Cissy Houston, a renowned gospel singer and the mother of Whitney Houston, passed away on Monday morning at the age of 91, her family confirmed in a statement.
Houston, a two-time Grammy Award-winning artist, died at her home in New Jersey while receiving hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, according to her daughter-in-law Pat Houston.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said, describing her mother-in-law as a “strong and towering figure” in the family’s life.
Cissy Houston enjoyed a long and successful career in the music industry, performing alongside legendary artists such as Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin.
Born in New Jersey in 1933, Houston was the youngest of eight children. She began singing at an early age and formed a gospel group with her siblings.
In the 1960s, Houston formed the R&B group The Sweet Inspirations, providing backup vocals for prominent musicians like Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield, and Dionne Warwick. The group also performed on Van Morrison’s hit song “Brown Eyed Girl.”
Following her success with The Sweet Inspirations, Houston embarked on a solo career and collaborated with various artists, including Chaka Khan, Jimi Hendrix, Beyoncé, Paul Simon, and her daughter, Whitney Houston, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 48.
Cissy Houston won her first Grammy Award in 1997 for her traditional soul gospel album Face to Face, and earned another Grammy the following year for her album He Leadeth Me.
In addition to her music career, Houston authored three books, including Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night the Music Stopped, a tribute to her late daughter.
At the age of 80, Houston performed once again with Aretha Franklin during an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, where they sang a cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
Pat Houston remarked that Cissy Houston’s “more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts.”
She added that the family feels “blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us.”
“May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter Whitney, granddaughter Bobbi Kristina, and other cherished family members.”
