Cissy Houston, the mother of late American singer Whitney Houston, has died at the age of 91.
herself was a singer whose career stretched back to the 1930s. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by her family when she died - and the singer's family announced her death in a statement on Monday.
Pat Houston, Cissy's daughter-in-law, told the Associated Press: “Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family. 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.”
She added: “We are touched by your generous support, and your outpouring of love during our profound time of grief. We respectfully request our privacy during this difficult time.”
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The AP went on to report that Houston died on Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease. Born on 30 September 1933, Cissy was the youngest of eight children.
She married Freddie Garland in 1955 and they welcomed a son named Gary Garland in October 1957 - and he went on to an NBA basketball player and DePaul University Athletic Hall of Famer. Cissy and Freddie divorced in 1957.
She went on to marry John Houston Jr. in 1964 - with whom she welcomed daughter Whitney, who passed away in 2012 at the age of 48 - however they divorced in 1991. She also welcomed a son named Michael with John - who is a songwriter and road manager.
Cissy's music career began in 1938 when she was just a child. She performed as a member of the gospel group the Drinkard Four alongside her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky. The group eventually expanded to include four other women and they rebranded as the Drinkard Sisters.
In 1963, while pregnant with Whitney, Cissy formed the Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy and niece Dee Dee Warrick and they provided backup vocals for artists, including Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Dusty Springfield. She released solo music between the late 1960s up to 2012 - the same year Whitney died of accidental drowning in a Beverly Hills hotel while heart disease and cocaine use were listed as contributing factors to her death.
The devastated mother spoke of her heartbreak over her daughter's death in the 2013 book Remembering Whitney. She wrote: “I’m angry she died alone, in those conditions. I’m still mad about that.” And she told People that she hoped the book would remind fans “what a good person she was. I want people to know the truth about her, how she really was.”
Cissy won Grammys for her albums Face to Face in 1997 and He Leadeth Me in 1998 under in the best traditional soul gospel album category. As well as writing Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night The Music Stopped, the star also wrote the books He Leadeth Me, and How Sweet The Sound: My Life with God and Gospel.
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