Born in New Jersey in 1933, Houston was the youngest of eight children. She began singing at a young age after she formed a gospel group with her siblings.
In the 1960s, she formed the R&B group the Sweet Inspirations, which sang backup for big names like Otis Redding, Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. They also performed on Van Morrison’s hit song Brown Eyed Girl.
After finding success with the Sweet Inspirations, Houston embarked on a solo career, where she sang with artists including Chaka Khan, Jimi Hendrix, Beyonce, Paul Simon, and her late daughter Whitney Houston, who died in 2012 at age 48.
Houston won a Grammy Award for her traditional soul gospel album Face to Face in 1997, and again the following year for her album He Leadeth Me.
She also wrote three books, including one commemorating her daughter, called Remembering Whitney: A Mother’s Story of Life, Loss and The Night The Music Stopped.
At the age of 80, Houston sang once again with Aretha Franklin during her performance on The Late Show with David Letterman, where they performed a cover of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep.
Her daughter-in-law, Pat, said that Houston’s “more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts”.
She added that the family is “blessed and grateful that God allowed her to spend so many years with us”.
“May she rest in peace, alongside her daughter, Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members.”
