Deep Throat Made Newspapers 'Cool'

Singers, critics, pros all call her one of greatest ever

(NEWSER) - Tributes are pouring in for the career of the late Whitney Houston, after her shocking death yesterday, focusing on her uniquely powerful voice and incredible catalogue of hits. A sampling:

• "At her peak, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry," praised Billboard . "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."
• "A light has been dimmed in our music community today," said the president of the Recording Academy , calling Houston "one of the world's greatest pop singers of all time."

Site of secret meeting gains historical marker

(NEWSER) - The most important parking garage in American history has joined the list of Washington DC-area tourist attractions. A historical marker has been placed in front of the suburban parking garage where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward met the anonymous "Deep Throat," receiving information that brought the Watergate scandal to light and brought down the Nixon presidency. More»

Kenneth Turan: She mesmerized us from the get-go

(NEWSER) - For Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan, an indelible image of Elizabeth Taylor comes early in her career in A Place in the Sun, filmed when she was just 17. "The actress' face in huge close-up is so exquisitely, so heartbreakingly beautiful you never doubt that (Montgomery) Clift's intoxicated character would do anything to keep her in his life," he writes. For years afterward, those "irresistible violet eyes" would have that effect on men both on screen and off. More»

Tireless investigator had been reporting since 1946

(NEWSER) - Daniel Schorr, a veteran journalist who brought more than six decades of experience to his gig as senior news analyst for NPR , has died at age 93, NPR reports. Schorr served in intelligence during World War II, then stayed in Europe to cover the postwar reconstruction for the New York Times and Christian Science Monitor. That began a 20-year career as a foreign correspondent, which would later see him join Edward R. Murrow at CBS and reopen the network’s Moscow bureau. More»

Alex Chilton: Not a commercial success, but hugely influential

(NEWSER) - Critics mourn Alex Chilton, who might not even have been on your radar before his death yesterday. But the Big Star frontman—whose songs have been covered by everyone from Elliott Smith to Wilco—will be now, and for good reason. Some takes on his legacy:

• Chilton "pretty much influenced everything that influenced the music you listen to now," writes blogger Balk on the Awl . So listen up.