Cissy Houston, The Mother To Whitney Houston And A Grammy Award Winning Singer, Has Passed Away At The Age Of 91

Music

Oct 9

Cissy Houston, gospel singer and mother of Whitney Houston, has passed away aged ninety-one. Born in New Jersey, she was the youngest of eight children. Cissy was originally named Emily Drinkard but also went by the name Cecily Blair. She was raised methodist and found her faith at fourteen. Singing in the church choir quickly became her favorite past time, and it didn’t take long for her talent to get noticed. Along with three of her siblings, she formed the Drinkard Singers. The quartet performed at Carnegie Hall and was one of the first gospel acts to be signed to a major record label.

Her next group, the Sweet Inspirations, contained Dee-Dee Warwick, Dione Warwick’s niece. They provided backing vocals for some of the biggest names in the music business, including Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield, and Elvis Presley.

She later went solo, releasing several hits for the R&B charts, including a recording of Midnight Train to Georgia. Cissy continued working as a backing and session musician, contributing her vocals to iconic 70’s tracks.

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As an activist, she participated in the infamous 70th Birthday Concert for Nelson Mandela that was held at Wembley Stadium (United Kingdom) in 1988. The event was held as a protest against his imprisonment and the South African Apartheid and was televised in sixty-seven countries.

In 1996, Cissy went back to her roots and won two Grammys for back-to-back gospel albums in the same year. This was followed by critical acclaim for her contribution to (The Lord Is My Shepard) the movie soundtrack of The Preacher’s Wife. The film starred her daughter, Whitney.

Later in life, she picked up the pen and authored three books. Her most famous work memorialised the life of her beloved daughter and the journey they went through together: Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night The Music Stopped.

Cissy Houston contracted Alzheimer’s in her final years but left behind an extended family as well as her vast body of work. She will be sorely missed.

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