Cissy Houston, the two-time Grammy-wining gospel singer, mother of the late Whitney Houston, back-up singer for everyone from Elvis Presley and Luther Vandross to Paul Simon and Jimi Hendrix, died today surrounded by family while under hospice care for Alzheimer's disease at her home in New Jersey.

Whitney Houston had a surprising family connection to the late Elvis Presley thanks to her mother, Cissy, who died earlier today aged 91

Renowned soul and gospel singer Cissy Houston has died. She was part of a extraordinary musical family that included Dionne Warwick and her superstar daughter, Whitney Houston.

Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, has died

Cissy Houston, who has died aged 91, was the mother of the troubled star Whitney Houston, and a considerable musical talent in her own right – a double Grammy-winning singer of gospel and R&B and a sought-after backing singer for Elvis Presley,

Cissy Houston, a two-time Grammy-winning soul and gospel artist who sang with Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and other stars and knew triumph and heartbreak as the mother of Whitney Houston, has died.