Minister of music at New Hope Baptist Church on Sussex Avenue in Newark, New Jersey. (December 2010)
She was inducted into the 2019-2020 Class of New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Entertainment category. Her daughter, Whitney Houston, and cousin, Dionne Warwick, have already been inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in the same category.
She is the daughter of Delia Mae (McCaskill) and Nitcholas Drinkard. Her father was from Hilton, Early, Georgia and her mother was from Florida.