Songs you didn’t know she sang as backup

Photo: Photo by Gilles Petard/Redferns

Cissy Houston spent the last half of her life primarily as the mother of Whitney Houston, a superstar so radiant that she dwarfed everyone who came into her orbit. But Cissy had long since become accustomed to taking a supporting role, thanks to her own musical career providing backing vocals on hit records as a member of the harmony R&B group The Sweet Inspirations.

Houston, who died Oct. 7 at age 91, joined the Inspirations in 1963 after her niece Dionne Warwick left the group to pursue a solo career. Over the next few years, the line-up changed, eventually forming a quartet with Houston at the helm in the mid-1960s. They became part of Atlantic Records’ in-house label and also released their own records; They had a Top 20 hit in 1968 with “Sweet Inspiration,” a song by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham that turned the spiritual into the sensual. As a solo act, Houston also scored a hit – “Think It Over”, released at the height of disco – but she spent much of her time as a pop singer in the background, shaping the sound and feel of the rock-roll era.

As part of the Sweet Inspirations and on his own, Houston added depth, color and texture to countless records, many of which became recognized classics. The ten songs here don’t touch on all the territory Houston covered – she was as comfortable singing with avant-jazz saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk as she was with middle-of-the-road pop king Burt Bacharach – but they hint at her range and make it clear that most listeners know Cissy Houston’s work as well as her daughter Whitney’s hits.

Near the end of a remarkable year that saw Aretha Franklin rise to stardom with the release of “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” is one of the quintessential numbers Queen of Soul. “Woman,” written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, is a thoroughly sensual song, an ode of devotion to the joys of finding the right lover, but Franklin delivers it as if she were testifying in church. The Sweet Inspirations bring the song’s gospel overtones to the forefront and engage in a call-and-response conversation with Franklin that elevates the record.

Van Morrison’s exuberant delivery of “Brown Eyed Girl” tends to mask the bittersweet undertones that flow through his debut single, obscuring the fact that the song is not a tribute to a recent romance, but rather a memoir of a lost love. In the verses, Morrison is able to tap into a reservoir of melancholy and leave the chorus as an expression of joy. This is where the sweet inspirations come into play. They accompany Morrison in the song’s cascading cry of “sha la la la la la,” giving this memory a rapturous feel.

Released as a single in the UK between Are you experienced? And Axis: Brave as love, then set up later Electric Ladyland“Burning of the Midnight Lamp” feels like it’s floating in its own astral phrase. Much of this otherworldliness comes from Jimi Hendrix venturing into unfamiliar sonic territory by mixing a stately harpsichord with a plucked guitar, running his vocals through a phaser, and taking his new wah-wah pedal for a test run. All of these elements give “Midnight Lamp” a restless atmosphere, a feeling that is further enhanced by the wordless harmonies of the Sweet Inspirations. The group sounds strangely spooky and is essentially a trippy element in the psychedelic vortex.

John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins composed “Son of a Preacher Man” in the hopes that the song would end up in the hands of Aretha Franklin. But producer Jerry Wexler passed it on to Dusty Springfield, the British singer, who went to American Sound Studios in Memphis with the intention of making a soul album in the style of Aretha. Wexler, along with his co-producers Tom Dowd and Arif Mardin, adapted their approach to Springfield’s slightly mellower sound, but retained the services of the Sweet Inspirations, whose give-and-take with Dusty gives this single a feel of authentic Southern soul.

When Elvis Presley put together an opening act for his return to live performances in 1969, he hired the Sweet Inspirations to fill the shoes of the absent Jordanaires. His regular backing group decided not to give up session work to apply for a residency at the International Hotel, that is, the records that capture these first comeback concerts – recently collected in full in the box Live 1969 – have a different taste than his accompanying studio sessions; They’re sprightlier, but also have a gospel fervor, thanks in no small part to Houston’s group. The shows ended with a rousing rendition of “Suspicious Minds” that effectively showcased what the Sweet Inspirations had to offer.

Presley’s first stay at the International Hotel was Cissy Houston’s last major appearance at the Sweet Inspirations. She left the group at the end of the year, released a solo album on Janus Records in 1970 and made a living through session work. Houston was in high demand, appearing on records by Wilson Pickett and Donny Hathaway, while reuniting with Van Morrison Moon Dance. But her singing on Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion” stands out from the crowd. An early sign of Simon’s omnivorous musical appetite, “Mother and Child Reunion” fuses reggae with folk and gospel – a deft, idiosyncratic fusion that Houston pulls off with ease.

Producer Arif Mardin brought John Prine to Nashville to record his third album Sweet revengea move that gave the singer-songwriter a distinct backbeat and a wilder spirit. The shift was evident in the album’s title track, where Prine wryly took stock of his status on the fringes of rock towards the blues, which felt like a simultaneous homage and statement to gospel. As part of the accompanying choir, Houston helped to emphasize this ecclesiastical aspect.

For her breakthrough, Linda Ronstadt revived the classic “The Dark End of the Street” by Chips Moman and Dan Penn Heart like a wheelwhich combines the sonorous, deep soul of James Carr’s original with the plaintive longing of the Flying Burrito Brothers’ country-rock cover. Ronstadt’s voice has a piercing clarity that is given a soulful dimension by the stately arrangement, which highlights Houston & Co.’s backing vocals.

“Underground” is David Bowie’s bouncy theme song, over-the-top in a way that would only have been possible in the mid-1980s labyrinththe Jim Henson fantasy, in which the rocker also played a leading role. An extension of the plastic soul concept he invented Young Americans“Overblown” grafts gospel exhortations onto stiff synth-pop. Packed with guest stars (Chaka Khan and Luther Vandross are also here), it’s a fascinating artifact of its time, capturing a time when studios had plenty of money to burn.

The follow-up to “Wind Beneath My Wings,” the rousing No. 1 single from Beaches The soundtrack is a little more down-to-earth than the previous Midler hit. Although her interpretation is grander than Nanci Griffith’s original, it still retains a sense of intimacy, thanks in part to the interplay between Midler and Houston. The couple had a story – Houston performed The divine Miss MMidler’s 1972 debut – perhaps that’s why they were happy with simple, sensitive harmonies that give this interpretation dimension and heart.