I am so sorry to report the passing of Cissy Houston at the age of 91.
She was the mother of Whitney, but also a great R&B star on her own. She and her group, the Sweet Inspirations, sang back up on many Aretha Franklin hits and often toured with the Queen of Soul. They were close friends, as well.
The Sweet Inspirations also released their own records that had big followings but never crossed over. Still they’ve lasted all this time.
Cissy was part of the larger Drinkard family, which included her cousins Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick. They grew up in the church in Newark, New Jersey where they were royalty.
The Houstons say Cissy died from Alzheimer’s. She’d been battling it for a long time. In 2015, when Aretha performed on the David Letterman Show, Cissy was asked to sing back up. In the video clip she looks distracted. No one knew then that the terrible condition had already attacked her.
Cissy also had two sons: Gary, and Michael, the latter with husband John Houston, who managed the Sweet Inspirations and was key to the launch of teenage Whitney in 1983. Whitney was “discovered” by Clive Davis singing back up for her mother, and the rest is history.
Whitney’s drug problems baffled Cissy as they got worse. She did not, contrary to supermarket tabloids, jealous of Whitney. But the more belligerent Whitney became because of the drugs, the more Cissy pushed back against her.
“Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We loss the matriarch of our family,” shared Pat Houston 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.”
I met Cissy and John in the mid 80s. We talked about Whitney but also about Cissy’s remarkable career. She gave new meaning to “back up” singing. On one of Aretha’s classic records, “Ain’t No Way,” that’s Cissy singing the sustained high top notes. It’s a unique recording for the ages. Cissy was so revered at Atlantic Records that producer Joel Dorn asked her to back up Bette Midler on her own landmark debut, “The Divine Miss M.”
Cissy did not have an easy life. Rest in peace.
In 2013, Aretha Franklin & Cissy Houston headlined McDonald's Gospelfest in Cissy's hometown of Newark, NJ. Here is rare footage of the two old friends bumping into each other backstage at @PruCenter at the end of the night. pic.twitter.com/AZ0NA7Exz8
— 365 Days of Aretha Franklin (@365DaysOfAretha) October 7, 2024
