Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston, has died at 91 years old. Cissy’s daughter-in-law Pat Houston confirmed the news, sharing Cissy passed away in her New Jersey home Monday while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We [lost] the matriarch of our family,” Pat said in a 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. Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled,” the statement continued. “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.”
Like Whitney, Cissy had a history in singing. She started the gospel group The Drinkard Four in 1938 alongside her siblings but was most known for being part of the Sweet Inspirations, who sang backup for Otis Redding, Dionne Warwick, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and more.
She eventually went solo and recorded over 600 songs, appearing on tracks with Chaka Khan, Luther Vandross, Beyoncé and others.
Cissy was a Grammy winner, taking home trophies for her 1997 album, Face to Face, and 1998’s Leadeth Me.
She also wrote three books — He Leadeth Me, How Sweet The Sound: My Life with God and Gospel and Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night The Music Stopped — and became minister of sacred music at New Hope Baptist Church.
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