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Cissy Houston, Accomplished Singer and Mother to Whitney, Dead at 91
She had been receiving hospice care for Alzheimer’s.
The Drinkard Singers eventually performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957, which led to them releasing one of the first major-label gospel albums, A Joyful Noise, on RCA in 1958. With a rotating lineup that also starred her niece Dee Dee Warwick, the Sweet Inspirations sang backup for some of the most enduring recordings of the 1960s: Aretha Franklin hits like “Natural Woman” and “Chain of Fools,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” Cissy especially stood out for her operatic backing vocals on Franklin’s song “Ain’t No Way.” The Sweet Inspirations began backing Elvis Presley in 1969, featuring on his live album Elvis in Person at the International Hotel. She continued backing others as well, singing on Linda Ronstadt’s album Heart Like a Wheel and Chaka Khan’s song “I’m Every Woman,” later covered by her daughter.
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