The Drinkard Singers

Family origins

Nitcholas (aka Nitch, 1895-1951) and Delia Drinkard (née McCaskill, 1901-1941) who had eight children - sons William (1918-2003), Hansom (b. 1924), Nicky (b. 1929-1992), and Larry (1931-2012), and daughters Lee (1921-2005), Marie (1922-2007), Anne (1927-2003) and Emily "Cissy" (b. 1933). The Drinkard surname, although gained through a Native American ancestor, has British origins with a meaning that alludes to the running of water.

Nitcholas Drinkard was born to a part Dutch, part African-American, mother Susan Bell Drinkard (née Fuller, b. 1876) and a full Native American father John Drinkard, Jr. (b. 1870). He descended from a family of African-American landowners in Blakely, Georgia where three of his children where born. The Drinkards owned a substantial amount of farmland during a time when it was unusual for blacks to own large portions of land. The asset was gradually depleted as small portions of the land were sold, over time, to resolve continued legal troubles of a close relative.

The family later moved to New Jersey during the Second Great Migration. In 1938 mother, Delia, suffered a stroke and died of cerebral hemorrhage three years later. Nitcholas later died of stomach cancer in 1951.

Musical career

The driving inspiration behind the Drinkard Singers was factory worker Nicholas "Nitch" Drinkard, who encouraged his children to form a gospel singing group in Savannah, Georgia, around 1938. The original group comprised Emily Drinkard (later known as Cissy Houston), her sister Anne, and brothers Nick and Larry. Another sister, Lee, served as the group's manager, and, as Lee Drinkard Warrick, became the mother of Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick.

By the early 1950s, the family had moved to New Jersey, and had added Marie Epps and Ann Moss to the group. Anne Drinkard left and was replaced by Lee's adopted daughter Judy Guions, who was later known as Judy Clay. Performing regularly in Newark, they recorded several singles. After an appearance at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, they recorded the first gospel album to appear on a major label, the live album A Joyful Noise, for RCA Records in 1959.

After several personnel changes in the early 1960s, the remaining members of the group in 1967 became The Sweet Inspirations, who would sing background for the Warwick sisters, Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley.