Cissy Houston, legendary singer and mother of Whitney Houston, dies at 91

Cissy Houston, renowned gospel vocalist and the parent of Whitney Houston, died connected Monday greeting astatine the property of 91, her household said successful a statement.

Houston, a two-time Grammy Award winning singer, died successful her New Jersey location portion successful hospice attraction for Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston said.

“Our hearts are filled with symptom and sadness. We mislaid the matriarch of our family,” she said, adding that her mother-in-law was a “strong and towering figure” successful the family’s life.

Houston enjoyed a decades-long palmy singing career, wherever she performed alongside superstars similar Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin.

Born successful New Jersey successful 1933, Houston was the youngest of 8 children. She began singing astatine a young property aft she formed a gospel radical with her siblings.

In the 1960s, she formed the R&B radical the Sweet Inspirations, which sang backup for large names similar Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. They besides performed connected Van Morrison’s deed opus Brown Eyed Girl.

After uncovering occurrence with the Sweet Inspirations, Houston embarked connected a solo career, wherever she sang with artists including Chaka Khan, Jimi Hendrix, Beyonce, Paul Simon, and her precocious girl Whitney Houston, who died successful 2012 astatine property 48.

Houston won a Grammy Award for her accepted psyche gospel medium Face to Face successful 1997, and again the pursuing twelvemonth for her medium He Leadeth Me.

She has besides wrote 3 books, including 1 commemorating her daughter, called Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night The Music Stopped.

At the property of 80, Houston sang erstwhile again with Aretha Franklin during her show connected The Late Show with David Letterman, wherever they performed a screen of Adele’s Rolling successful the Deep.

Her daughter-in-law, Pat, said that Houston’s “more than seven-decade vocation successful euphony and amusement volition stay astatine the forefront of our hearts”.

She added that the household is “blessed and grateful that God allowed her to walk truthful galore years with us”.

“May she remainder successful peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and different cherished household members.”