She is a soul and gospel singer born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey as the youngest of eight children.
When she was young she and three of her siblings formed the group The Drinkard Four and after several others joined, including her sister Lee who was the mother of Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, the group became the Drinkard Singers. After becoming known for their regular performances at their church they recorded a live album for RCA.
After marrying and divorcing while she was still young, she re-married John Houston and their daughter was the acclaimed singer Whitney Houston.
In 1963 she formed the Sweet Inspirations with Dee Dee Warwick and Doris Troy and they were backing singers for many artists throughout the 1960s, including The Drifters, Lou Rawls, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and on “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison. She sang the operatic soprano on “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin and for more than half a century she has led the Youth Inspirational Choir at the New Hope Baptist Church.
She recorded several of her own albums, including Think It Over, Warning-Danger, Step Aside for the Lady and Face to Face through the 1970s and into the 1990s and in 1987 she and her daughter recorded the single “I Know Him So Well”. In 1996 and 1998 she won Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.
Singing in the movies she has appeared in The Preacher’s Wife, The Wiz, Gangsters and has featured on several occasions on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson.
She gave a performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” at the BET Music Awards in tribute to her daughter and in 2014, when she was 81, she appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman singing back up for Aretha Franklin on “Rolling in the Deep” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”.
Here she is singing “I Am Not Old”…
J.Geils Band recordings
Flamethrower (Seth Justman)
Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cissy_Houston
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396810/
- http://www.allmusic.com/artist/cissy-houston-mn0000110104/biography
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/175255-Cissy-Houston?filter_anv=0&subtype=Albums&type=Releases
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/175255-Cissy-Houston?filter_anv=0&type=Credits