How Whitney Houston met Elvis Presley as a child, and later sang the hit song he wanted to sing

15 August 2024, 15:10

The music world is littered with crazy connections.

Most outsiders would accuse insiders of nepotism given the number of stars that have had a leg up or a chance to get their foot in the door for a career in entertainment.

But ultimately in this business, it's not what you know. It's who you know.

One particular star who had a connection to the music business long before she became a superstar herself was none other than Whitney Houston.

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Though you couldn't ever discredit Whitney for not possessing the requisite talent to become a global phenomenon - few singers have a voice anywhere near as good as hers.

Strangely enough, Whitney shared a link with Elvis Presley, having met 'The King' when she was just a child.

Even stranger was that she eventually sang the song that Presley himself was desperate to sing. The song? 'I Will Always Love You'.

So how did Whitney, whilst just a kid, get the opportunity to come face to face with the greatest star the world had seen at that point?

Well, in 1963, her mother Cissy Houston became part of the backing singer group called The Sweet Inspirations.

Performing everywhere around with USA, the group even supporting the likes of Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley at his Las Vegas residency concerts in 1969.

"Elvis loved gospel music. He was raised on it. And he really did know what he was talking about," Cissy recalled in a later interview.

"He was singing Gospel all the time - almost anything he did had that flavour. You can't get away from what your roots are."

Presley certainly paid homage to the music that made him.

Cissy spoke of how Presley had no prejudice, how he cracked jokes with his entourage, and how incredibly good-looking he was.

That year, he made an impression on her daughter too, when Whitney was just a little girl.

Whitney Houston recalls meeting Elvis Presley in 1969

Whitney later revealed to Access Hollywood: "I just remember at one point being [backstage]…and he just walked into the room with his mink on and his glasses on.

"He says something and you don’t say anything, you just look. It was just one of those moments I won’t forget as a kid," she continued.

"You just sat back and just looked at him. Amazing to look at, just amazing. Just to be in his presence was awesome."

Clearly enamoured by Elvis and his alluring star power, Houston and 'The King' shared more in common than they perhaps might have believed.

Mainly because they both had an affection for Dolly Parton's timeless hit 'I Will Always Love You', which Whitney later transformed into a global smash hit.

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Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Official 4K Video)

Back in 1974 shortly after Dolly released her version of her own song, Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker came calling as Elvis wanted to lend his voice to her words.

Dolly declined the Colonel's advances, however, as she rightly refused to give up half of the publishing. She "cried all night" after making the decision, though it proved to be the right one.

In 1992, Whitney ensured the song became a record-breaking one, spending fourteen weeks at the top of the US Billboard charts, being the best-selling single by a female artist of all time, and being the sixth best-selling single of all time overall.

It was just another link between two talents – Elvis Presley and Whitney Houston – whose stars burned too bright and faded all too soon.