Cissy Houston, Grammy-winning gospel singer and mother of Whitney Houston, dies at 91

Pat Houston, the singer's daughter-in-law, called Cissy a "towering figure" whose "contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled."

Cissy Houston, mother of music icon Whitney Houston and a highly successful soul and gospel singer in her own right, has died at age 91.

A statement from the Whitney Houston Estate shared with Entertainment Weekly reads, "In our time of deep sorrow, we announce the passing of Emily “Cissy” Houston, who transitioned today, Monday, October 7, at 10:30 a.m. ET, at her home in Newark, New Jersey, while under hospice care for Alzheimer’s disease."

Houston turned 91 only a week prior, on Sept. 30, and died "surrounded by her family." In the statement, Pat Houston, Cissy's daughter-in-law and the current executor of the Whitney Houston estate, stated that "our hearts are filled with pain and sadness." She described "Mother Cissy" as "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."

Funeral services have not yet been announced, and the Houston Family "respectfully request our privacy during this difficult time."

Cissy Houston was the first singing star in a family that would expand into a galaxy of talent. In addition to her path-breaking daughter Whitney, Cissy was also an aunt to singers Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick, and cousin to opera singer Leontyne Price.

She was born Emily Drinkard in Newark, N.J. in 1933, the eighth and final child to parents died by the time she reached 18. Houston began singing professionally at only five years old, as part of the family gospel group the Drinkard Four, later rechristened the Drinkard Sisters. She later formed the group Sweet Inspirations with Dee Dee and "Just One Look" singer Doris Troy.

It was with Sweet Inspirations that Cissy provided backing vocals to some of the most iconic albums of the 1960s and '70s. Sweet Inspirations accompanied Aretha Franklin on Lady Soul, Van Morrison on Blowin' Your Mind!, and Jimi Hendrix on Electric Ladyland. Houston continued to accompany artists like Dusty Springfield, Linda Ronstadt, Diana Ross, Paul Simon, David Bowie, and Carly Simon into her award-winning career as a solo artist.

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Houston released ten solo albums, spanning 1970 to 2012, winning the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album twice, for Face to Face and He Leadeth Me. She also paved the way for her daughter's eventual segue into Hollywood, contributing a rendition of "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" to the soundtrack for A Time To Kill, singing as part of The Wiz Singers Adult Choir in 1978's The Wiz, and even appearing in Whitney's 1996 film The Preacher's Wife.

Houston had a second career that lasted almost as long as her professional singing career. After joining the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark in 1954, she went on to found the Inspirational Choir and serve as its Minister of Music for over 50 years. She also founded the Radio Choir, later called "8am Choir" because of their time slot on daily WNJR segments. The Radio Choir performed at Carnegie Hall with the United Negro College Fund Choir in 1974.

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Cissy had daughter Whitney with John Russell Houston Jr. in 1963. After Whitney Houston died in 2012, Cissy defended her daughter's posthumous right to privacy against several documentaries and biopics she deemed "invasive." "We cannot reconcile the Public’s need to know about Whitney’s life as justification for invasion of her privacy," she said in 2018.

Houston also said goodbye to her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina, who died in 2015 at 22 years old.

"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," Pat Houston wrote in her statement on Cissy's passing. "May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.