Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney Houston, was a much in-demand backup singer who also won two Traditional Soul Gospel Grammy Awards.
Cissy became a member of the Sweet Inspirations in 1963, joining her niece Dee Dee Warwick while replacing another niece, Dionne Warwick, who left the group for a solo career.
The Sweet Inspirations' hit "(Gotta Find) A Brand New Lover" was their most successful R&B single and Houston's final recording with the group before she left to spend more time with her family. However, Cissy continued as a backup vocalist, collaborating with such artists as Paul Simon, John Prine, Linda Ronstadt, Bette Midler, niece Dionne, and daughter Whitney
To hear the Sweet Inspirations sing "(Gotta Find) A Brand New Lover," go here. In the chapters, you'll see a public domain image of the four singers, from left to right: Sylvia Shemwell, Cissy Houston, Myrna Smith and Estelle Brown (Cissy is in the lower left corner). Credited to Atlantic Records, the photo appeared in Billboard in May 1967. It's available on Wikimedia Commons here.
Also in the chapters, the black and white photo of Houston performing in 1975 is credited to Tom Marcello Webster, New York, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, available on Wikimedia Commons.
The 1996 photo of Houston in this episode's thumbnail is attributed to Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This tribute is one of 41 stories that Sheldon Zoldan, a longtime journalist, has written and recorded in honor of the music notables who passed away in 2024. He's written tributes for other years as well. You can listen to the ones from 2023 on Everyday Creation. We'll have the 2022 tributes available later this year.
Sheldon also is the creator of Song of the Day, a story that he sends by email to a list of subscribers. To get on his subscriber list, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Audible, iHeart and Spotify.
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