Gospel great Cissy Houston has died at the age of 91

The singer Cissy Houston has away. Her career started when she was young and spanned decades and genres, including pop and gospel. Houston performed with her siblings when she was little and went on to provide background vocals for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley, Van Morrison, and others. In addition, she was the mother of Whitney Houston, one of the biggest pop and R&B performers in the world, and a well-known solo gospel performer. Her age was ninety-one.

Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1933 under the name Emily Drinkard into a musically talented family. She was required to perform with her siblings at neighbourhood churches when she was younger.

“I was 5 years old and they had to put me on a stool in order to see me,” she told WHYY’s Fresh Air in 1998. “Of course, at 5 years old, I wanted to be out playing with everyone else and it was difficult for me. There was no question. I didn’t have a choice.”

Her family group, The Drinkard Singers, became one of the first groups to release a gospel album on a major record label. A Joyful Noise was released in 1959 by RCA Records.

In the 1960s, Houston decided she wanted to sing secular music and formed the group The Sweet Inspirations. Under Houston’s leadership, it earned a reputation as one of the best background groups in the business, appearing on hundreds of songs and helping to shape classics ranging from Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” to Dusty Springfield’s “Son of A Preacher Man.”

The group’s first album, the self-titled The Sweet Inspirations recorded in 1967, peaked at No. 12 on Billboard‘s Hot Soul Albums, and its crossover hit single “Sweet Inspiration” reached the top 20 of the Hot 100 singles chart.