Monday, October 07, 2024 - Cissy Houston, acclaimed soul singer and mother of pop icon Whitney Houston, has died at the age of 91.
Houston, a two-time Grammy winner who sang backup for Aretha
Franklin and Elvis Presley, died on Monday morning, October 7, 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 lost 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.”
A church performer from an early age, Houston was part of a
family gospel act before breaking through in popular music in the 1960s as a
member of the prominent backing group The Sweet Inspirations with Doris Troy
and her niece Dee Dee Warwick. The group sang backup for a variety of soul
singers including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls and The Drifters. They also sang
backup for Dionne Warwick.
Houston’s many credits included Franklin’s “Think” and ”(You
Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Dusty
Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” The Sweet Inspirations also sang on
stage with Presley, whom Houston would remember fondly for singing gospel
during rehearsal breaks and telling her that she was “squirrelly.”
The Sweet Inspirations had their own top 20 single with the
soul-rock “Sweet Inspiration,” made in the Memphis studio where Franklin and
Springfield among others recorded hits and released four albums just in the
late ’60s. The group 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.
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.
Houston became an in-demand session singer and recorded more
than 600 songs in multiple genres throughout her career.
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