Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner in her own right, has died at 91.

Houston, who sang back-up for Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, died on Monday morning surrounded by family in her New Jersey home.

She had been under hospice care for Alzheimer's disease, her daughter-in-law Pat Houston said.

"Our hearts are filled with pain and sadness. We lost the matriarch of our family," Ms Houston said in a statement, adding that her mother-in-law's contributions to music and culture were "unparalleled".

"Mother Cissy has been a strong and towering figure in our lives... Her more than seven-decade career in music and entertainment will remain at the forefront of our hearts."

Her death comes 12 years after her daughter Whitney died at the age of 48 by accidental drowning in a hotel bathtub.

Bobby Kristina Brown, the only child of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, died at the age of 22 from a combination of drowning and drug intoxication.

Houston's family said in a statement that she may now "rest in peace alongside her daughter Whitney and granddaughter Bobbi Kristina and other cherished family members".

| Cissy Houston with her daughter Whitney in 2010. Pic: AP

Houston had started her decades-long career in the gospel group The Drinkard Four, but things took off when she formed the Sweet Inspirations alongside her niece Dee Dee Warwick and Doris Troy.

The group sang backing vocals for a variety of soul singers including Otis Redding, Lou Rawls, The Drifters and Dionne Warwick, Houston's niece.

They appeared on Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl and sang backing vocals for The Jimi Hendrix Experience on the song Burning Of The Midnight Lamp in 1967.

Houston also worked on Franklin's classic Ain't No Way in the same year.

Her final performance with the Sweet Inspirations was when the group appeared on stage with Presley in a Las Vegas show in 1969.

| Cissy Houston performing in 2013. Pic: AP

Houston left to pursue a solo career after four albums with the Sweet Inspirations, and became an in-demand session singer.

She recorded more than 600 songs throughout her career, and her vocals can be heard on tracks by Chaka Khan, Donny Hathaway, Jimi Hendrix, Luther Vandross, Beyonce, Paul Simon, Roberta Flack and her daughter.

Houston won Grammys for her albums Face To Face in 1997 and He Leadeth Me the following year in the best traditional soul gospel album category.