Cissy Houston Cissy Houston Emily "Cissy" Houston (née Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is an American soul and gospel singer. After a successful career singing backup for such artists as Dionne Warwick, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, Houston embarked on a solo career, winning two Grammy Awards for her work. Houston is the mother of singer Whitney Houston, grandmother of Bobbi Kristina Brown, aunt of singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, and a cousin of opera singer Leontyne Price. Born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey, to Nitcholas and Delia Mae Drinkard (née McCaskill), she was the eighth and final child; older
Lady Soul #3 on "Billboard"'s Black Albums, Pop Albums and Jazz Albums charts respectively. The single "Ain't No Way" – B-Side of "Since You've Been Gone (Sweet, Sweet, Baby)" – peaked at #9 on the Black Singles chart and #16 on the Pop Singles chart. Gospel/R&B singer Cissy Houston (mother of Whitney Houston) and her group the Sweet Inspirations are credited as background vocals on several tracks, along with Aretha's sisters Carolyn and Erma Franklin. In 2003 the TV network VH1 named "Lady Soul" the 41st greatest album of all time. It is number 85 on "Rolling Stone"s list "The 500 Greatest