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.

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,

Hailing from a musical family, she won Grammys, sang backup to Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin and helped shepherd Whitney Houston to superstardom.