Cissy Houston, Whitney Houston’s Mother and a Grammy-Winning Singer, Dies at 91

Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, has died. She was 91.

Houston died Monday morning in her New Jersey home while under hospice care for Alzheimer's disease, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston told the Associated Press. The acclaimed gospel singer was surrounded by her family.

“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,” Pat Houston said in a statement. She said her mother-in-law's contributions to popular music and culture are "unparalleled."

“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.”

Houston was in the well-known vocal group the Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy and her niece Dee Dee Warrick. The group sang backup for a variety of soul singers including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, The Drifters and Dionne Warwick.

The Sweet Inspirations appeared on Van Morrison's “Brown Eyed Girl” and sang background vocals for The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the song “Burning of the Midnight Lamp" in 1967. In the same year, Houston worked on Franklin's classic “Ain't No Way."

Houston's last performance with the Sweet Inspirations came after the group hit the stage with Presley in a Las Vegas show in 1969. Her final recording session with the group turned into their biggest R&B hit “(Gotta Find) A Brand New Lover” a composition by the production team of Gamble & Huff, who appeared on the group’s fifth album, Sweet Sweet Soul.

During that time, the group occasionally performed live concert dates with Franklin. After the group's success and four albums together, Houston left The Sweet Inspirations to pursue a solo career, where she flourished.