I've always wondered how Clive Davis could discover Whitney Houston.

Her mother and cousin were both established music stars.

Did they not know she could sing?

From Wiki:

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show.^[21]

I'm not sure if this is all true, but this is the story I've always read and heard.

daPrettyman said:

From Wiki:

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980, and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show.^[21]

I'm not sure if this is all true, but this is the story I've always read and heard.

It still doesn't make sense 2 me. Why would they turn her over 2 Clive?

Graycap23 said:

daPrettyman said:

From Wiki:

I'm not sure if this is all true, but this is the story I've always read and heard.

It still doesn't make sense 2 me. Why would they turn her over 2 Clive?

Maybe her mother and father didn't like the other deals? I don't know. I just found it odd (when she first came out) that you would see her parents and Clive all together and partying with her and applauding her success.

They had 2 know she could sing because she was getting background singing gigs as a teenager.

Dionne Warwick & Aretha Franklin were on Arista in the late 1970's & 1980's. Maybe that had something to do with it.

I think it was more family ties than anything. Whitney was really discovered by Michael Zager as far as her professional career ties went. Zager was the first one to offer her a deal at 16 but Cissy Houston turned it down alleging later that she wanted Whitney to finish schooling (something I don't get but she did graduate).

To me, no one "discovered" Whitney but her mother (and father I guess) when she was a child singing in her house and at church. People in music always use that term wrong.

WaterInYourBath said:

To me, no one "discovered" Whitney but her mother (and father I guess) when she was a child singing in her house and at church. People in music always use that term wrong.

Very true. Every one wants credit for the success of someone.

daPrettyman said:

WaterInYourBath said:

To me, no one "discovered" Whitney but her mother (and father I guess) when she was a child singing in her house and at church. People in music always use that term wrong.

Very true. Every one wants credit for the success of someone.

Clive signed her, made her image, and picked songs for her to sing. So he does have something to do with it. Cissy didn't do that, she was mostly a session singer, so doesn't have that much pull. Talent in itself doesn't make anyone popular. Clive signed Milli Vanilli, and they didn't sing at all on their record, but he made them popular.

[Edited 2/13/12 11:54am]

WaterInYourBath said:

To me, no one "discovered" Whitney but her mother (and father I guess) when she was a child singing in her house and at church. People in music always use that term wrong.

That's how it goes. Look at the people claiming they "discovered" Michael or Billie Holiday or Aretha Franklin or even Tina Turner.

daPrettyman said:

WaterInYourBath said:

To me, no one "discovered" Whitney but her mother (and father I guess) when she was a child singing in her house and at church. People in music always use that term wrong.

Very true. Every one wants credit for the success of someone.

MickyDolenz said:

daPrettyman said:

Very true. Every one wants credit for the success of someone.

Clive signed her, made her image, and picked songs for her to sing. So he does have something to do with it. Cissy didn't do that, she was mostly a session singer, so doesn't have that much pull. Talent in itself doesn't make anyone popular. Clive signed Milli Vanilli, and they didn't sing at all on their record, but he made them popular.

[Edited 2/13/12 11:54am]

That's right. That's what Clive did, and that's it (albeit very significant). He did not discover her. That would mean her voice was not known to anyone before he heard it, and that's not the case.

Timmy84 said:

WaterInYourBath said:

To me, no one "discovered" Whitney but her mother (and father I guess) when she was a child singing in her house and at church. People in music always use that term wrong.

That's how it goes. Look at the people claiming they "discovered" Michael or Billie Holiday or Aretha Franklin or even Tina Turner.

Yep. Those stories are inaccurate too.

WaterInYourBath said:

MickyDolenz said:

Clive signed her, made her image, and picked songs for her to sing. So he does have something to do with it. Cissy didn't do that, she was mostly a session singer, so doesn't have that much pull. Talent in itself doesn't make anyone popular. Clive signed Milli Vanilli, and they didn't sing at all on their record, but he made them popular.

[Edited 2/13/12 11:54am]

That's right. That's what Clive did, and that's it (albeit very significant). He did not discover her. That would mean her voice was not known to anyone before he heard it, and that's not the case.

I was responding to the comment about "success", not "discovering". Clive was responsible for her success. Cissy didn't push her daughter into a singing career, like the Osmond & Jackson families.

MickyDolenz said:

daPrettyman said:

Very true. Every one wants credit for the success of someone.

Clive signed her, made her image, and picked songs for her to sing. So he does have something to do with it. Cissy didn't do that, she was mostly a session singer, so doesn't have that much pull. Talent in itself doesn't make anyone popular. Clive signed Milli Vanilli, and they didn't sing at all on their record, but he made them popular.

[Edited 2/13/12 11:54am]

I'm really only talking about the "discovery" part.

nursev said:

While all this is interesting I think what is really interesting is the fact that both whitney and phyllis hyman were associated with clive and both women died fucked up deaths. It's sad that clive kept bringing whitney to fuctions where she would always end up having to sing. I think she was tired of having to face that kinda scrutiny and embarassment-her voice was gone. Clive Davis seems like he will bust hell wide open! He knows he should've cancelled that party, but instead renamed it a "tribute to whitney" damn shame. I don't know how true all the things in this link are, but it's truly interesting. May Phyllis and Whitney rest in peace http://www.dirtygurl.net/

There is a big expense and effort put into a function like this.

The show MUST go on.

Graycap23 said:

I'm really only talking about the "discovery" part.

People who help or recommend someone that becomes famous has always been said to discover them. They don't say it about a bar band. It's like Brian Epstein "discovered" the Beatles, when they had been performing for years before he even knew who they were. If not for Brian and his persistence, the Beatles might have been unknown today. Record labels had an A&R department for the sole purpose of "discovering" acts to sign.

[Edited 2/13/12 12:41pm]

Graycap23 said:

nursev said:

While all this is interesting I think what is really interesting is the fact that both whitney and phyllis hyman were associated with clive and both women died fucked up deaths. It's sad that clive kept bringing whitney to fuctions where she would always end up having to sing. I think she was tired of having to face that kinda scrutiny and embarassment-her voice was gone. Clive Davis seems like he will bust hell wide open! He knows he should've cancelled that party, but instead renamed it a "tribute to whitney" damn shame. I don't know how true all the things in this link are, but it's truly interesting. May Phyllis and Whitney rest in peace http://www.dirtygurl.net/

When I first heard of Whitney's death and that Clive's party was held at the same hotel, my immediate thoughts were on Clive's much more tumultuous working relationship with Phyllis. Phyllis (and this is not to discredit Whitney because she was so young) seemed to have more of a backbone and when she wouldn't do what Clive wanted her to do to "become pop", he dropped her like a bad habit (I can imagine he dropped Angela Bofill for the same reason).

Graycap23 said:

nursev said:

While all this is interesting I think what is really interesting is the fact that both whitney and phyllis hyman were associated with clive and both women died fucked up deaths. It's sad that clive kept bringing whitney to fuctions where she would always end up having to sing. I think she was tired of having to face that kinda scrutiny and embarassment-her voice was gone. Clive Davis seems like he will bust hell wide open! He knows he should've cancelled that party, but instead renamed it a "tribute to whitney" damn shame. I don't know how true all the things in this link are, but it's truly interesting. May Phyllis and Whitney rest in peace http://www.dirtygurl.net/

There is a big expense and effort put into a function like this.

The show MUST go on.

Yeah let the show go on while the body of a late superstar is rotting... I never liked Clive. Now I loathe him. Whitney was his slave girl. smh

Timmy84 said:

In before Illuminati.

I'M ABOUT TO TEACH CLASS HERE!! GERRY GRIFFITH IS THE "REAL" MAN BEHIND THE DISCOVERY!!

http://www.flickr.com/pho...926439002/

http://www.blackamericawe...onth/37071

Arista A&R director Gerry Griffith first heard a young Whitney Houston (above) sing at the Seventh Avenue South jazz club.

CLICK HERE to view 'Whitney Through the Years' photo gallery.

CLICK HERE to view Whitney Houston video tribute.

Whitney Houston's start as a music icon began at an early age, when she would accompany her mother, gospel legend Cissy Houston, at their church as a member of the New Hope Baptist Junior Choir in Newark, New Jersey. While in her mid-teens, the younger Houston was singing backup for artists like Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls and frequently appearing with her mother in concert and local New York clubs.

It was at the famed Seventh Avenue South jazz club, owned by the Brecker Brothers, that Arista A&R director Gerry Griffith first witnessed Houston's vocal talent in 1983.

"After her performance, I was completely blown away," recalled Griffith. "I hadn't seen an artist like her since Aretha. Her command of her voice. She was comfortable, at 16 years old, at being on the stage. She had a presence at that age, something that she has developed since the first time I saw her. I was just knocked out by this young, beautiful — she was actually a model at that time — and the command of her voice and the song and the lyric. It was just amazing."

Impressed, Griffith asked his boss, legendary Arista Records founder Clive Davis, to listen to the young singer. Initially, Griffith said, Davis was not affected.

"I had worked at Columbia Record for 10 years prior to this and had worked with so many great female vocalists, like Minnie Riperton, and so I had that knack for hearing the right thing. So I immediately the next day went to my boss, who happened to be Clive Davis, and said, 'I want to showcase a new artist for you.' He said, 'Who is it?' and I explained. He had no idea who she was at the time. Later, after we had rehearsed for about five days at the time, Clive came down. She performed, and he didn't quite get it. I had to put my salesman hat on, and we convinced him to take a shot. So he said, 'Let's do three songs with her like a demo,' and the next thing you know, we signed her."

Houston signed with Arista, and two years later, in 1985, her first album, "Whitney Houston," was released, producing a string of hits, including, "The Greatest Love of All." The album went on to sell over 22 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest-selling debut album by a solo artist in history. Eventually, Houston's discography would consist of seven studio albums, four compilations, and three soundtrack albums, as well as 53 singles.

"I just watched her grow," Griffith marveled. "I will never forget the time when I was watching the Super Bowl (in 1991), and she came on and sang ("The Star-Stangled Banner"). I have never in my life — and never in my life since — heard a performance that was so over the top and powerful and captivating. It still captivates me whenever I look at it."

"I had no doubt that she would be an artist for the world." he said. "I knew it. It was just one of those things. Because at the time, I was working with Aretha Franklin (and) Dionne Warwick and had worked with artists in the past like Minnie Riperton, so it was one of those things where I knew she was a star. Everything that she was successful with, I was very comfortable with it because that's who she was."

Over the span of nearly three decades, Houston became an international superstar, amassing global album sales .....

[Edited 2/13/12 12:54pm]

nursev said:

Timmy84 said:

When I first heard of Whitney's death and that Clive's party was held at the same hotel, my immediate thoughts were on Clive's much more tumultuous working relationship with Phyllis. Phyllis (and this is not to discredit Whitney because she was so young) seemed to have more of a backbone and when she wouldn't do what Clive wanted her to do to "become pop", he dropped her like a bad habit (I can imagine he dropped Angela Bofill for the same reason).

I totally agree-he seems to have a history of doing shit like this. No wonder Angela's career never was as big as it could've been. All I can think is that Alicia Keys needs to watch out!

I heard Clive was actually upset at Whitney after 1990 for "going R&B" on him. All these years before, Whitney had pretty much agreed to go fully pop (like Diana Ross but more so than her) in order for him to continue the success he had with Arista (I think Barry Manilow was the original franchise Arista artist and there were some successes but not as big) and soon she became the best-selling artist Arista ever had with one album, continued with the second album. But after I'm Your Baby Tonight, I did start to see a distance. Whitney and her crew slowly began calling all the shots afterwards. We don't know much about Whitney and Clive's actual relationship. For years, it's been glossed up that Clive was a father figure to Whitney and all of that. I doubt that was the case at all especially after 1990.

Timmy84 said:

Graycap23 said:

There is a big expense and effort put into a function like this.

The show MUST go on.

Yeah let the show go on while the body of a late superstar is rotting... I never liked Clive. Now I loathe him. Whitney was his slave girl. smh

She was NOT a part of the show was she?

Graycap23 said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah let the show go on while the body of a late superstar is rotting... I never liked Clive. Now I loathe him. Whitney was his slave girl. smh

She was NOT a part of the show was she?

She was supposed to be. Apparently, if you believe the rumors, Clive was paying her to be there.

Timmy84 said:

Graycap23 said:

She was NOT a part of the show was she?

She was supposed to be. Apparently, if you believe the rumors, Clive was paying her to be there.

A lot of people are paid 2 be there. That does not mean they are a part of the show.

Graycap23 said:

Timmy84 said:

She was supposed to be. Apparently, if you believe the rumors, Clive was paying her to be there.

A lot of people are paid 2 be there. That does not mean they are a part of the show.

She was going to perform there I heard. Part of a tribute to Diana.