Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist and mother of the late Whitney Houston, has died at the age of 91.
Cissy Houston died on the morning of Oct. 7 in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by her family, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston, said in a statement.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said in a statement. She said her mother-in-law’s contributions to popular music and culture were “unparalleled.”
“Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared greatly about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts,” she said.
Born Emily Drinkard in September 1933, in Newark, New Jersey, Houston released her first solo full-length album, “Presenting Cissy Houston,” in 1970. Throughout Houston’s career as a solo and performing artist, she released 10 solo albums. She would go on to win two Grammy Awards for her albums “He Leadeth Me” (1997) and “Face to Face” (1996) in the category of best traditional soul gospel album.
Houston, a 2020 inductee to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, was the youngest of eight children. In 1938, she began her singing career at 5 years old when she joined The Drinkard Four, her family’s gospel group, which later became The Drinkard Singers, Houston’s Hall of Fame bio stated. They recorded their first live gospel album, “A Joyful Noise,” which was released by RCA Records in 1958 and later performed at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival, along with regular appearances at New Hope Baptist Church.
Houston joined The New Hope Baptist Church in 1954 and organized the C.H. Walters Choir, later renamed the Inspirational Choir. According to New Hope’s website, by 1974, Houston organized The Radio Choir and two years later broadcasted weekly on WNJR Radio station and performed with the Radio Choir at Carnegie Hall with the United Negro College Fund Choir.
In 1963, Houston formed The Sweet Inspirations with group members Estelle Brown, Sylvia Shemwell, and Myrna Smith, and the group released its first studio album, “Sweet Inspiration,” with Atlantic Records, which reached No. 5 on the R&B chart and No. 18 on the Pop chart, the group’s website reported. The Sweet Inspirations provided background vocals for various artists during the ‘60s, such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Solomon Burke.
The group’s many credits included Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Burning of the Midnight Lamp.” From 1969 to 1977, the group toured with Elvis Presley.
Houston left the group after its fifth album, “Sweet Sweet Soul,” with Atlantic Records and went on to record and perform with several artists, including David Bowie, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Beyoncé, and her late daughter, Whitney Houston.
Cissy Houston often collaborated with her family members, including niece Dionne Warwick and daughter Whitney. She provided backup vocals for her daughter’s debut album and songs such as “I Know Him So Well” and “Who Do You Love?” The pair also featured together in the song “The Lord Is My Shepherd” for the 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife.”
Following Whitney Houston’s death in February 2012, Cissy Houston performed Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as a tribute to her daughter at the BET Music Awards. She also wrote a memoir called “Remember Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped,” published in 2013.
Cissy Houston was also the mother of sons Gary Garland and Michael Houston, aunt to singers Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick, and grandmother to several grandchildren, including Whitney’s only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown, who died at the age of 22 in 2015.
Pat Houston said she is thankful for the many valuable lessons learned from her mother-in-law. She said the family feels “blessed and grateful” that God allowed Cissy to spend so many years with them.
“We are touched by your generous support, and your outpouring of love during our profound time of grief,” Pat Houston said on behalf of the family. “We respectfully request our privacy during this difficult time.”