Cissy Houston

Cissy Houston began her singing career when she joined her siblings in the gospel group the Drinkard Four, later called the Drunkard Singers. Prior to giving birth to future megastar Whitney Houston, she formed the R&B group Sweet Inspirations. She worked on a variety of projects during her entertainment career, including "Cissy Houston: Sweet Inspiration" (PBS, 1987-88), "Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Show" (CBS, 1987-88) and "Superstars & Their Moms" (ABC, 1986-87). She also contributed to "The American Music Awards" (ABC, 1987-88) and "The Songwriters Hall of Fame 20th Anniversary... The Magic of Music" (CBS, 1988-89). In the nineties, Houston devoted her time to various credits, such as "ABC in Concert" (ABC, 1990-98), "Whitney Houston: This Is My Life" (ABC, 1991-92) and "The 1994 World Music Awards" (ABC, 1993-94). She also worked on "The 26th Annual NAACP Image Awards" (NBC, 1993-94) and "The Vernon Johns Story" (1993-94). Additionally, she could be seen on a variety of television specials like "The Story of Gospel Music" (PBS, 1996-97) and "Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over" (2000-01). Houston also contributed music to "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls" (2007) with Gabrielle Union. More recently, Houston acted on "The Houstons: On Our Own" (Lifetime, 2012-13), "2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony" (HBO, 2020), "Whitney, a Look Back" (CBS, 2022). Cissy Houston died on October 7, 2024 in Newark, NJ at the age of 91.