature songs (like “Supermodel”) and her quirky cover versions.

“I’ll do songs like ‘All the Young Dudes’ because you don’t expect it,” she says with a laugh. “I like to shake things up.”