The Sweet Inspirations

Formed by Houston in 1963 in Newark under the informal title "The Girls", they were the offshoot of a previous group called the Gospelaires, founded by Houston's nieces and future soul stars Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, Myrna Smith and Sylvia Shemwell. Under Houston's direction, the group would include Shemwell, Smith and Estelle Brown.
As session singers, they participated in hit records by Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, Dusty Springfield and Elvis Presley. Signed to Atlantic Records in 1967, the group had their biggest hit with the aptly titled "Sweet Inspiration", which won them a Grammy Award nomination, making them just the third all-female vocal group in history to earn a Grammy nomination. They were also known for their rendition of "I'm Blue", which was the b-side of "Sweet Inspiration" and later was sampled famously by Salt-N-Pepa's hit "Shoop".
Following their first couple of months performing with Presley in Las Vegas, Houston left the group to raise her family and forge a successful solo career while the rest of the group carried on with Presley and as a recording act.
The original Sweet Inspirations (Houston, Brown, Smith and Shemwell) were inducted into the second class of the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2014.