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Jonathan Butler will never forget celebrating Thanksgiving with Whitney Houston

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Raj Kaik As Jonathan Butler prepares for Thanksgiving, he tells ABC Radio that he’ll never forget celebrating the holiday in 1987 with Whitney Houston.

The singer/guitarist from South Africa was the opening act on Whitney’s Moment of Truth tour, and that year, she invited Jonathan to join her and members of her family while they were in New Orleans for a concert.

“I spent Thanksgiving with Whitney, her mom and dad. Dionne Warwick was there too, and just sat around the piano,” the two-time Grammy nominee recalls. “I was still new to the states. New to performing here. I was in a state of culture shock. Opening up for Whitney and it’s 15,000 people, 20,000 people, and so it was pretty amazing for me.”

The 57-year-old artist recalls it was a very wild situation every time Whitney would go outside and be surrounded by fans.

“We walked the French Quarter, Whitney had a big mink coat on. Big, big mink coat on. Was walking around. When people spotted her, it was a riot,” Butler remembers.

“I mean, there was nobody to even escort her or help her out, and it was my tour guys, Stuart and Mickey, that was able to navigate the situation and get Whitney out of there.” 

Butler is performing on the Dave Koz and Friends Christmas tour, which kicks off Friday in Sarasota, FL, and continues through December 23 in Cerritos, CA.

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