Clive Davis, the titanic music mogul who helped launch Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Whitney Houston and many other artists to stardom, has died at 94. His family confirmed his death to The New York Times.
Born in Brooklyn on April 4, 1932, Davis practiced law before moving into music. He was hired as assistant legal counsel of Columbia Records at 28, later becoming vice president and general manager and, in 1966, head of the newly launched CBS Records.
Davis enjoyed early success by signing Scottish folk-rock hitmaker Donovan, who became a pillar of the late-‘60s flower power era. In 1967, Davis attended the Monterey Pop Festival, a pivotal event in both rock history and his own professional tenure. He promptly signed Joplin and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, later citing the festival as the “aha” moment that affirmed his career path.
“Monterey will always be the epiphany moment for me because although I was head of the company, I had no idea that I had ears, whether it be for artist discovery or songs — it never occurred to me that I might have it,” David told the Talks in 2016. “And here I was in the midst of a social, musical and cultural revolution and you’re just dazzled by it. I was just blown away by this band.”
Davis’ other major CBS signings included Santana, Springsteen, Chicago, Billy Joel; Blood, Sweat & Tears and Aerosmith. (The Boston rockers memorialized Davis in their 1979 song “No Surprise” with the lyrics: “And then old Clive Davis said he’s surely gonna make us a star.”)
After being fired from CBS in 1973, Davis founded Arista Records, where he continued to enjoy massive success. His signings included Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Patti Smith and, perhaps most famously, Whitney Houston.
“With Whitney, I was there at her discovery and she just had a natural gift,” Davis said. “When I auditioned her in the early 1980s, I heard her sing “Greatest Love of All” for the first time… She found more meaning in that song than I ever dreamt was there. So, is vulnerability a part of Whitney’s arsenal? Yes. But it’s so much more than any one quality. It’s a combination of all: the range of voice, the power of voice, the dynamic of the voice… To emphasize only vulnerability is not to do justice to the elements of what makes an artist great or original.”
Davis continued to pursue other ventures, co-founding LaFace Records with L.A. Reid and Babyface, helping launch the careers of TLC, Usher, Outkast and more. He and Sean “Puffy” Combs founded Bad Boy Records, which became the home of the Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans and more.
In the 2000s, Davis left Arista and launched the independent label J Records, named after his middle initial (Jay). He later enjoyed stints as the president and CEO of RCA Music Group and chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment.
Davis won five Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Album and Album of the Year for Santana’s Supernatural, as well as Album of the Year for Houston’s The Bodyguard soundtrack. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award for lifetime achievement.
Throughout his six-decade career, Davis maintained his passion for discovery and a steadfast belief in the power of music.
“Music is a necessary ingredient in people’s lives,” he said. “No matter what revolution is occurring in technology, it has to understand that music will not be obsoleted. People need music, and they’ve needed it for many years in many different ways; whether you go back to church traditions or other traditions in life, whether it’s pop or soul or rock or jazz… It’s a very, very natural basic ingredient that’s essential to the full enjoyment of life.”
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