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Cissy Houston | |
|---|---|
 Houston in 1975 | |
| Born | Emily Drinkard (1933-09-30)September 30, 1933 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | October 7, 2024(2024-10-07) (aged 91) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Burial place | Fairview Cemetery,Westfield, New Jersey |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1938–2018 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, includingGary andWhitney |
| Relatives |
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| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels |
|
Musical artist | |
Emily Drinkard (September 30, 1933 – October 7, 2024), known professionally asCissy Houston, was an Americansoul andgospel singer. Born inNewark, New Jersey, Houston began singing with three of her siblings in a family gospel group,The Drinkard Singers. By the early 1960s, Houston had begun a career as asession vocalist for several secular musicians in therhythm and blues,soul,rock and roll, andpop genres. After joining her nieces' group the Gospelaires for a session withRonnie Hawkins in 1961, Houston gradually took control of the group, which revamped into "The Group" with Houston, niece Sylvia Shemwell,Myrna Smith and teenager Estelle Brown. She eventually founded the girl groupThe Sweet Inspirations with Shemwell, Smith and Brown in 1967 and that year signed a contract withAtlantic Records. With Houston as lead singer, the Sweet Inspirations would record four albums before Houston departed for a solo career in 1970. Her best-known solo singles include the top 20 R&B chart single, "I'll Be There" and the top 5 dance single, "Think It Over". Her solo career culminated with twoGrammy Award wins, both in theTraditional Gospel Album category.
Besides her session work and work with the Sweet Inspirations, Houston was also known as the mother of renowned singer and actressWhitney Houston and the aunt of singersDionne Warwick andDee Dee Warwick. She was also a first cousin of opera singerLeontyne Price. Houston was honored by several institutions over her career. In 1990, she received theStellar Award of Excellence for her contributions to gospel music. Five years later, in 1995, Houston earned theRhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award for her contributions to rhythm and blues and soul music. With the Sweet Inspirations, Houston was inducted into theNational Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2014 (the same year as her daughter Whitney). In 2019, she was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame. In 2025, Houston, along with her daughter Whitney, was inducted into the Missouri Gospel Music Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri.
Emily Drinkard was born on September 30, 1933 inNewark, New Jersey to Delia Mae "Dee Dee" (née McCaskill) and Nicholas "Nitch" Drinkard, the youngest of eight children.[1][2][3] Houston was the granddaughter of a blacklandowner inBlakely, Georgia, who later shared the land he owned with Houston's father Nitch during a time when it was unusual for black people to have large landholdings. The asset was gradually depleted as they sold small portions of land over time to resolve the continued legal troubles of a close relative, which later led to the entire family relocating to Newark during theGreat Migration a decade before Houston's birth.[4] Houston stated that she possessed some Dutch andNative American ancestry due to her grandparents Susan Bell (née Fuller) and John Drinkard Jr., respectively.[4]
Houston's parents placed a high priority upon their children's education and church involvement.[4] Around the time of Houston's fifth birthday, her mother Delia suffered a stroke. To help her recovery, and to lift the family's spirits, Houston's father encouraged Houston and her elder siblings Anne, Nicholas Jr. ("Nicky") and Larry to sing sacred hymns. Later, the siblings formed The Drinkard Four and sang jubilees in various churches, including their own St. Luke's A.M.E. Church. Three years later, in 1941, Delia Drinkard died of acerebral hemorrhage.[5]
Houston stated that she "found Christ" after listening to a sermon at the age of fourteen.[6]
Nitch Drinkard died ofstomach cancer in March 1952 when Houston was 18.[4][7] For a time, Houston went to live with her older sister Lee and her husband Mancel Warrick and helped to raise her two nieces,Dionne andDee Dee, and her nephew Mancel Jr.[8][9] SopranoLeontyne Price is a Drinkard cousin.[10][11]
Houston attendedSouth Side High School in Newark, graduating in 1952.[12][13] RaisedMethodist Episcopal, Houston shifted tothe Baptist denomination after she joined theNew Hope Baptist Church at around age 19.
Houston first began singing in the sibling jubilee quartet, the Drinkard Four, at the age of five. A little while later, they changed the name to the Drinkard Jubilairs and then, after the inclusions of sisters Lee and Marie ("Reebie"), the Drinkard Singers. Houston contended in her 2013 book,Remembering Whitney: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss and the Night the Music Died, that the group didn't sing professionally untilradio announcer Joe Bostic hired them to open forClara Ward andMahalia Jackson at the first ever gospel showcase, named the "Negro Gospel and Religious Music Festival" atCarnegie Hall in October 1951. Not long after that, the group sang on Bostic'sGospel Train New York radio show, becoming regulars on the program.
In two October dates in 1954 and 1957, the group, which now included Houston's adopted niece Judy, joined Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson as one of several gospel acts to perform at theNewport Jazz Festival, leading to appearances on two live albums recorded at the festival in those years. Shortly after their second Newport performance, they landed a recording deal withRCA Victor Records where they recorded and released the album,A Joyful Noise, in 1958, which made history as one of the first gospel albums to be released on a major label.[14]
By the early 1960s, the group landed on the Sunday morning television gospel show,TV Gospel Time. By the end of 1962, however, the group had permanently separated due to Houston's growing career as a session vocalist for secular recording artists.
By the early 1960s, Houston's nieces Dionne and Dee Dee, Sylvia Shemwell and their close friendDoris Troy had found success under the group the Gospelaires, singing background for various artists includingThe Drifters. One night, around late 1961, when Dionne Warrick began working with producerBurt Bacharach, Houston's then-boyfriend, John Houston Jr., who managed the Gospelaires, convinced Houston to replace Dionne for a session for Canadian-Americanrockabilly singerRonnie Hawkins. After John Houston showed her the money she had made from the session, Houston was convinced to begin a professional singing career as asession vocalist, the group soon found themselves singing for artists such asSolomon Burke,Ben E. King and The Drifters.
In 1962, Dionne Warwick permanently separated from the group for good to begin singing professionally, working exclusively with Bacharach and his songwriting partnerHal David onScepter Records, leading to the Gospelaires now being Houston, Dee Dee Warwick, Doris Troy and Shemwell before Troy herself left at the end of 1962, leading to her being replaced byMyrna Smith. The group continued to back the newly rechristened Dionne Warwick and Troy on their solo hits, such as "Don't Make Me Over" and "Just One Look". Then, in 1963, Dee Dee Warwick left the group to begin her own solo career. Her place was taken by 17-year-old Estelle Brown. The lineup of Houston, Shemwell, Smith and Brown was the nucleus to what becameThe Sweet Inspirations.
After singing background for the two Warwicks,Garnet Mimms,Wilson Pickett andAretha Franklin among others for a number of years, the group was hired to back Irish soul singerVan Morrison on his composition, "Brown Eyed Girl", in 1967. After the song hit the top ten that year,Jerry Wexler ofAtlantic Records offered the group, then going by "The Group", a recording contract of their own and advised them to change their name to "The Inspirations". Only after learning that another group had that name, Wexler added "Sweet" in front of their name. Their first album,The Sweet Inspirations, charted, reaching number 90 on theBillboard 200 and number 12 on theBillboardBest-Selling R&B Albums chart, producing threeBillboard Hot 100 singles, including their sole top twenty Hot 100 hit, "Sweet Inspiration", which later earned the group aGrammy Award nomination forBest Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group. The group would record three more albums during Houston's tenure and would continue to back up Aretha Franklin, who began to have a successful recording career after signing with Atlantic the same year as the Sweet Inspirations. The group backed Franklin on hits such as "Think", "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman", "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" and "Ain't No Way", the latter of which would feature Houston's descant in the background.[15] The group would also back Franklin during her concerts of this period and also occasionally appeared on TV with Franklin as they did onThe Jonathan Winters Show.
In addition, the group backed psychedelic rockerJimi Hendrix on his song, "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", which was later featured on Hendrix's final studio album during his lifetime,Electric Ladyland[16] and would also back up more artists such asOtis Redding,Lou Rawls andDusty Springfield. In July 1969, the group was hired to back upElvis Presley on the rocker's first live performances in almost a decade at theInternational Hotel. Presley often introduced them at the shows by saying, "They really live up to their name, ladies & gentlemen: The Sweet Inspirations!"[17] The original Sweet Inspirations with Houston could be heard on the Presley live albums,All Shook Up andLive in Las Vegas. By September 1969, Houston had grown tired of performing on the road as her three children were growing up. That month, she decided to quit the Sweet Inspirations and stop touring to stay at home while also settling on a solo career.[17] Houston would still mentor the remaining members at her home inEast Orange, New Jersey and occasionally reunite with them during recording sessions, usually backing Franklin, who was by now a family friend and considered an honorary aunt to Houston's three children, all of whom affectionately nicknamed her "Aunt Ree".[18]
As Cecily Blair, Houston cut her first secular solo record "This Is My Vow" on M'n'M Records in 1963, following this up in 1966 with "Bring Him Back" b/w "World Of Broken Hearts" onCongress Records. Her final solo single before recording with The Sweet Inspirations was "Don't Come Running To Me" b/w "One Broken Heart For Sale" released onKapp Records in 1967.[19] On these early singles, her name is spelled as Sissie Houston.
In 1969, Houston signed a recording contract with Commonwealth United Records and recorded her solo debut LPPresenting Cissy Houston which was released in 1970.[17] It contained several well received singles, including covers of "I'll Be There" and "Be My Baby", both of which made the R&B charts as well as the pop charts.[20] Following the release of her debut album, Houston's contract was sold toJanus Records.[20] She recorded another album and several more singles in the early 1970s, which included the original recording ofJim Weatherly's "Midnight Train to Georgia" in 1972, which was a minor R&B and UK hit for Houston and later became a number one hit forGladys Knight & the Pips.[20][21] She continued to record with Janus Records until 1975.[22] Houston performed as backing vocalist on jazz flautistHerbie Mann'sfunkydisco single "Hijack" (1975), albumDiscotheque (1975), and albumSurprise (1976).[23]
In 1977, Houston was signed byPrivate Stock Records, working with arranger/producerMichael Zager on three albums. The first, aself-titled effort produced two modest R&B hits, including a soulful, gospel-influenced rendition of "Tomorrow". The second included her bigdisco hit "Think It Over", which climbed to number 32 on theBillboard Hot Selling Soul Singles chart in 1979 and number 5 on the same magazine'sDisco Action Top 80 chart. That same year, Houston represented the United States at theWorld Popular Song Festival inTokyo, Japan with the song, "You're the Fire", landing second place during its Grand Prix contest and winning the "Most Outstanding Performance Award". The song later appeared on her 1980 disco-flavored album,Step Aside for a Lady, again produced by Zager, but released onColumbia Records after Private Stock had folded (the same album was released onEMI in the United Kingdom).
During the mid-to-late 1970s through the mid-1980s, Houston began regularly performing all overManhattan's jazz clubs, headlining at venues such as Sweetwaters, Fat Tuesday, Reno Sweeney,Seventh Avenue South andMikell's. During this time, Houston brought along her teenage daughterWhitney and would have her sing solos to help her get started in the record business. When Whitney began attracting attention from record label scouts offering contracts, Houston would decline such offers, telling them to wait until Whitney finished high school.[24][25] It was Houston who eventually convinced her daughter to sign withArista Records in the spring of 1983, figuring that label headClive Davis was the right man to guide her daughter's career.[26] Shortly after Whitney signed with Arista, Cissy was featured on TV with her daughter following Whitney's national television debut onThe Merv Griffin Show, where mother and daughter performed a medley of Aretha Franklin duets with Whitney singing "Aretha" and Houston singing "Cissy". That same year, Houston took part in theOff-BroadwaymusicalTaking My Turn, which received aDrama Desk Award nomination forOutstanding Musical, often singing the song "I Am Not Old".[27]
After her daughter found musical stardom in the mid-1980s, Houston's solo output slowed, though she contributed duet vocals to her and Whitney's rendition of "I Know Him So Well" on the latter's eponymous1987 album. The song charted in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, becoming Houston's biggest international hit, reaching the top twenty in the latter two countries; Houston later sang the song with her daughter on Whitney's HBO concert special,Classic Whitney: Live from Washington, D.C. a decade later. In 1992, she recorded the duet album,I'll Take Care of You, with fellow soul singer and longtime friendChuck Jackson, onShanachie Records. It would be Houston's final secular album as she put her focus primarily on gospel music afterwards. Two years later, Houston joined Whitney onstage for her historicSouth African concert performances, where she directed a South African choir of young girls while Whitney sang theEarth, Wind & Fire song "Touch the World". Houston also performed the gospel hymn, "Mary Don't You Weep" at thefirst annualSoul Train Music Awards and, with Whitney and son Gary, the gospel song, "Wonderful Counselor" at the15th annual American Music Awards in 1988. That same year, she joined her daughter onstage at theNelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at London'sWembley Stadium, where she performed the gospel-R&B song, "He/I Believe", a song that Whitney had incorporated during the early years of her solo career and which Houston first recorded for herdebut album in 1970.
In 1996, after signing with the independent House of Blues label, Houston released the gospel album,Face to Face, which featured a gospel rendition ofMarvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)". Houston would win her firstGrammy Award at the1997 Grammys showcase under theBest Traditional Gospel Album category. In 1997, she released a second album of gospel work,He Leadeth Me, for a one-offA&M Records deal, and won a second Grammy in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category for that album at the1999 Grammys showcase. In between these recordings, she also contributed vocals on "The Lord is My Shepherd" on daughter Whitney'ssoundtrack toThe Preacher's Wife, which her daughter produced; Houston played a minor role in the film as choir singer Mrs. Havergal. In 2006, she contributed vocals on the song "Family First" alongside her daughter Whitney, granddaughterBobbi Kristina Brown and nieces Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick for thesoundtrack toDaddy's Little Girls. In June 2012, Houston sang "Bridge over Troubled Water" as a tribute to her daughter Whitney, who hadpassed away that February. Two years later, Houston was seen backing up longtime friend Aretha Franklin while Franklin performed her hit, "Rolling in the Deep" onThe Late Show with David Letterman.
Houston's versatile cross-genre singing style kept her highly in demand as a session musician with some of the world's most successful recording artists. Houston, along with Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, sang the background vocals on the original recording ofTime Is On My Side byKai Winding, released by Verve Records in October 1963. She was one of the backup singers on thePaul Simon song "Mother and Child Reunion" (1972). In 1971, Houston contributed lead vocals on several songs featured on Burt Bacharach's self-titled 1971 gold album including "One Less Bell to Answer", "All Kinds of People" and "Mexican Divorce". Houston sang back-up onBette Midler's 1972 debut hit album,The Divine Miss M, as well as Aretha Franklin's 1972 album,Young, Gifted and Black, the latter with the Sweet Inspirations. Two years later, Houston contributed background vocals onLinda Ronstadt'sHeart Like a Wheel. During 1975-76, she worked with jazz flutistHerbie Mann on three Atlantic albums,Discothèque,Waterbed, andSurprises, featuring on three tracks, "Violet Don't Be Blue",JJ Cale's "Cajun Moon", and "Easter Rising". In 1978, she contributed background vocals onChaka Khan'sself-titled solo debut, including Khan's breakthrough hit, "I'm Every Woman". Two years later, with daughter Whitney, Houston also sang on Khan's sophomore effort,Naughty. Starting in 1981, Houston would sing background on many ofLuther Vandross' recordings that would last throughout Vandross' lifetime. In 1986, Houston joined Vandross,Chaka Khan andDavid Bowie on the song "Underground", which was Bowie's theme song from his film,Labyrinth.[28] Houston would also occasionally back her daughter Whitney, singing background on the number one hit, "How Will I Know", as well as the track, "Who Do You Love", from Whitney's acclaimed third album,I'm Your Baby Tonight. Houston was one of several famed notable women that appeared in the music video of her daughter's rendition of "I'm Every Woman", which later won Whitney anNAACP Image Award forOutstanding Music Video in 1994.
In 1953, after leaving her former church at St. Luke's A.M.E. Church, she and the rest of her family joined theNew Hope Baptist Church, where shortly after being baptized, Houston, 19, began serving as the Minister of Music there, a position she would hold for more than half a century.[29] She was also a driving force behindMcDonald's Gospelfest, at which she regularly performed.
Houston married twice. In 1955, she married Freddie Garland, with whom she gave birth to her first child,Gary Garland (b. 1957), anNBA basketball player andDePaul University Athletic Hall of Famer.[30][29][31] Houston's marriage to Garland ended in divorce in 1959.[32][33]
Houston met John Russell Houston Jr. in 1957. The couple had two children: son Michael Houston (b. 1961) and daughterWhitney Houston (1963–2012), a singer who became a worldwide megastar.[32] Cissy and John Houston married in 1964 and divorced in 1991.[34]
In the late 1990s, when Houston's daughter Whitney began to struggle with drug addiction, Houston staged several interventions to get her into rehabilitation programs. On one occasion she obtained a court order and the assistance of two sheriffs to intervene, persuading Whitney to undertake treatment at Hope For Women Residential & Therapeutic Services inAtlanta, Georgia.[35] In her 2013 book,Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped, Cissy described a scene she encountered during a visit to Whitney and then-husbandBobby Brown's home in 2005 where she saw the walls and door painted with big glaring eyes and strange faces. Cissy then returned with law enforcement and performed an intervention.[36] Whitney would attend recovery and rehabilitation programs.[37]
On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houstondied at theBeverly Hilton Hotel inBeverly Hills, California.[38] After her daughter's death, Cissy expressed her distaste for the media's coverage of related events: "The media are awful. People have come from here and there, [and they] don't know what they're talking about," she said. "People I haven't seen in 20 years ... Here they come, [they] think they know everything, but that's not true. But God has His way of taking care of all of it, and I'm glad I know that".[39] In November 2020, alongside her daughter-in-law, Pat, Houston accepted her daughter Whitney's induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame after she was voted in on her first ballot. During her acceptance speech on behalf of her late daughter, Houston said "I’m so very, very proud that Whitney’s being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She wanted to be something, not anything. She worked hard at it too".[40]
Cissy Houston died at her home in Newark on October 7, 2024, at the age of 91. She had been inhospice care forAlzheimer's disease.[41] She was survived by her two sons as well as six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.[42]
Source:[43][additional citation(s) needed]
| Year | Album | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1958 | A Joyful Noise | RCA Records/Victor |
| Year | Album | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | The Sweet Inspirations | Atlantic |
| 1968 | Songs of Faith & Inspiration | |
| What the World Needs Now Is Love | ||
| 1969 | Sweets for My Sweet |
| Year | Album | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Presenting Cissy Houston | Major Minor Records |
| 1977 | Cissy Houston | Private Stock Records |
| 1978 | Think It Over | |
| 1979 | Warning - Danger | Columbia Records |
| 1980 | Step Aside For A Lady | |
| 1992 | I'll Take Care of You | Shanachie Records |
| 1996 | Face To Face | House of Blues |
| 1997 | He Leadeth Me | A&M Records |
| 2001 | Love Is Holding You | Neon |
| 2012 | Walk on By Faith | Harlem Records |
| Year | Album | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Midnight Train to Georgia: Janus Years | Ichiban Records |
| 1999 | Cissy Houston & Whitney Houston | Delta Music |
| 2000 | The Definitive Collection | Connoisseur Records |
| 2005 | Cissy Houston Collection | Intersound |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Burt Bacharach | Burt Bacharach[44] |
| 1975 | Discothèque | Herbie Mann |
| Waterbed | ||
| 1976 | Surprises | Herbie Mann, featuring Cissy Houston |
| 1992 | I'll Take Care of You | Chuck Jackson & Cissy Houston |
| Year | Film/Show | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | A Time to Kill: Original Soundtrack Album | "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" |
| The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album | "The Lord is My Shepherd" | |
| 1998 | Late Show with David Letterman, December 23, episode | "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" |
| 2007 | Daddy's Little Girl: Original Soundtrack Album | "Family First"(with Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick) |
| Year | Track | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "Angels" | Cissy Houston |
| 1996 | "The Lord Is My Shepherd" | The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album |
| Year | Title | Collaborator |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | "Endless Waters" | David Forman |
| 1996 | "Deep River/Campground" | Donny Harper |
| 1997 | "Count Your Blessings" |
Source:[48][additional citation(s) needed]
TheGrammy Awards are awarded annually by theNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Houston has won 2 awards from 2 nominations.[49]
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album | Face to Face | Won |
| 1999 | He Leadeth Me | Won |
| Year | Organization | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Stellar Award | Stellar Award for Excellence | Herself | Honored |
| 1995 | Rhythm and Blues Foundation | Pioneer Award | Honored | |
| 2014 | National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame | Inducted | ||
| 2015 | Gospel Image Award | Lifetime Achievement Award | Honored | |
| 2019 | New Jersey Hall of Fame | Inducted | ||
| 2025 | Missouri Gospel Music Hall of Fame[50] | Inducted | ||
I see the love and the passion that my mother had for me and she walks in with these sheriffs and she says 'I have a court junction here. Either you do it my way or we're just not going to do this at all. We're going to go on TV and you're going to retire and say you're going to give this up. Because this is not worth it. It's not worth it. And if you move Bobby (Brown), they're going to take you down. Don't you make one move. Let's go. Let's do this. I'm not losing you to the world. I'm not losing you to Satan. I want my daughter back. I'm not doing this. I want my daughter back. I want you back. I want to see that glow in your eyes, that light in your eyes. I want to see the child I raised. You weren't raised like this. And I'm not having it.'
