moret: clive davis was a brilliant record man. he was mr. music.oing to be big. you look for a great interpreter of song, and it's not easy to come by. there's only one of a generation. you hear all of these stories about how he really, really groomed her and prepared her for the industry and worked really closely because he saw -- he saw the potential. clive davis signs her and then molds her into this, you know, person, and she did the rest with her talent. [ applause ] velez-mitchell: whitney made her television debut on "the merv griffin show." halperin: merv griffin was the most influential person in television back in the day, with his talk show. he was like the oprah winfrey, and when young whitney went on his show and sang the song "home," it just made waves. ♪ my world has gone and changed its face ♪ ♪ but i know ♪ ♪ i know where i'm going ♪ what i remember very vividly is the album cover where she has the white one-shoulder gown on and her hair is slicked back, and i remember that because she looked so glamorous. whitney houston's first a

as a tribute to whitney houston, clive davis produced a documentary titled "the soundtrack of our lives," and, finally, whitney's estate authorized a documentary about the legendary singer directed by oscar winner kevin macdonald. whitney, we will always love you. thanks for watching. good night. ♪ ♪ a lot of people misunderstand me. it's because they don't know me. i mean, i guess that's true. people believe a lot of crazy stories they read. -yeah. -some is true. some is not and -- reporter: does it hurt when you see those crazy stories? sometimes, but it's part of the work, you know? reporter: mm-hmm. you ever want to lash out in any type of way and say, "hey, that's not true"? yeah, a lot of times. ♪ ♪ welcome to "how it really happened." i'm hill harper. he's the definition of a music icon, a singer-songwriter whose catalog of hit songs defined a generation, his innovative dancing unmatched, his videos classics, his style singular, but michael jackson was also a father of three whose life was dogged by scandals, and then june 25, 2009, many thought the biggest news story of the day