Color Inspirations

Cissy Houston, Myrna Smith, Sylvia Shemwell, and Estelle Brown had deep separate and shared histories when they became the Sweet Inspirations in 1967. That April, hot off backing Aretha Franklin and Van Morrison at the studio dates that yielded "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Brown Eyed Girl," the singers recorded their first session as headliners for Atlantic. The group left Atlantic Recording Studios with ardent interpretations of contemporary material that, depending on the source, either reaffirmed its gospel foundation or took it to church, but none of the resulting songs – all eventual A-sides – truly shook up the charts. This would typify the Sweet Inspirations' four years with the label. Perhaps the women were underserved. Only two of their nine charting singles were written for them, and the one that did best, "Sweet Inspiration" – their lone Top 20 pop and Top Ten soul hit – was dashed off by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham after the songwriting duo watched them attempt to spin gold from straw in the studio. Unfulfilled commercial promise notwithstanding, the group during these years – with Ann Williams replacing Houston in 1969, then leaving her partners a trio the next year – produced a high volume of powerful R&B and gospel.

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