Editing Cissy Houston (section)

{{Short description|American singer and mother of Whitney Houston (1933–2024)}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Cissy Houston
| image              = Cissy Houston.jpg
| caption            = Houston in 1975
| birth_name         = Emily Drinkard
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1933|9|30}}
| birth_place        = [[Newark, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2024|10|7|1933|9|30}}
| death_place        = Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
| burial_place       = [[Fairview Cemetery & Arboretum (Westfield, New Jersey)|Fairview Cemetery]], {{avoid wrap|[[Westfield, New Jersey]]}}                                                                                       
| occupation         = {{hlist|Singer}}
| years_active       = 1938–2018 
| spouse             = {{plain list|
* {{marriage|Freddie Garland<br>|1955|1964|reason=div.}}
* {{marriage|John Houston Jr.<br>|1964|1991|reason=div.}}
}}
| children           = 3, including [[Gary Garland|Gary]] and [[Whitney Houston|Whitney]]
| relatives          = {{plain list|
* [[Bobbi Kristina Brown]] (granddaughter)
* [[Dionne Warwick]] (niece)
* [[Dee Dee Warwick]] (niece)
* [[Leontyne Price]] (cousin)
* [[Damon Elliott]] (grandnephew)
}}
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed           = yes
| genre           = {{flatlist|
* [[Soul music|Soul]]
* [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]]
* [[Gospel music|gospel]]
* [[Pop music|pop]]
* [[disco]]}}
| instrument      = Vocals
| label           = {{flatlist|
* [[RCA Records|RCA]]
* Commonwealth United
* [[Private Stock Records|Private Stock]]
* [[Motown]]
* [[Janus Records|Janus]]
* [[Major Minor Records|Major Minor]]
* [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
* [[A&M Records|A&M]]
* [[Delta Entertainment Corporation|Delta Music]]
* Harlem}}
}}
}}

'''Emily Drinkard''' (September 30, 1933 – October 7, 2024), known professionally as '''Cissy Houston''', was an American [[soul music|soul]] and [[gospel music|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]] for several secular musicians in the [[rhythm and blues]], [[soul music|soul]], [[rock and roll]], [[pop music|pop]] and [[rock music|rock]] genres. After initially joining her nieces' group the Gospelaires for a session with [[Ronnie 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 group [[The Sweet Inspirations]] with Shemwell, Smith and Brown in 1967 and that year signed a contract  with [[Atlantic Records]] where, with Houston as lead singer, they 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 (Bobby Darin song)|I'll Be There]]" and the top 5 dance single, "[[Think It Over (Cissy Houston song)|Think It Over]]". Her solo career culminated with two [[Grammy Award]] wins, both in the [[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album|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]]. Houston was honored by several institutions over her career. In 1990, she received the [[Stellar Awards|Stellar Award of Excellence]] for her contributions to gospel. Five years later, in 1995, Houston earned the [[Rhythm and Blues Foundation]] Pioneer Award for her contributions to rhythm and blues and soul music. With the Sweet Inspirations, Houston was inducted into the [[National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame]] in 2014 (same year as daughter Whitney) and, in 2019, was inducted into the [[New Jersey Hall of Fame]] joining Whitney and niece Dionne.