Photographer Claims Record Executive Regretted Not Signing Whitney Houston

A documentary exploring the musical journey of the late Whitney Houston reveals the record label executive who missed their chance to sign the singer. The project, Whitney Houston in Focus is based on Bette Marshall’s photography book about Houston’s life before her career propelled her to superstardom with Clive Davis.

According to Page Six, the film claims that Houston once auditioned for CBS Records President Al Teller, who passed on signing her to the label. Teller, who, the film notes once worked as Davis’s assistant, reportedly said that the vocalist needed to mature. It is also revealed that Bruce Lundvall, president of Elektra Records at the time, offered the legendary pop star a deal that Houston declined.

“That was probably the line in his life he most regretted,” Marshall detailed in the film. “To have been there at the beginning was a gift. For that experience to have been captured so beautifully in this film is yet another gift.”

Whitney In Focus, is written and directed by Benjamin Alfonsi and produced with Broadway star Audra McDonald. The film premiered at the Doc NYC Festival in 2023 and is available to stream on STARZ. It features never-before-seen photos of a young Whitney Houston that Marshall shot from 1982 until 1986.

“It’s humbling to know that millions of viewers will get to see this side of Whitney. I think they’ll be surprised, and hopefully touched,” Alfonsi said in a statement, per Page Six.

Take a look at Whitney In Focus below.