Cissy Houston, the renowned Grammy-winning gospel singer who was the mother of late superstar Whitney Houston, has died at 91.
Houston, who had been under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, died at her home in Newark, New Jersey this morning surrounded by family, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston said in a statement to the Associated Press.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said in the statement. “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.”
Born Emily Drinkard September 30, 1933 in Newark, Houston began her singing career forming a gospel group with her siblings, the Drinkard Four, later renamed The Drinkard Singers. The group was an influential gospel act: their live album A Joyful Noise was the first gospel record to appear on a major label and is credited with bringing the genre to a wider audience.
Houston was a standout from the group, and went on to further fame as a member of the Sweet inspirations, an all-female vocal group that backed legendary artists including Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin. Houston’s vocals can be heard in classic songs like Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” and Franklin’s “Ain’t No Way.”
In 1963, Cissy Houston gave birth to a daughter who inherited her musical talents and went on to be one of the most successful and popular recording artists in history: the legendary Whitney Houston.
Cissy played a major role in her daughter’s early career, providing rigorous vocal training and performance opportunities while also introducing her to gospel and church music, which formed the foundation of Whitney’s vocal style.
Their relationship became more tumultuous amid Whitney Houston’s meteoric rise to international fame, as the pop star struggled with drug addiction, but despite their tensions Cissy tried her best to help her daughter and organized interventions.
“She started partying and she didn’t really know how to stop,” Cissy wrote in her memoir, Remembering Whitney. “I used to wonder what she was doing at night, where she was.”
“She did drugs like everybody else in this business do, and it’s awful,” she told CBN. “But you hope that they make good decisions. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t.”
Cissy experienced a heartbreak no mother should go through in 2012, when Whitney was found dead in her bathtub at the age of 48, the result of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use. “I’m angry she died alone, in those conditions,” Cissy later wrote. “I’m still mad about that.”
While her fame was eclipsed by her daughter’s, Cissy Houston continued to have a long and acclaimed musical career, both performing backup vocals and as a solo gospel artist. She won two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Gospel Album.
In addition to being the mother of Whitney Houston, Cissy was also the aunt of legendary recording artist Dionne Warwick.
In her statement, her daughter-in-law remembered Cissy’s “unparalleled” contributions to music and culture.
Rest in peace to the great Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston and a trailblazing musician in her own right.
Please share this story in her memory.
READ MORE:
- Dolly Parton almost ‘wrecked’ her car when she heard Whitney Houston’s cover of ‘I Will Always Love You’
- Kevin Costner finally reveals secret promise he made to Whitney Houston over 30 years ago
