Emily "Cissy" Houston (née Drinkard; born September 30, 1933) is a Grammy Award–winning American soul and gospel singer. She led a successful career as a backup singer for such artists as Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, and is now primarily a solo artist. She is mother to the late singer and actress Whitney Houston, aunt of Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick and a cousin of Leontyne Price. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.