Whitney's Mother Cissy: 'I'm Going to Take Care of You' She Said
Many across the world have mourned the death of one of the music industry's most talented singers, Whitney Houston. However no one will mourn the star as much as her mother, who once taught her daughter how to sing. A young Whitney Houston used to say that she would take care of her mother one day.
Whitney Houston had long lasting aspirations to be a star when she was a young girl. According to her mother, Houston was inspired by the fame that surrounded Michael Jackson and said she too wanted to be a star.
An interview with Cissy Houston for the Daily Beast revealed Houston talking about a young Whitney Houston. "Mommy, I'm going to be a star," Cissy Houston recalled Whitney saying during the interview. "She said Whitney aspired to be more than just a star she also wanted to take care of her family. "I'm going to take care of you, and you're never going to have to work again!"
Cissy Houston's father didn't imagine that Whitney Houston would be a big star at first. "She would listen very closely to music, and she was always very alert musically," Cissy said.
But she added that when Whitney started singing, her husband used to just call it screaming. Cissy said she defended her daughter. "Hey, one day, maybe she'll be a singer," she said she would argue.
Cissy Houston, herself a renowned gospel singer, is credited with teaching Whitney how to sing. Her and Whitney would both sing in their local church choir and Whitney used to follow her mother to night clubs where Cissy was singing, and sometimes take the stage.
Cissy said it wasn't hard to find her own influence in Whitney's voice. "It's like deja vu sometimes, certain licks that she does. It's uncanny…even scary," Cissy recalled.
"Whitney's so much like me when I was younger. Same size, same mannerisms, that kind of stuff." However despite the similarities, Cissy always remained proud of her daughter. "I'm actually amazed sometimes," the gospel singer said. "She just goes, she soars. And hearing her sometimes just gives me chills."
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON'S HIT "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU" HERE
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON'S HIT "THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL" HERE
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON'S HIT "I'M EVERY WOMAN" HERE
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON'S HIT "I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY" HERE
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON'S HIT "IT'S NOT RIGHT BUT IT'S OK" HERE
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON'S FINAL PERFORMANCE BEFORE DEATH
SEE VIDEO OF WHITNEY HOUSTON & BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN PERFORMING "MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE"
SEE VIDEO OF LL COOL J'S PRAYER FOR WHITNEY HOUSTON ON GRAMMYS 2012