Watching Mother Cissy Houston pay homage to her daughter “Nippy,” better known as Whitney, at the 2012 BET Awards brought back memories of Cissy’s performance at the Stellar Awards more than 20 years ago. By then, Whitney had already made quite a name for herself in pop, which was why it was totally endearing and just plain cool to see her sing backup (along with BeBe and CeCe Winans) for her mother on the awards show. It was apparent that Whitney was moved by her mommy’s stirring performance of the Dorsey song “Peace in the Valley.” I was fortunate to find the footage on YouTube.
Libra Nicole Boyd, PhD is a musician, award-winning author, gospel music aficionado, and the founder and editor of Gospel Music Fever™. Her commitment to journalistic integrity includes bringing you reliable gospel music content that uplifts and advances the art form. Libra is presently working on several scholarly projects about gospel music in the media as well as gospel music in social movements.