Cissy Houston, penyanyi dan ibu pada Whitney Houston, meninggal pada umur 91 tahun

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Cissy Houston, born Emily Drinkard, sang backup for legendary artistes including Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Dionne Warwick. (Wikipedia pic)

LOS ANGELES: Cissy Houston, Grammy-winning soul and gospel singer and mother of the late Whitney Houston, died in her New Jersey home on Monday at the age of 91.

Houston’s daughter-in-law, Pat Houston, shared the news on Instagram.

It saddens my heart to announce the passing of my beloved Queen Cissy Houston today! Please keep the Houston family in your prayers, Pat wrote alongside a picture collage of the late singer.

The gospel singer was born in Newark, New Jersey, as Emily Drinkard on Sept 30, 1933, and later took on the professional name Cissy Houston.

She began her career as a member of a gospel group called the Drinkard Four, and later became a founding member of the R&B group the Sweet Inspirations.

She sang backup for legendary artistes including Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Otis Redding and Dionne Warwick.

Her music defied gender and racial boundaries, and she collaborated with Elvis Presley, Bette Midler and Linda Ronstadt – a rare feat for a Black woman artiste at the time.

Cissy launched her solo career in 1970, winning two Grammy Awards for her gospel music.

Her daughter, singer Whitney Houston, died at the Beverly Hilton hotel in 2012. She was found submerged in her bathtub by a member of her personal staff.

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