Cissy Houston Houston, her daughter and backup singer, increasingly sang solos with Cissy's band, including the Barbra Streisand hit "Evergreen". They would collaborate on "Ain't No Way" (originally a Cissy Houston and Aretha Franklin vehicle), on which Cissy sang "Cissy" and Whitney "Aretha". In 1996, Houston received the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album for "Face to Face", an album that contained a Gospel version of "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)". The same year, she contributed one song to the gospel soundtrack album for the film "The Preacher's Wife", which starred her daughter Whitney Houston. In
Whitney Houston and do what [she] did". She also wrote on her website on the day after Houston's death, "I, like every singer, always wanted to be just like [Houston]. Her voice was perfect. Strong but soothing. Soulful and classic. Her vibrato, her cadence, her control. So many of my life's memories are attached to a Whitney Houston song. She is our queen and she opened doors and provided a blueprint for all of us." Mary J. Blige said that Houston inviting her onstage during VH1's "Divas Live" show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world". Brandy stated, "The