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Rooted in the late 50’s Gospel group the Drinkard
Singers,
which in it’s early history included Dionne and Dee Dee
Warwick,
Judy Clay and Doris Troy among its members, the Sweet
Inspirations recorded backing vocals for countless R&B and soul
records before being signed to Atlantic and recording under
their
own name. By 1968, the group was led by Cissy Houston,
aunt
of Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, Sylvia Shemwell (sister
of Judy
Clay), Myrna Smith and Estelle Brown, all then based in
the New York
area. Though their roots were in Gospel, they were
taking that sound
and moving in a decidedly secular direction. Their
self-titled debut LP included covers of tunes
by Eddie Floyd, the
Ikettes, Wilson Pickett, and
Aretha Franklin. The only
direct link
to their Gospel past was a version of the Staple Singers
“Why Am
I Treated So Bad”, which to be fair, was also covered by a
number
of non-Gospel artists, including Cannonball Adderly, Brian
Auger,
Henry Cain, the Three Sounds and reggae singer Lyn Taitt. Jerry
Wexler recognized the depth of talent in the
group, and put
them in the studio with the legendary Tom Dowd, as
well as
Southern Soul heavy hitters like Tommy Cogbill and Chips
Moman.
Today’s selection, the eponymous ‘Sweet Inspiration’
was their
biggest hit, making it into the R&B Top Ten and the Pop
Top 20.
 
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When ‘Sweet Inspiration’ came under the stylus, it
hit me like a
ton of bricks. The tune starts off with laid back –
but decidedly
southern-fried – guitar and bass riff, augmented
strangely enough
by marimbas. As soon as the vocals come in, it was
immediately
evident to me then as it should be to anyone hearing the track for
the first time –
that this was a group with Gospel roots.It makes
‘Sweet Inspiration’ one of the truly great
soul records of the late
60’s, and a monument to the countless
records of amazing quality
that despite their chart position, remain
largely forgotten by “oldies”
radio. Not long after the success of
‘Sweet Inspiration’, none other
than Elvis Presley decided that he
needed to add the sound of the
Sweet Inspirations to his show. They
became his opening act and
his backing vocalists, a position they
would maintain for years
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left to right:
Sylvia Shemwell, Estelle Brown
Cissy Houston and Myrna Smith.
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