0
Cissy Houston
Cissy Houston
American singer
1
Judy Clay
Judy Clay
American soul and gospel singer
2
Dee Dee Warwick
Dee Dee Warwick
American soul singer
3
Tommy Cogbill
Tommy Cogbill
American musician
4
Doris Troy
Doris Troy
American actress and singer (1937-2004)
5
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
American singer, actress and TV show host
6
King Curtis
King Curtis
American saxophonist (1934-1971)
7
Richard Tee
Richard Tee
American musician
8
Bernard Purdie
Bernard Purdie
American drummer
9
David Hood
David Hood
American bass player, Muscle Shoals session player
10
Maxine Brown
Maxine Brown
American soul and R&B singer
11
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
American singer, songwriter, and pianist
12
Clara Ward
Clara Ward
American gospel artist; singer, music arranger, songwriter
13
Joe South
Joe South
US singer, songwriter and guitarist
14
Rick Marotta
Rick Marotta
American musician
15
Gene Orloff
Gene Orloff
American musician
16
Jerry Jemmott
Jerry Jemmott
American musician
17
Carl Wilson
Carl Wilson
American musician; original member of The Beach Boys (1946-1998)
18
Roger Hawkins
Roger Hawkins
American drummer
19
Larry Knechtel
Larry Knechtel
American session musician
20
James Burton
James Burton
American guitarist
21
Sweet Charles Sherrell
Sweet Charles Sherrell
American musician
22
Andrew Love
Andrew Love
American musician
23
Cornell Dupree
Cornell Dupree
American R&B/soul jazz guitarist
24
Jerry Scheff
Jerry Scheff
American musician
25
Gwen Guthrie
Gwen Guthrie
American singer-songwriter
Sweet Inspirations
American R&B vocal group

Sweet Inspirations

Intro
American R&B vocal group
Record Labels
Members, past and present

The Sweet Inspirations were an American R&B girl group founded by Emily "Cissy" Houston (née Drinkard), mother of Whitney Houston, and sister of Lee Warwick (herself the mother of well-known sisters Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick). Houston and Warwick were members of The Drinkard Singers, a family group that had the distinction of recording the first Gospel album to appear on a major label—a live recording from The Newport Jazz Festival in 1959. The line-up included Judy Guions (who later became Judy Clay), Marie Epps, Larry Drinkard, Nicholas Drinkard, Ann Moss, Lee and Emily.