Cissy Houston’s born Emily Drinkard on 30 st September, 1933 in Newark New Jersey, is a name which rings bell for soul as well as gospel music. As a singer, she has developed a great career on her own, however, she is also widely famous as a mother of Whitney Houston and a woman who influenced the formation of the sound of America music.
That is why one cannot fail to mention Cissy Houston who is also a music legend who never found herself under the spotlight of her daughter’s success, although she made a lot of contributions in music industry both as a solo singer and as a background vocalist which proved that she is a legendary vocalist of the past decades.
Early Life and the Drinkard Singers Ebony magazine wouldn’t pan out as [“There’s no place that they didn’t make us have to go beg for it!”] a success if it weren’t for the Drinkard Singers.
Cissy started her music background with her rich family to back her up, the most influential being the early gospel music. Her family was strongly religious and the initial attempts at music making were made in the church where she first developed her singing passion. Her elder siblings were in a gospel group known as the Drinkard Singers in the 1930s, and she later became a member. With harmonies and strongly performed inspirations of the gospel and the soul and presented dispersion the group became famous for powerful vocal.
The Drinkard Singers became popular even getting an opportunity to sing at churches and in gospel circuits within the United States. They also became famous out of the gospel industry after featuring in Mahalia Jackson’s burial in 1972. They have helped to make up the foundation on how the career of a professional singer such as Cissy developed.
Working Your Way to Becoming a Coveted Background Singer
Although her background was in gospel, her opportunity to perform in soul-pop style occurred in the 1960s when she landed a position as a much in demand background vocalist. She became a member of The Sweet Inspirations, a vocal group whose backing voices boasted perfect pitch and arranging, and whose participation benefacted almost every song they sang. As one of its vocalists – Cissy – The Sweet Inspirations supported such giants of the musical world as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and Dusty Springfield.
Technically the time she spend with The Sweet Inspiration was a major highlight in her career because it gives her a chance to diversify her vocal range and introduce her to a new and wider audience. She became popular for her versatility, security and expressiveness of performing. However, singing with the legendary musician Elvis Presley gave her the recognition from the world apart from the gospel circuit and she used to accompany him on tour during late 1960s.
Cissy Houston’s Solo Career
Though she became highly successful as a background vocalist, Cissy always dreamt of launching herself as a pop star. As from 1970 she embarked on a solo singing career in both gospel and non gospel music.Cissy first album, Presenting Cissy Houston released in 1970 was a combination of gospel and soul numbers as Houston had come from a musical family. Rich tracks were released with her such songs as the powerful version of “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself”.
Over the years, she also continued appearing in her solo albums; Cissy, 1977 and face to face, 1996 (Grammy award). While she did not necessarily find the same level of success as other artists who were her contemporaries, Houston was lauded for her gospel albums while also being respected in the industry for her involvement in altering and popularizing gospel as well general music.
The Whitney Houston Legacy
Cissy – Singing veteran has an impact not only on her tracks. She is the mother to one of the greatest music legends that originated from America, Whitney Houston her daughter. Cissy was enormously involved in mentoring and proper upbringing of Whitney Houston from childhood. As a mother and vocal coach, she took Whitney under her wings and modeled, directed the young talent, and gave it the discipline, technique and, soul which came to characterize Whitney McNamara Houston’s career.
In addition to being fostering, Cissy and Whitney knew each other both as friends and colleagues. This woman supported her daughter even when she was on the path of a very fast growth into stardom and also during substance abuse period. Love was part of the couple’s life combined with difficulty hence it played an immense role in their lives.
As much as it is sad, Losing a child is one greatest challenges that any parent will have to go through and this was evident when Cissy Houston’s opened up about her daughter Whitney Houston’s death in 2012. In 2013, she released a memoir titled “Remembering Whitney: In her memoir “Always Mama: A Transformation Story,”
Unplugged: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped”, Nicole Sparks chronicles the life of her daughter, their personal bond, and motherhood that comes with the luxury and moments of despair brought to the limelight and fame. As with many backstage insights, the memoir made a clear attempt at showcasing the softer side of hardship, as well as the main character’s faith and reliance upon God.
The Influence of Cissy Houston.
By now it should be clear that Cissy did much for American music, especially for gospel and soul music. As the background vocalist she laid the foundation and unique foundation to many legendary artists singing back up on timeless songs that people still enjoy to this date. Her contribution to gospel music has also been tremendous; emancipating generations of gospel singers while making her own music, that has been honored immensely.
Conclusion
Cissy Houston is something more than the mother of the superstar. She is a strong, pioneering singer in her own right, who has also left a great contribution for gospel and popular music. Her vocal styles both as a sole singer that chorus singer played a great role in defining modern soul and R&B music, her involvement in Whitney Houston’s career also made her great legacy. Climbing to stardom as the unsuccessful jilted lover and falling as the marriage to Houston went sour, Cissy Houston’s life has been a testament of strength, faith and incredible musical hall of fame that will remain inspirational and illuminating for many generations to come.
