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
Face to Face (Cissy Houston album) Face to Face (Cissy Houston album) Face To Face is the sixth studio album by American gospel/soul singer Cissy Houston, released in 1996 on the "House of Blues Music" distributed by BMG. The album features the spiritual anthems "Amazing Grace" and "Go Where I Send Thee", as well as gospel version of Holland-Dozier's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)". Houston co-arranged and co-produced the album, as well as writing six of the album's tracks. Her son, singer Gary Houston contributed backing vocals on the song "God Don't Ever Change". Houston received a Grammy Award in 1997 for