Cissy Houston, the Grammy-winning singer and mother of Whitney Houston, has passed away at the age of 91, according to Gwendolyn Quinn, a representative for The Estate of Whitney E. Houston.
In a statement, it was revealed that Houston passed peacefully on Monday at 10:30 a.m. ET while in hospice care, surrounded by her family. She had been battling Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family,” said her daughter-in-law, Pat Houston. “Mother Cissy was a strong and towering figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, she cared deeply about family, ministry, and community. Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will always be at the forefront of our hearts.” Pat Houston also noted, “Her contributions to popular music and culture are unparalleled.”
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Born Emily Drinkard, Cissy Houston was the youngest of eight children to Nitcholas and Delia Mae Drinkard. She was raised in Newark, New Jersey, and educated through the city’s public school system. She was a member of the New Hope Baptist Church, where she later became Minister of Sacred Music.
Houston began her singing career at the age of five when she joined her siblings in the gospel group, The Drinkard Four. The group later became The Drinkard Singers, and over the years, its members included future stars such as Dee Dee Warwick and Dionne Warwick, Houston’s nieces.
In 1957, The Drinkard Singers performed at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival and recorded their first live gospel album, *A Joyful Noise*, in 1959. This marked one of the first times a gospel group had an album released on a major label, RCA Records.
In 1963, Houston co-founded The Sweet Inspirations, providing background vocals for artists like Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Otis Redding, and Wilson Pickett. She launched her solo career with the album *Presenting Cissy Houston* in 1969.
Throughout her career, Houston won two Grammy Awards and recorded ten solo albums. As a sought-after backup vocalist, she collaborated with a wide array of artists, including Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, and her daughter, Whitney Houston.
Whitney Houston passed away in 2012 at the age of 48. Cissy Houston later wrote a memoir, *Remember Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped*, in 2013, sharing her experiences as Whitney’s mother and shedding light on her daughter’s life.
Cissy Houston is also survived by her sons, Gary and Michael, and several grandchildren. Her granddaughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, passed away at the age of 22, just three years after Whitney.
In her statement, Pat Houston said, “We are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are thankful for the many valuable life lessons she taught us. May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter Whitney, granddaughter Bobbi Kristina, and other cherished family members.”
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