He heard Whitney Houston at 16, singing beside her mother. Gerry Griffith, the man who got her signed, has died at 87

The most famous signing in Clive Davis’s career began with a talent scout who would not let it go.

Gerry Griffith, the Arista Records executive who discovered Whitney Houston, has died in Brooklyn, New York, at the age of 87. He died on 5 November after a five-year battle with dementia, and his death was made public this week. A memorial service will be held at a later date.

How did he find her?

In 1979 Griffith heard a 16-year-old Whitney Houston singing alongside her mother, Cissy Houston, a respected gospel and session singer. He was struck again when he saw her perform in 1983. By then there was talk that another label was close to signing her, so Griffith pushed his boss, Arista founder Clive Davis, to see her for himself at a showcase.

Davis signed Houston to Arista that year. Her debut album followed in 1985, and over the next decade she became one of the best-selling artists in history. Griffith later said it was her “fearless confidence and stage presence” at such a young age that set her apart.

What else did he shape?

Plenty that Australian radio still plays. As Arista’s vice president of A&R, the department that finds artists and matches them with songs, Griffith worked with Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Phyllis Hyman and Minnie Riperton. He worked with Carlos Santana on Supernatural, the 1999 album that won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and contributed to the soundtracks for Pretty Woman and The Bodyguard. The Bodyguard’s soundtrack, led by Houston’s I Will Always Love You, remains one of the biggest-selling albums of all time.

He later became a senior A&R executive at EMI’s Manhattan Records, where he worked with Richard Marx.

Brenda Andrews, a former senior vice president at Rondor Music International, credits Griffith with turning two Rondor songs into early Houston hits: I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) and How Will I Know. “He knew hit songs!” she said, adding that he never got the recognition he deserved for finding Houston.

Ray Harris, co-founder of the Living Legends Foundation, which honours Black music industry executives, called him “a truly great record executive and a truly nice guy”.

Why does he matter now?

Record labels rarely credit the people who first spot an artist; the executive who signs them usually gets the story. Griffith’s death is a reminder of how close Houston came to another label, and of the scouts behind the stars. Houston died in 2012, aged 48.

Griffith, a Chicago native and US Army veteran, is survived by two daughters and two sons.