How many times have you heard a song that reminded you of the past? Have you used music to motivate yourself to exercise or to inspire yourself to work toward a goal? Have you ever played a song on repeat during a break up or played your favorite songs to get ready for a night out? Maybe you play music to help you relax after a hard days work. Whitney Houston's music inspired many of us.

Music definitely creates emotion.

It also triggers memories.

That’s why we’ve seen so many status updates, tweets, and posts about Whitney Houston over the past few days.

When a celebrity musician dies it makes sense that there’s an outpouring of social media activity. Some people express their sadness, while others judge how you can be sad about the death of someone you never knew.

Is it possible to have an emotional attachment to a musician without having a physical relationship?

Yes.

When I was ten, I used to dance around my apartment to Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know”. Not only did I need to know if my crush “really loved me” but also I knew if I dressed like Whitney my life would be perfect! I idolized her. I haven’t thought about that in 20 years, but it was the first thing I thought of when I heard that she had died.

Then I remembered how I listened to Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” on repeat during a break up around the time The Bodyguard was in theaters.

The death of Whitney Houston triggered memories of other losses.

Most of us never had the opportunity to personally thank Whitney Houston for inspiring us or for the fun memories her music created.

Until we heard of her death most of us didn’t realize there might be other relationships in our lives that we need to get complete with.

That’s what the death of a musician does. It reminds us of different times in our lives. Happier times, sad ones, and relationships we might need to deal with.