Whitney Houston’s mother, soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston, has died aged 91

Whitney Houston’s mother, the gospel and soul singer Cissy Houston, has died aged 91.

Cissy died on the morning of Monday, October 7, in her New Jersey home.

A two-time Grammy Award winner, Houston performed alongside the likes of Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin at the height of her career.

Her daughter-in-law Pat Houston confirmed Houston died while in hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease and was surrounded by loved ones.

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” Pat said in a statement.

She added her mother-in-law’s contributions to music 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.”

Her musical career included a stint with the vocal group The Sweet Inspirations, alongside Doris Troy and her niece, Dee Dee Warwick.

They sang backup for a variety of soul legends including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, The Drifters and Dionne Warwick.

The group also appeared on Van Morrison’s hit song Brown Eyed Girl and sang background vocals on the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Burning of the Midnight Lamp.

In 1967, she worked on Aretha Franklin’s classic tune Ain’t No Way.

Her final performance with The Sweet Inspirations came after the group joined Elvis Presley on stage for his famous Las Vegas show in 1969.

Her final recording session with the group turned into their biggest smash, (Gotta Find) A Brand New Lover.

She left the group to pursue a solo career, which saw her become one of the world’s most in-demand session singers.

She recorded more than 600 songs across a variety of genres, with her vocals also heard on tracks by Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Beyonce and Paul Simon.

Her Grammys were awarded for the solo albums Face to Face (1996) and He Leadeth Me (1997).

Houston had three children: former professional basketball player Gary Garland in 1957, songwriter Michael in 1961, and Whitney – who went on to become a world-renowned singer and actress – in 1963.

Whitney died aged 48 in February 2012. Her cause of death was ruled as drowning and the effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.

Whitney’s daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown – Cissy Houston’s granddaughter – died aged 22 in July 2015. The underlying cause of death was listed as “immersion associated with drug intoxication”, with a final autopsy report determining she died of lobar pneumonia.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.