Cissy Houston, famous gospel singer and mother of Whitney Houston, died Monday morning at the age of 91, her family said in a statement.
Houston, a two-time Grammy Award-winning singer, died in her New Jersey home while being treated for Alzheimer’s disease, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston said.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” she said, adding that her mother-in-law was a “strong and commanding figure” in the family’s life.
Houston enjoyed a successful singing career for several decades, where she performed alongside superstars like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin.
Born in New Jersey in 1933, Houston was the youngest of eight children. She started singing at a very young age after forming a gospel group with her siblings.
In the 1960s, she formed the R&B group The Candy Inspirations, which sang for big names like Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. They also performed on Van Morrison’s hit song Brown Eyed Lady.
After finding success with the Candy Inspirations, Houston launched a solo career, where she sang with artists such as Chaka Khan, Jimi Hendrix, Beyoncé, Paul Simon and her late daughter Whitney Houston, who died in 2012 in the age of 48.
Houston won a Grammy Award for her traditional soul gospel album Face to Face in 1997, and again the following year for her album He Leadeth Me.
She also wrote three books, including one commemorating her daughter, called Remembering Whitney: A Mom’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night time The Music Stopped.
At the age of 80, Houston sang again with Aretha Franklin during her appearance on The Late Present with David Letterman, where they performed a cover of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.
His daughter-in-law, Pat, said Houston’s “career in music and entertainment that has spanned more than seven decades will remain at the forefront of our hearts.”
She added that the family is “blessed and grateful that God allowed him to spend so many years with us.”
“May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter Whitney, her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other dear family members. »
