Grammy-winning soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston — mother of Whitney Houston — has died at 91. As reported by the Associated Press, Houston died at home in New Jersey, where she was under hospice care for Alzheimer's.
Born Emily Drinkard in 1933 in Newark, NJ, Houston was a founding member of the R&B group the Sweet Inspirations and sang backup for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Chaka Khan, Roy Hamilton and her niece Dionne Warwick (very, very talented family).
You can hear Houston's voice on a whole bunch of famous songs thanks to her work as a session singer, including Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" and the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "The Burning of the Midnight Lamp." She won two Traditional Gospel Album Grammys in 1997 and 1999 for the albums Face to Face and He Leadeth Me.
Houston played a not-insignificant role in her daughter Whitney's rise to superstardom, performing with her on The Merv Griffin Show, singing on her early records, and appearing with her in the movie The Preacher's Wife. In the video for Whitney's hit "Greatest Love of All," you can see Whitney leaving the stage at the Apollo and hugging her mother.
"Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family," Houston's daughter-in-law Pat Houston said in a statement to the Associated Press. "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."