sissy houstonGrammy-winning soul singer and mother Whitney HoustonHas died at the age of 91.
Gwendolyn Quinn, a representative of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, confirmed her death in a statement.
Watch the video above: Whitney Houston’s mother speaks out about abuse claims.
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Quinn said Houston died at 10:30 a.m. local time on Monday surrounded by family at her New Jersey home while receiving hospital care for Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our hearts are full of pain and sadness. We lost the head of our family,” confirmed his daughter-in-law, Pat Houston. People.
“Mother Sisi has been a strong and great figure in our lives. A woman of deep faith and conviction, who cared deeply for family, ministry and community.”
“His career spanning more than seven decades in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts,” the statement added.
“His contribution to popular music and culture is unparalleled.
Pat Houston’s Monday statement about Cissy Houston said, “We are blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us and we are grateful for all the valuable life lessons she taught us. “
“May he rest in peace with his daughter Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other beloved family members.”
Born Emily Drinkard, Cissy Houston was the youngest of eight children born to the late Nicholas and Delia Mae Drinkard, according to a biography provided by the family.
Houston was educated through the Newark public school system and attended New Hope Baptist Church, where she later became minister of sacred music.
Biography states that in 1938, when she was five years old, Houston began her singing career when she joined the gospel group, The Drunkard Four, with her sister Anne and brothers Larry and Nicky.
Later, his sisters Lee and Mary joined the group, which was renamed The Drunkard Singers. Anne Drinkard left the group and was replaced by Lee’s adopted daughter Judy Clay.
Throughout the group’s lifetime, members included future star Dee Dee Warwick and Houston’s niece Dionne Warwick.
He performed at Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, Rhode Island in 1957, and recorded his first live gospel album, A Joyful Noise, at Webster Hall in New York City.
It was released in 1959 on RCA Records, marking the first time a gospel group released an album on a major record label.
In 1963, with the remaining members of The Drunkard Sisters, Cissy Houston formed the original lineup of The Sweet Inspirations, who provided background vocals for many artists in the ’60s, including Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Esther Phillips, Lou Rawls, Otis Redding was involved. Solomon Burke, The Drifters and Wilson Pickett.
She released her first solo LP, Presenting Cissy Houston, in 1969.
A two-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Houston led a successful career as a solo and performing artist, recording 10 solo albums, four compilation albums, and five collaborative recordings.
He won Grammy Awards in 1997 and 1999 for Traditional Gospel Album.
As a first-call backup singer, she recorded with a wide range of artists of many genres, including Franklin, Bette Midler, Beyoncé, Burt Bacharach, Carly Simon, Chaka Khan, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, and his late And performed. daughter Whitney Houston, among many others.
In 2013 she released a memoir, Remembering Whitney, sharing her struggles dealing with the death of her daughter at age 48 in 2012.
He recalled his daughter’s struggle with drugs and the spiral that led to her death by drowning with cocaine, believed to have been induced by heart disease.
According to her biography, Cissy Houston was also the mother of sons Gary and Michael and grandmother of several grandchildren.
“(Whitney) started partying and she didn’t really know how to stop,” she wrote in 2013.
“I wondered what she was doing at night, where she was.”
He said that his daughter would often not answer his calls and that “Whitney would hide from me”.
Cissy Houston wrote that a year later she was still troubled by her shock death, writing, “I am angry that she died alone under those circumstances.
“I’m still crazy about it.”
His granddaughter Bobbi Kristina Brown, died after three years After her mother Whitney at the age of 22.
She was also a lifelong friend of the late Aretha Franklin, paying tribute to her following her death in 2018.
“Aretha was a dear friend who I will miss deeply,” the singer said in a statement about the singer. died of pancreatic cancer At the age of 76.
“I have known Aretha for more than 50 years, professionally as her backup singer and then as a friend.
“We have shared sadness, loss, as well as excitement and great laughter and most importantly our mutual love for God.”
– with CNN
