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Cissy Houston

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Cissy Houston
Houston in 1975
Born
Emily Drinkard

(1933-09-30)September 30, 1933
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedOctober 7, 2024(2024-10-07) (aged 91)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Burial placeFairview Cemetery, Westfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation
  • Singer
Years active1938–2018
Spouses
Freddie Garland
​
​
(m. 1955; div. 1964)​
John Houston Jr.
​
​
(m. 1964; div. 1991)​
Children3, including Whitney and Gary
Relatives
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels

Emily Drinkard (September 30, 1933 – October 7, 2024), known professionally as Cissy Houston, was an American soul and gospel singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Houston began singing with three of her siblings in the family gospel group, The Drinkard Singers. By the early 1960s, Houston began a career as a session vocalist with the Gospelaires, where they backed up several popular musicians in the rock and roll, soul and pop genres, including Aretha Franklin, Roy Hamilton and Solomon Burke. That group would be renamed The Sweet Inspirations and signed a contract with Atlantic Records where, with Houston as lead singer, the group 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 two Grammy Award wins, both in the Traditional Gospel Album category.

Besides her session work and work with the Sweet Inspirations, Houston was also best known as the mother of renowned singer and actress Whitney Houston, the aunt of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and the grandmother of Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown. She was also a first cousin of opera singer Leontyne Price.

Early life

[edit]

Houston was born Emily Drinkard on September 30, 1933 in Newark, 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 black landowner in Blakely, 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 the Great Migration a decade before Houston's birth.[4] Houston has claimed to be part Dutch and part Native American descent due to her grandparents Susan Bell (née Fuller) and John Drinkard Jr. respectively.[4]

Houston's parents emphasized the children getting educated and being involved in the church.[4] Around the time of Houston's fifth birthday, her mother Delia suffered a stroke. To help her recovery, along with raising the family's spirits, Houston's father encouraged Houston and her elder siblings Anne, Nicholas Jr. ("Nicky") and Larry to sing sacred hymns, to which afterwards, they formed The Drinkard Four, singing jubilees in various churches, including their own St. Luke's A.M.E. Church. Three years later, in 1941, Houston lost her mother to cerebral hemorrhage.[5] Houston claimed that she "found Christ" after listening to a sermon at the age of fourteen.[6] Houston's father died of stomach 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 and Dee Dee and nephew Mancel Jr.[8][9] Soprano Leontyne Price is a Drinkard cousin.[10][11]

Houston attended South Side High School where she eventually graduated in 1952.[12][13] Raised Methodist Episcopal, Houston converted to Baptism after she joined the New Hope Baptist Church at around 19.

Career

[edit]

The Drinkard Singers

[edit]
Main article: The Drinkard Singers

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 until radio announcer Joe Bostic hired them to open for Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson at the first ever gospel showcase, named the "Negro Gospel and Religious Music Festival" at Carnegie Hall in October 1951. Not long after that, the group sang on Bostic's Gospel Train New York radio show, becoming regulars on the program.

In October 1957, the group joined Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Mahalia Jackson as one of several gospel acts to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival. Shortly afterwards, they landed a recording deal with RCA 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.

The Sweet Inspirations

[edit]
Main article: The Sweet Inspirations

By the early 1960s, Houston's nieces Dionne and Dee Dee Warrick had found success under the group the Gospelaires, singing background for various artists including The Drifters. One night, around late 1961, when Dionne Warrick began working with producer Burt Bacharach, Houston's then-boyfriend, John Houston Jr., who managed the Gospelaires, convinced Houston to replace Dionne for a session for Canadian-American rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. After John Houston showed her the money she had made from the session, Houston was convinced to began a professional singing career as a session vocalist and though Dionne Warrick later rejoined, the group soon found themselves singing for artists such as Solomon Burke, Ben E. King and The Drifters. In 1962, Dionne Warrick permanently separated from the group for good to begin singing professionally, working exclusively with Bacharach and his songwriting partner Hal David on Scepter Records, and Houston, now finding herself in charge of the group, hired Doris Troy to replace her. Troy, however, would leave the group a year later. Singer Sylvia Shemwell, a choir member of New Hope, soon took her place. Despite this, the Gospelaires 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 began her own solo career. Myrna Smith, another New Hope choir member, was picked to replace Dee Dee. A fourth girl, Estelle Brown, then 17, was hired as the new fourth member. The lineup of Houston, Shemwell, Smith and Brown was the nucleus to what became The Sweet Inspirations.

After singing background for the two Warwicks, Garnet Mimms, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin among others for a number of years, the group was hired to back Irish soul singer Van Morrison on his composition, "Brown Eyed Girl", in 1967. After the song hit the top ten that year, Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records offered the group, then going by the nickname "Cissy's Girls", 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 the Billboard 200 and number 12 on the Billboard Best-Selling R&B Albums chart, producing three Billboard Hot 100 singles, including their sole top twenty Hot 100 hit, "Sweet Inspiration", which later earned the group a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Performance by a Duo or Group. The group would record three more albums during Houston's tenure with the group 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.

In addition, the group backed psychedelic rocker Jimi 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 as Otis Redding, Lou Rawls and Dusty Springfield. In July 1969, the group was hired to back up Elvis Presley on the rocker's first live performances in almost a decade at the International 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 and Live in Las Vegas. By September 1969, Houston had grown tired of performing 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]

Solo career

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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" on Congress 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 on Kapp Records in 1967.[18] 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 LP Presenting 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.[19] Following the release of her debut album, Houston's contract was sold to Janus Records.[19] She recorded another album and several more singles in the early 1970s, which included the original recording of Jim Weatherly's "Midnight Train to Georgia" in 1972, which was a minor hit for Houston and later became a number one hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips.[19][20] She continued to record with Janus Records until 1975.[21] Houston performed as backing vocalist on jazz flautist Herbie Mann's funky disco single "Hijack" (1975), album "Discotheque" (1975), and album "Surprise" (1976).[22]

In 1977, Houston was signed by Private Stock Records, working with arranger/producer Michael Zager on three albums. The second included her big disco hit "Think It Over", which climbed to number 32 on the Billboard Hot Selling Soul Singles chart in 1979 and number 5 on the same magazine's Disco Action Top 80 chart. That same year, Houston represented the United States at the World Popular Song Festival with the disco song, "You're the Fire", landing second place at the 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 on Columbia Records (EMI in the United Kingdom). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Houston began regularly performing at Manhattan's jazz club circuit at clubs such as Sweetwaters, Fat Tuesday, Seventh Avenue South and Mikell's. During this time, Houston brought along her teenage daughter Whitney and would have her sing solos to help her get started in the record business. When Whitney Houston began attracting attention from record label scouts offering contracts, Houston would decline such offers, telling them to wait until Whitney finished high school. It was Houston who eventually convinced her daughter to sign with Arista Records in the spring of 1983, figuring that Davis was the right man to guide her daughter's career. Shortly after signing, Cissy was featured on TV with her daughter following Whitney's national television debut on The Merv Griffin Show, where mother and daughter performed a medley of Aretha Franklin duets with Whitney singing "Aretha" and Houston singing "Cissy".

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 eponymous 1987 album. The song charted in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1992, she recorded the duet album, I'll Take Care of You, with fellow soul singer Chuck Jackson, on Shanachie Records. It would be Houston's final secular album as she put her focus primarily on gospel music afterwards. In 1996, after signing with the independent House of Blues label, Houston released the gospel album, Face to Face, which featured a gospel rendition of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)". Houston would win her first Grammy Award at the 1997 Grammys showcase under the Best Traditional Gospel Album category. In 1997, she released a second album of gospel work, He Leadeth Me, for a one-off A&M Records deal, and won a second Grammy in the Best Traditional Gospel Album category for that album at the 1999 Grammys showcase. In between these recordings, she also contributed vocals on "The Lord is My Shepherd" on daughter Whitney's soundtrack to The Preacher's Wife, which her daughter produced. In 2006, she contributed vocals on the song "Family First" alongside her daughter Whitney, granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick for the soundtrack to Daddy's Little Girls. In June 2012, Houston sang "Bridge over Troubled Water" as a tribute to her daughter Whitney, who had passed away that February. Two years later, Houston was seen backing up longtime friend Aretha Franklin while Franklin performed her hit, "Rolling in the Deep" on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Session musician

[edit]
Cissy Houston in 1996

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 of Time Is On My Side by Kai Winding, released by Verve Records in October 1963. She was one of the backup singers on the Paul Simon song "Mother and Child Reunion" (1972). In 1971, Houston contributed lead vocals on several songs featured on Burt Bacharach's self-titled 1971 album including "One Less Bell to Answer", "All Kinds of People" and "Mexican Divorce". Houston sang back-up on Bette Midler's 1972 debut hit album, The Divine Miss M, as well as Aretha Franklin's 1972 album, Young, Gifted & Black. Two years later, Houston contributed background vocals on Linda Ronstadt's Heart Like a Wheel. During 1975-76, she worked with jazz flutist Herbie Mann on three Atlantic albums, Discothèque, Waterbed, and Surprises, featuring on three tracks, "Violet Don't Be Blue", JJ Cale's "Cajun Moon", and "Easter Rising". In 1978, she contributed background vocals on Chaka Khan's self-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 of Luther Vandross' recordings that would last throughout Vandross' lifetime. 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 Houston's third album, I'm Your Baby Tonight. Houston would continue her session work through the early half of the 21st century.

New Hope Baptist Church Youth Inspirational Choir

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For more than fifty years, Houston was the Minister of Music at New Hope Baptist Church (Newark).[23] She was a driving force behind McDonald's Gospelfest, at which she regularly performed.

Personal life and death

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In 1955, Houston married Freddie Garland and had a son, Gary Garland (born 1957), an NBA basketball player and DePaul University Athletic Hall of Famer.[24][23][25]

In early 1958, when she was 24, Houston met John Russell Houston Jr. and embarked on a romance that led to the births of son Michael (born 1961), a songwriter and road manager, and daughter Whitney (1963–2012), who went on to be a world-renowned singer, actress, and entertainer.[26][27][28] During the early years of the relationship, John was still married to his first wife, Elsie Hamilton. After Houston's first marriage ended in divorce in April 1964, Cissy and John married the following month.[23][29] John Houston Jr. was a former Army veteran who served his country during World War II and was working as a taxi and truck driver when he met Cissy. He first entered the entertainment business managing his nieces-in-law's vocal group, the Gospelaires, in 1959. After his wife formed The Sweet Inspirations, he served as their manager until Cissy left the group in 1969 to start her solo career. After John survived a near-fatal heart attack in 1976, John and Cissy's marriage turned volatile and by 1977, they agreed to legally separate, though they remained married until 1991.[30] Houston had six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.[23][failed verification]

In the late 1990s, when her daughter Whitney began to struggle with drug addiction, Cissy 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 in Atlanta, Georgia.[31] 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-husband Bobby Brown's home in 2005 where she saw the walls and door painted with big glaring eyes and strange faces. After having seen what she thought was several disturbing scenes, this led Cissy to return with law enforcement and perform an intervention.[32] Whitney would attend recovery and rehabilitation programs.[33]

On February 11, 2012, Whitney Houston died at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.[34] 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."[35]

Cissy Houston died at her home in Newark on October 7, 2024, at the age of 91. She had been in hospice care for Alzheimer's disease.[36]

Discography

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Source:[37][additional citation(s) needed]

With the Drinkard Singers

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Year Album Record label
1958 A Joyful Noise RCA Records/Victor

With the Sweet Inspirations

[edit]
See Sweet Inspirations Discography
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

Solo

[edit]
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

Compilations

[edit]
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

Collaborations

[edit]
Year Title Artist
1971 Burt Bacharach Burt Bacharach[38]
1975 Discothèque Herbie Mann
Waterbed
1976 Surprises Herbie Mann, featuring Cissy Houston
1992 I'll Take Care of You Chuck Jackson & Cissy Houston

Soundtracks

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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)

Backing vocals

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Year Album Artist Track (only)
1965 The Exciting Wilson Pickett Wilson Pickett "In the Midnight Hour"
1967 Electric Ladyland The Jimi Hendrix Experience "Burning of the Midnight Lamp"
1968 Lady Soul Aretha Franklin "Ain't No Way" and "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone"
1970 The Source Jimmy Scott
Brook Benton Today Brook Benton
Doin' What We Wanna Clarence Wheeler
Moondance Van Morrison
Taking Care of Business James Cotton
Right On Wilson Pickett
1971 Blacknuss Rahsaan Roland Kirk
Donny Hathaway Donny Hathaway
Burt Bacharach Burt Bacharach
Homeless Brother Don McLean
Paul Simon Paul Simon "Mother and Child Reunion"
Quiet Fire Roberta Flack
Second Movement Eddie Harris and Les McCann
Movin' On Oscar Brown, Jr.
Story Teller Brook Benton
1972 Salome Bey Sings Songs From Dude Galt MacDermot and Gerome Ragni and Salome Bey
The Divine Miss M Bette Midler "Do You Wanna Dance?"
Jackie Jackie DeShannon
Zulema Zulema
Sweet Revenge John Prine "Sweet Revenge", "Mexican Home"
1973 Laid Back Gregg Allman
1974 Heart Like a Wheel Linda Ronstadt
I've Got the Music in Me Kiki Dee "I've Got the Music in Me"
The Doctor Is In... and Out Yusuf Lateef "Technological Homosapien"[39]
Young Americans David Bowie "Young Americans"
1976 Boys in the Trees Carly Simon
Locked In Wishbone Ash
We're Children of Coincidence and Harpo Marx Dory Previn
1977 Garden of Love Light Narada Michael Walden
Monkey Island The J. Geils Band
1978 Chaka Chaka Khan "I'm Every Woman"
1979 Movin' On Vicki Sue Robinson
Take All of Me Barbara Law
1980 Aretha Aretha Franklin
Naughty Chaka Khan "Clouds"[40]
"Papillion (Hot Butterfly)"[41]
1981 Freeze Frame The J. Geils Band "Angel in Blue"
1981 Never Too Much Luther Vandross
1982 Forever, for Always, for Love Luther Vandross
Silk Electric Diana Ross
1985 The Night I Fell in Love Luther Vandross
Whitney Houston Whitney Houston
1986 Labyrinth David Bowie "Underground"
1987 Whitney Whitney Houston "I Know Him So Well"
1990 I'm Your Baby Tonight "Who Do You Love?"
1990 Some People's Lives Bette Midler "From a Distance"
1991 Power of Love Luther Vandross
1995 This Is Christmas "This is Christmas"
2003 Dangerously In Love Beyoncé "The Closer I Get to You"
2015 Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics Aretha Franklin
2018 Where No One Stands Alone Elvis Presley

Musical arrangements

[edit]
Year Track Album
1976 "Angels" Cissy Houston
1996 "The Lord Is My Shepherd" The Preacher's Wife: Original Soundtrack Album

Musical compositions

[edit]
Year Title Collaborator
1997 "Count Your Blessings"
1996 "Deep River/Campground" Donny Harper
1976 "Endless Waters" David Forman

Filmography

[edit]

Source:[42][additional citation(s) needed]

Film

[edit]
  • 1978: The Wiz (uncredited voice) – The Wiz Singers Adult Choir
  • 1984: Taking My Turn (TV)
  • 1994: The Vernon Johns Story (TV) as Rose
    • aka Freedom Road: The Vernon Johns Story (UK)
    • aka The Road to Freedom: The Vernon Johns Story (USA: alternative title)
  • 1996: The Preacher's Wife as Mrs. Havergal
  • 2018: God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness
  • 2018: Whitney

Television

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Warner, Jay. "On This Day in Black Music History - September 30". p. 70. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Geni.com: Emily Houston (Drinkard)". April 13, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  3. ^ McNeil, W. K. (2010). Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music. Routledge / Taylor & Francis. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-415-94179-2.
  4. ^ a b c d Houston, Cissy (September 2, 2009). "Visionary Project Video – Cissy Houston: My Family". Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  5. ^ "Geni.com: Delia Drinkard (McCaskill)". April 13, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "Cissy Houston details daughter Whitney's decline in new book". CBN.com. April 17, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  7. ^ "Geni.com: Nitcholas Drinkard". April 13, 2011. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
  8. ^ Warwick, Dionne (2010). My Life, as I See It. New York: Atria Books. p. 7. ISBN 978-1-4391-7134-9.
  9. ^ Warwick, Dionne (2010). My Life, as I See It. New York: Atria Books. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-4391-7134-9.
  10. ^ Warwick, Dionne (2012). My Life, as I See It. New York: Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-4391-7134-9.
  11. ^ "Artistopia.com". Dionne Warwick. iCubator Labs LLC. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  12. ^ Cissy Houston, National Visionary Leadership Project. Accessed December 19, 2019. "After graduating from Newark's South Side High School, she and her group, now The Drinkard Singers, continued performing and were featured on a 1951 program at Carnegie Hall starring Mahalia Jackson."
  13. ^ "Rock singer remains near her gospel roots", The Star-Ledger, April 7, 1980. Accessed October 7, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "Houston was graduated from South Side High School and believes that education is important to anyone in the music business."
  14. ^ McCall, Tris (February 17, 2012). "Song of the Day: Lift Him Up, The Drinkard Singers". Nj.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  15. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "All Music Guide". The Sweet Inspirations: Biography. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  16. ^ Jimi Hendrix Experience, The. "Discography". Electric Ladyland. discogs.com. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  17. ^ a b c Houston, Cissy. "Cissy Houston Remembers Elvis Presley". Elvis.com.au. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  18. ^ Discography of Cissy Houston
  19. ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie (2003). Bogdanov, Vladimir (ed.). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul (Revised ed.). Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 321. ISBN 9780879307448. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  20. ^ "Cissy Houston @ Artist Direct". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
  21. ^ Nathan, David. "Cissy Houston: Presenting Cissy Houston Expanded Edition (SMCR-5054)". soulmusic.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  22. ^ Atlantic Records Catalog: 1600 series Atlantic Records Retrieved February 15, 2024
  23. ^ a b c d "Cissy Houston: National Visionary". Oral History Videos. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  24. ^ "Gary Garland Houston Is Whitney Houston Brother". Celebrity Justice. Ghana Politics. Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  25. ^ "Gary Garland: NBA & ABA Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  26. ^ Skittles, D. (February 14, 2012). "Michael Houston". Celebrity Siblings. Celebrity Siblings Blog. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  27. ^ Silverman, Stephen M. "Whitney Houston's Brother Arrested". People.com. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  28. ^ Merriman, Rebecca. "Michael Houston 'Devastated' At Death of Sister". Entertainmentwise.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  29. ^ Walters, Judy (February 12, 2012). "Whitney Houston News: Life and Times of the American Singing Sensation Who Died at 48". Belle News. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  30. ^ "Cissy Houston: National Visionary". USA Today. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
  31. ^ Winfrey, Oprah (September 2009). "Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Winfrey Interview" (video). Oprah Winfrey Network. p. 40:02 minutes. Retrieved April 21, 2010. 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.'
  32. ^ Ginger Adams Otis (January 26, 2013). "Cissy Houston details daughter Whitney's decline in new book". Daily News. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  33. ^ Winfrey, Oprah (September 2009). "Remembering Whitney: The Oprah Winfrey Interview" (video). Oprah Winfrey Network. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  34. ^ Moody, Nekesa Mumbi. "Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies". Associated Press. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  35. ^ Williams, Brennan (April 3, 2012). "Whitney Houston Death: Cissy Houston Breaks Her Silence". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  36. ^ Evans, Greg (October 7, 2024). "Cissy Houston Dies: Legendary Gospel Singer, Backup For Elvis, Aretha, Bette & Jimi, Mother Of Whitney Was 91". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  37. ^ "Cissy Houston Songs, Albums, Reviews". AllMusic. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  38. ^ Discogs. Burt Bacharach – Burt Bacharach. Accessed November 18, 2016.
  39. ^ "Musica Desde Las Antipodas". The Doctor Is In...And Out. brownweb. Archived from the original on November 4, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  40. ^ "Chaka Khan – Clouds". Clouds. JazzFunkster444. August 19, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  41. ^ "Chaka Khan – Papillon (Hot Butterfly)". Papillion (Hot Butterfly). p4soul. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  42. ^ "Cissy Houston". TVGuide.com. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
[edit]
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