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Cissy Houston, the two-time Grammy-wining gospel singer, mother of the late Whitney Houston, back-up singer for everyone from Elvis Presley and Luther Vandross to Paul Simon and Jimi Hendrix, died today surrounded by family while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease at her home in New Jersey. She was 91.
Her death was announced by her family.
“In our time of deep sorrow, we announce the passing of Emily ‘Cissy’ Houston, who transitioned today, Monday, October 7, at 10:30 a.m. ET, at her home in Newark, New Jersey, while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease,” said the family statement, obtained by Deadline.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness,” the statement continued. “We lost the matriarch of our family,” says Pat Houston, the daughter-in-law of Cissy Houston. “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. Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled. We are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are thankful for all the many valuable life lessons that she taught us.”
The youngest of eight children, Houston was born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey, on September 30, 1933. She launched her singing career in 1938 when she joined her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky to form the gospel group The Drinkard Four.
More famously, Houston was a member of The Sweet Inspirations, an R&B group that throughout the 1960s provided back-up vocals for some of the most popular and celebrated musicians of the day, including Presley, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and, in 1967, for Van Morrison: The Sweet Inspirations can be heard singing behind Morrison on his classic “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Other prominent collaborations of the era include the Inspirations singing for Hendrix on his song “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” the Bee Gees on “To Love Somebody” and behind Dusty Springfield on the Dusty in Memphis album.
The Sweet Inspirations also recorded albums of their own, and in 1969 Houston struck out on her own, recording solo albums as well as doing session work as a back-up singer for Bette Midler on 1972’s The Divine Miss M. and Linda Ronstadt’s 1975 Heart Like a Wheel, among many others.
In addition to her pop career, Houston was one of the foremost gospel singers of her generation, earning a Grammy in 1996 for her album Face to Face, and in 1998 a second Grammy for her album He Leadeth Me. For more than a half-century she was the Minister of Music at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church.
Houston also frequently collaborated with her equally celebrated family members, including niece Dionne Warwick and, of course, daughter Whitney. One of those collaborations, 2006’s “Family First” was included on the soundtrack for the film Daddy’s Little Girls.
In 2012, Houston performed Paul Simon’s Bridge Over Troubled Water as a tribute to her late daughter Whitney at the BET Music Awards. Whitney Houston, one of the most successful and acclaimed singers of the late 20th Century, died February 11, 2012, at the age of 48.
Today’s family statement concludes, “May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members.
“On behalf of The Houston Family, we are touched by your generous support, and your outpouring of love during our profound time of grief. We respectfully request our privacy during this difficult time.”
Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.
