LOS ANGELES (AP) — Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist who sang with Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, and other stars, and experienced both triumph and heartbreak as the mother of Whitney Houston, has died at the age of 91.
Cissy Houston passed away on Monday morning at her home in New Jersey while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, as confirmed by her daughter-in-law, Pat Houston, to The Associated Press. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by her family during her final moments.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston stated. She emphasized that her mother-in-law’s contributions to popular music and culture were “unparalleled.”
“Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared deeply about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts.”
A church performer from an early age, Houston was part of a family gospel act before breaking through in the 1960s as a member of The Sweet Inspirations—a prominent backing group alongside Doris Troy and her niece, Dee Dee Warwick. The group provided backup for numerous soul singers, including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, and The Drifters, and also performed with Dionne Warwick.
Houston’s extensive credits included Franklin’s “Think” and ”(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” The Sweet Inspirations had fond memories of performing with Presley, who Houston recalled for his gospel singing during rehearsal breaks and for giving her the nickname “Squirrelly.”
“At the end of our engagement with him, he gave me a bracelet inscribed with my name on the outside,” she recounted in her memoir “How Sweet the Sound.” “On the inside of the bracelet, he had inscribed his nickname for me: Squirrelly.”
The Sweet Inspirations released their own top 20 single with the soul-rock song “Sweet Inspiration” and recorded four albums in the late ’60s. The group contributed their harmonies to Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and provided background vocals for The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the song “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” in 1967.
Houston’s last performance with The Sweet Inspirations occurred after their 1969 Las Vegas show with Presley, and their final recording session together resulted in their biggest R&B hit, “(Gotta Find) A Brand New Lover.”
Following her success with The Sweet Inspirations and four albums, Houston ventured into a solo career where she thrived.
Houston became a sought-after session singer, recording over 600 songs across various genres. Her powerful voice can be heard alongside artists like Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Jimi Hendrix, and her daughter, Whitney Houston.
Cissy Houston completed several records, including “Presenting Cissy Houston,” the disco-era “Think It Over,” and the award-winning gospel albums “Face to Face” and “He Leadeth Me.” In 1971, her vocals featured prominently on Burt Bacharach’s solo album, which included hits such as “Mexican Divorce” and “One Less Bell to Answer.”
Throughout her life, Houston remained close to her native New Jersey and her musical roots. She led the 200-member Youth Inspirational Choir at Newark’s New Hope Baptist Church, where Whitney sang as a child.
While Cissy often said she discouraged Whitney from pursuing show business, musical connections remained strong throughout Whitney’s life, from church performances to television and recording studios. Whitney’s rise to fame seemed destined, aided by a rich familial legacy of talent—including cousins Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick and family friend Aretha Franklin.
Whitney Houston made her national television debut singing a medley of Franklin hits alongside Cissy on “The Merv Griffin Show.” Cissy sang backup on Whitney’s self-titled, multi-platinum debut album, and the duo shared the lead on the song “I Know Him So Well,” from the 1987 mega-seller “Whitney.”
They often performed together in concerts, culminating in their appearances in the 1996 film “The Preacher’s Wife.” One of their most memorable moments was captured in the music video for “Greatest Love of All,” which ended with Whitney joyfully embracing Cissy at the Apollo Theater.
Whitney Houston tragically passed away on February 11, 2012, from an accidental drowning in a Beverly Hills bathtub. Cissy chronicled her heartache in her memoir “Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss, and The Night the Music Stopped.”
In 2015, Cissy faced additional grief when her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter of Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, was found unconscious in a bathtub and died at age 22 after spending months in a coma. The family again became the focus of media attention in 2018 with the release of the documentary “Whitney,” which included disturbing allegations of abuse against Whitney.
Cissy Houston’s personal life included a brief marriage to Freddie Garland in the 1950s, followed by a marriage to Whitney’s father, entertainment executive John Russell Houston, from 1959 to 1990. She and John had two children: Whitney and another son, Michael.
Born Emily Drinkard in Newark as the youngest of eight, Cissy Houston formed the Drinkard Singers—a gospel group—at just five years old. The group performed for three decades alongside legends such as Mahalia Jackson and released the album “A Joyful Noise” in 1959.
Cissy later revealed that she would have preferred to remain in gospel music, but her husband encouraged her to branch out into studio work. She eventually collaborated with various artists across genres and contributed to the rich tapestry of American music.
Pat Houston expressed gratitude for the invaluable lessons learned from Cissy, acknowledging the family’s sense of being “blessed and grateful” for the years they had with her. “We are touched by your generous support and the outpouring of love during our profound time of grief,” she added, requesting privacy during this difficult period.
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Hillel Italie reported from New York.
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