Cissy Houston, the two-time Grammy-winning soul singer who was the mother of the late Whitney Houston and aunt of singer Dionne Warwick, has died. Houston passed away on Monday, Oct. 7 at her home in New Jersey while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter-in-law, Pat Houston, confirmed in a statement, per PEOPLE. She was 91.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” the statement read. “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 contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled.”
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Born Emily Drinkard in Newark, New Jersey, in September 1933, according to Deadline, Houston launched her singing career in 1938 at the age of 5 when she joined her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky in the family group The Drinkard Singers. Decades later, in the ‘60s, Houston again joined forces with her family when she formed the group Sweet Inspirations with her niece nieces Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick. The group provided backup vocals for acts including Otis Redding, The Drifters, Dusty Springfield, Elvis Presley and the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
Houston eventually went on to launch a solo career. After releasing her first solo record titled “This Is My Vow” in 1963, she released her solo debut LP Presenting Cissy Houston in 1970, which included chart-topping hits like “I’ll Be There” and “Be My Baby.” She followed it with 1978’s Think it Over, 1979’s Warning – Danger, and 1980’s Step Aside for a Lady. She would later earn two Grammys, one in 1996 for best traditional soul gospel album for Face to Face, and another in 1998 for the album He Leadeth Me.
Throughout her career, Houston also collaborated with numerous artists, singing back-up on Bette Midler’s 1972 debut album The Divine Miss M. and Linda Ronstadt’s 1975 chart-topper Heart Like a Wheel. She also collaborated with her niece Dionne Warwick and daughter Whitney, including the 1987 duet “I Know Him So Well.”
After Whitney died in 2012 at the age of 48, Houston in 2012 performed Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as a tribute to her late daughter at the BET Music Awards. The following year, she released the memoir Remember Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped.
In addition to Whitney, Houston was also mom to sons Gary and Michael. In the statement announcing her death, Pat added, “we are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are thankful for all the many valuable life lessons that she taught us. May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members.”
