Whitney Houston 2, 2003), and gospel singer Emily "Cissy" (Drinkard) Houston. Her elder brother Michael is a singer, and her elder half-brother is former basketball player Gary Garland. Her parents were both African American. Through her mother, Houston was a first cousin of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. Her godmother was Darlene Love and her honorary aunt was Aretha Franklin, whom she met at age 8 or 9 when her mother took her to a recording studio. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a
Whitney (album) sphere. Since 1957, the magazine has distributed its "Bravo Otto" awards based on the readers' vote in different categories each year. Categories in which Houston was ranked No. 1 were excluded. See above awards list for her #1-ranked-categories. Whitney (album) Whitney is the second studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released on June 2, 1987 by Arista Records as the follow-up to her best selling debut album, "Whitney Houston". The album catapulted her to international fame. "Whitney" was certified 9× platinum by the RIAA on November 29, 1995. The album exceeded the expectations of many people and was popular