On July 31, 1969, Elvis made his return to live performance after eight years, at the International Hotel, Las Vegas. The show would launch an electrifying new phase in his career and he wanted Cissy there with him.

While she was promoting The Bodyguard in 1992, Whitney recalled the moment Elvis asked her mother to sing with him.

She said: “I don’t remember how old I was but I remember my mother received a phone call saying he wanted the Sweets to come back for his 1969 comeback shows in Vegas. I remember my mother being very enthusiastic to do with it but very concerned that she would have to leave her children for a month.”

Cissy explained that “mummy and daddy had to go” to be able to provide for Whitney. Her father John Houston was her mother’s manager at the time. 

Whitney added: “I remember she really didn’t want to leave us but she had to go. I remember all the hoopla about Elvis in Vegas and I remember that I was very proud that my mother was there with him because it was a very big event.”