The Drinkard Singers (1958) A Joyful Noise

 The Drinkard Singers were an American Gospel singing group, most successful in the late 1950s and important in the careers of singers Cissy Houston, Dionne Warwick, Dee Dee Warwick, and Judy Clay. 

 

Nitcholas (aka Nitch, 1896–1952) and Delia Mae Drinkard (née McCaskill; 1901–1941) who had eight children - sons William (1918–2003), Hansom (1925–1986), Nicholas (1929–1992), and Larry (1931–2012), and daughters Lee (1920–2005), Marie (1922–2007), Anne (1927–2003) and Cissy (1933-2024).^[1] The Drinkard surname, although gained through a Native American ancestor, has British origins with a meaning that alludes to the running of water.^[2]

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).^[1] He was descended from a family of African-American landowners in Blakely, Georgia where three of his children were 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 the continued legal troubles of a close relative.^[3][4]

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

 

The driving inspiration behind the Drinkard Singers was factory worker Nitcholas "Nitch" Drinkard, who encouraged his children to form a gospel singing group in Newark, New Jersey, around 1938, becoming known as the Drinkard Quartet. The original group comprised Emily Drinkard (later known as Cissy Houston), her sister Anne Drinkard-Moss, and her brothers Nick and Larry. Another sister, Lee Drinkard Warrick, the mother of Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick, served as the group's manager.^[7]

Sister Marie later joined the group, leading to them changing the name to the Drinkard Singers. Anne Drinkard-Moss left and was replaced by Lee's adopted daughter Judy Guions, who was later known as Judy Clay. Performing regularly in Newark and all over New Jersey and New York, 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.^[8]

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. 

 Houston's singing career began in 1938 when she joined her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky in the gospel singing group the Drinkard Four. Lee (who would later become the mother of singers Marie Dionne Warwick and Delia Juanita (Dee Dee) Warrick, later joined the group along with Anne Drinkard Moss and Marie Drinkard Epps, and the group was renamed The Drinkard Singers. It was while performing on Drinkard Singers that Cissy Houston made her television debut on TV Gospel Time. Houston and the Drinkard Singers regularly performed at New Hope Baptist Church and later recorded a live album for RCA called A Joyful Noise, becoming one of the first gospel acts to release a gospel album on a major label.^[15] The Drinkard Singers also earned success performing at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival.