Cissy Houston, Accomplished Singer and Mother to Whitney, Dead at 91

Cissy Houston, a lauded singer in her own right and the mother of Whitney Houston, has died. She was 91. Cissy died October 7 at home in New Jersey, where she was receiving hospice care for Alzheimer’s, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston told the Associated Press. “Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness,” Pat said, calling Cissy’s cultural impact “unparalleled.” Born Emily Drinkard, Cissy began singing professionally at 5 years old, when her father, Nitcholas Drinkard, formed a gospel group of his children in 1938. The Drinkard Singers eventually performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1957, which led to them releasing one of the first major-label gospel albums, A Joyful Noise, on RCA in 1958.

In 1963, Cissy joined another family group, the Sweet Inspirations — replacing her rising-star niece, Dionne Warwick. With a rotating lineup that also starred her niece Dee Dee Warwick, the Sweet Inspirations sang backup for some of the most enduring recordings of the 1960s: Aretha Franklin hits like “Natural Woman” and “Chain of Fools,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Burning of the Midnight Lamp,” and Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” Cissy especially stood out for her operatic backing vocals on Franklin’s song “Ain’t No Way.” The Sweet Inspirations began backing Elvis Presley in 1969, featuring on his live album Elvis in Person at the International Hotel.

Cissy left the Sweet Inspirations later in 1969 to pursue a solo career, and released her debut album Presenting Cissy Houston in 1970. She continued backing others as well, singing on Linda Ronstadt’s album Heart Like a Wheel and Chaka Khan’s song “I’m Every Woman,” later covered by her daughter. Whitney soon began joining Cissy in sessions, and the pair sang backup on Khan’s 1980 album Naughty when Whitney was just 16. Once her daughter became a successful solo artist, Cissy dueted with her on a 1987 recording of “I Know Him So Well.”

Throughout her career, Cissy had also been a minister at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. A return to recording gospel music in the 1990s brought her late-career success, as she earned two Grammys for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album. After Whitney’s death in 2012, Cissy honored her daughter with a tribute performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”