American music executive (born 1932)
Clive Davis
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Clive_Davis_speaks_during_the_Kennedy_Center_Honors_Dinner_at_the_State_Department_in_Washington%2C_D.C._on_December_2%2C_2023_-_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Clive_Davis_speaks_during_the_Kennedy_Center_Honors_Dinner_at_the_State_Department_in_Washington%2C_D.C._on_December_2%2C_2023_-_%28cropped%29.jpg) Davis in 2023
|
Born
| Clive Jay Davis
(
1932-04-04
)
April 4, 1932
(age 92)
|
---|
Education
| Erasmus Hall High School
, Brooklyn
|
---|
Alma mater
| New York University
Harvard Law School
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Record producer, record executive
|
---|
Years active
| 1965?present
|
---|
Spouses
|
Helen Cohen
(
m.
1956;
div.
1965)
Janet Adelberg
(
m.
1965;
div.
1985)
|
---|
Children
| 4
|
---|
Website
| clivedavis
.com
|
---|
Clive Jay Davis
(born April 4, 1932) is an American
record producer
,
A&R executive
,
record executive
, and lawyer. He has won five
Grammy Awards
and was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
, as a non-performer, in 2000.
[1]
From 1967 to 1973, Davis was the president of
Columbia Records
. He was founder and president of
Arista Records
from 1974 through 2000 until founding
J Records
. From 2002 until April 2008, he was chair and
CEO
of the
RCA Music Group
(which included
RCA Records
,
J Records
, and
Arista Records
), chair and CEO of J Records, and chair and CEO of
BMG
North America.
Davis is credited with hiring a young recording artist,
Tony Orlando
, for Columbia in 1967. He has signed many artists who achieved significant success, including
Sly and the Family Stone
,
Janis Joplin
,
Laura Nyro
,
Santana
,
Bruce Springsteen
,
Chicago
,
Billy Joel
,
Donovan
,
Bay City Rollers
,
Blood, Sweat & Tears
,
Loggins and Messina
,
Ace of Base
,
Aerosmith
,
Olivia Longott
,
Pink Floyd
and
Westlife
. He is also credited with bringing
Whitney Houston
and
Barry Manilow
to prominence.
[2]
As of 2018, Davis is the
chief creative officer
of
Sony Music Entertainment
.
[3]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Davis was born in
Brooklyn
, New York City, to
Jewish
parents,
[4]
Herman and Florence Davis. His father was an electrician and salesman.
[5]
Davis was raised in
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
[5]
and attended
Erasmus Hall High School
.
[6]
His mother died at age 47, and his father died the following year when Davis was still a teenager. He then moved in with his married sister, who lived in
Bayside, Queens
.
[5]
Davis attended
New York University College of Arts & Science
, where he graduated
[5]
magna cum laude
with a degree in
political science
and
Phi Beta Kappa
in 1953. He received a full scholarship to
Harvard Law School
, where he was a member of the
Board of Student Advisers
and graduated in 1956.
[8]
Career
[
edit
]
Columbia/CBS Records years
[
edit
]
Davis practiced law in a small firm in New York, then moved on to the firm of
Rosenman, Colin, Kaye, Petschek, and Freund
two years later, where partner Ralph Colin had
CBS
as a client. Davis was subsequently hired by a former colleague at the firm, Harvey Schein, to become assistant counsel of CBS subsidiary
Columbia Records
at age 28, and then general counsel the following year.
[9]
As part of a reorganization of Columbia Records Group, group president
Goddard Lieberson
appointed Davis as administrative vice president and general manager in 1965.
[10]
In 1966, CBS formed the Columbia-CBS Group which reorganized CBS's recorded music operations into
CBS Records
with Davis heading the new unit.
[11]
The next year, Davis was appointed president and became interested in the newest generation of
folk rock
and
rock and roll
. One of his earliest pop signings was the British folk-rock musician
Donovan
, who enjoyed a string of successful hit singles and albums released in the U.S. on the
Epic Records
label. That same year, Davis hired 23-year-old recording artist
Tony Orlando
as general manager of Columbia publishing subsidiary
April-Blackwood Music
; Orlando went on to become vice-president of Columbia/CBS Music and signed
Barry Manilow
in 1969.
[12]
In June 1967, Davis attended the
Monterey Pop Festival
after his friends and business associate,
Lou Adler
, convinced him.
He immediately signed
Janis Joplin
with
Big Brother and the Holding Company
, and Columbia went on to sign
Laura Nyro
,
The Electric Flag
,
Santana
,
The Chambers Brothers
,
Bruce Springsteen
,
Chicago
,
Billy Joel
;
Blood, Sweat & Tears
,
Loggins and Messina
,
Aerosmith
, and
Pink Floyd
(for rights to release their material outside of Europe).
[
citation needed
]
One of the most commercially successful recordings released during Davis' tenure at Columbia was
Lynn Anderson
's
Rose Garden
, in late 1970. It was Davis who insisted that "Rose Garden" be the country singer's next single release. The song crossed over and was a No. 1 hit in 16 countries worldwide. "Rose Garden" remained the biggest-selling album by a female country artist for 27 years.
[
citation needed
]
In 1972, Davis signed
Earth, Wind & Fire
to Columbia Records. One of his most recognized accomplishments was signing the
Boston
group
Aerosmith
to Columbia Records in the early 1970s at New York City's
Max's Kansas City
. The accomplishment was mentioned in the 1979 Aerosmith song "No Surprize", where
Steven Tyler
sings, "Old Clive Davis said he's surely gonna make us a star, I'm gonna make you a star, just the way you are."
[14]
Starting on December 30, 1978,
[15]
Bob Weir of the
Grateful Dead
occasionally changed the lyrics of the Dead standard "
Jack Straw
" in concert from "we used to play for silver, now we play for life", to "we used to play for acid, now we play for Clive."
[16]
One of the last bands Davis tried to sign to Columbia Records was the proto-punk band
Death
.
[17]
Arista years
[
edit
]
After Davis was fired from CBS Records in 1973 for allegedly using company funds to bankroll his son's
bar mitzvah
,
[18]
[11]
[19]
[20]
Columbia Pictures
then hired him to be a consultant for the company's
Bell Records
label. Davis took time out to write his memoirs and then founded
Arista Records
in 1974.
[21]
[22]
[23]
The company was named after New York City's secondary school honor society
of that name
, of which Davis was a member.
[24]
At Arista, Davis signed
Barry Manilow
, followed by
Aretha Franklin
,
Dionne Warwick
,
Patti Smith
,
Westlife
,
Al Jourgensen
,
The Outlaws
,
Eric Carmen
, the
Bay City Rollers
,
Expose
,
Taylor Dayne
,
Ace of Base
,
Air Supply
,
Ray Parker Jr.
,
Raydio
, and
Alicia Keys
, and he brought
Carly Simon
,
Melissa Manchester
,
Grateful Dead
,
The Kinks
,
Jermaine Stewart
,
Gil Scott-Heron
(on whose episode of
TV One
's
Unsung
Davis was interviewed) and
Lou Reed
to the label.
[
citation needed
]
He co-founded Arista Nashville in 1989 with
Tim DuBois
, which became the home to
Alan Jackson
,
Brooks & Dunn
,
Pam Tillis
, and
Brad Paisley
.
[25]
Davis founded
LaFace Records
with
L.A. Reid
and
Babyface
.
[
citation needed
]
LaFace subsequently became the home of
TLC
,
Usher
,
Outkast
,
Pink
and
Toni Braxton
.
[
citation needed
]
He founded Bad Boy Records with
Sean "Puffy" Combs
and it became the home of
The Notorious B.I.G.
,
Craig Mack
, Combs,
Mase
,
112
, and
Faith Evans
, although Davis would later admit that he never quite understood
rap music
.
[
citation needed
]
In 1998, Davis signed
LFO
from European Success. LFO charted #3 with "
Summer Girls
" in 1999, and went on to multiplatinum success.
[
citation needed
]
During the Arista years, he set up his own production company Clive Davis Entertainment, for a two-year first-look agreement with movie studio
Tri-Star Pictures
in 1987.
[26]
Davis was made aware of
Cissy Houston
's daughter
Whitney Houston
after he saw the Houstons perform at a New York City nightclub. Impressed with what he heard, Davis signed her to Arista. Houston became one of the biggest selling artists in music history under the guidance of Davis at Arista.
[27]
J Records, RCA, Sony years
[
edit
]
Davis left Arista in 2000 and started
J Records
, an independent label with financial backing from Arista parent
Bertelsmann Music Group
, named with the middle initial of Davis and his four children.
[28]
BMG would buy a majority stake in J Records in 2002, and Davis would become president and CEO of the larger
RCA Music Group
.
Davis' continued success in breaking new artists was recognised by the music industry A&R site
HitQuarters
when the executive was named "world's No.1 A&R of 2001" based on worldwide chart data for that year.
[29]
In 2004, BMG merged with
Sony Music Entertainment
to form
Sony BMG
. With the assets of the former CBS Records (renamed Sony Music Entertainment in 1991) now under Sony's ownership, the joint venture would mean a return of sorts for Davis to his former employer. Davis remained with RCA Label Group until 2008, when he was named chief creative officer for Sony BMG.
Davis was elevated to Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment,
[30]
a title he currently holds, as part of a corporate restructuring when Sony BMG became Sony Music Entertainment in late 2008 when BMG sold its shares to Sony.
[3]
Arista Records
and J Records, which were both founded by Davis, were dissolved in October 2011 through the restructuring of
RCA Records
. All artists under those labels were moved to RCA Records.
[31]
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
As a producer, Davis has won four
Grammy Awards
.
[32]
Davis also received the
Grammy Trustees Award
in 2000
[33]
and the President's Merit Award at the
2009 Grammys
.
[34]
In 2011, the 200-seat theater at the
Grammy Museum
was named the "Clive Davis Theater".
[35]
In 2000, Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the
non-performers category
.
[36]
The same year, he received the Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
.
[37]
In 2015, he was recognized by Equality Forum as one of the 31 Icons of the
LGBT History Month
.
[38]
Davis was a 2018 Honoree at
The New Jewish Home
's Eight Over Eighty Gala.
Charity and other
[
edit
]
An alumnus of New York University, Davis is a significant benefactor to it. The recorded music division of its
Tisch School of the Arts
, is named after him: the
Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music
.
Davis was portrayed by
Oscar
nominated actor,
Stanley Tucci
, in
Sony Pictures
's
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody
? a biopic about the life and music of Houston. Davis also served as a producer on the film.
[39]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Davis has been married and divorced twice. He was married to Helen Cohen from 1956 to 1965 and to Janet Adelberg from 1965 to 1985. He has four children: Fred (born 1960), a prominent media investment banker,
[40]
Lauren (born 1962), an entertainment attorney and arts professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Mitchell (born 1970), and
Doug Davis
(born 1974), a music executive and Grammy award-winning record producer.
[41]
Davis has eight grandchildren.
[42]
[43]
In 2013, Davis publicly came out as
bisexual
in his autobiography
The Soundtrack of My Life
.
[44]
On the daytime talk show
Katie
, he told host
Katie Couric
that he hoped his coming out would lead to "greater understanding" of bisexuality.
[45]
The autobiography was the basis for the two-hour documentary
Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives
.
Writings
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Clive Davis | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame"
.
www.rockhall.com
. Retrieved
April 19,
2021
.
- ^
"Q&A: Tony Orlando talks the Beatles, Elvis, and Meghan Trainor"
.
Vancouver Sun
. April 6, 2016
. Retrieved
March 21,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Lauria, Peter (October 10, 2008).
"Sony Music turns to Davis for Hit$"
.
New York Post
. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2009
. Retrieved
December 4,
2009
.
- ^
Gottlieb, Robert (June 20, 2013).
"At the Top of Pop"
.
The New York Times Book Review
. Retrieved
August 18,
2013
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Hollander, Jason (Fall 2011).
"The Man With the Platinum Ears"
(PDF)
.
NYU Alumni Magazine
. pp. 33?36.
- ^
"Class of 1960 ? and from other classes ..."
,
Erasmus Hall High School
- ^
"Clive Davis: Pop music's elder statesman"
.
CBS News
. June 4, 2012
. Retrieved
January 5,
2023
.
- ^
Dannen, Frederic (1990).
Hit Men
.
Times Books
. pp. 66-67;
ISBN
0-8129-1658-1
- ^
"Columbia Reshuffles Brass; Gallagher, Davis Promoted"
.
Billboard
. August 7, 1965. p. 3
. Retrieved
January 2,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
"Lieberson to Helm Group; Other Changes Made in the CBS Guard"
.
Billboard
. June 18, 1966. p. 10
. Retrieved
January 2,
2024
.
- ^
Knopper, Steve (July 23, 2015).
"Tony Orlando still hasn't needed that backup career option, despite his mother's advice"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
March 21,
2018
.
- ^
"Aerosmith Biography: From Clive Davis to Guitar Hero: Aerosmith"
.
Max's Kansas City
. September 26, 2008. Archived from
the original
on September 19, 2008
. Retrieved
September 26,
2008
.
- ^
"Grateful Dead Live at Pauley Pavilion, UCLA on 1978-12-30; Reviews: reviewers Augy and DeadRed1971"
. December 30, 1978
. Retrieved
July 28,
2010
– via
Internet Archive
.
[
better source needed
]
- ^
"Jack Straw"
. March 20, 2007
. Retrieved
September 25,
2013
.
- ^
Bliss, Abi (February 9, 2009).
"Death: The Detroit band that never sold out"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
November 21,
2017
.
- ^
"Clive Davis: Information from"
. Answers.com
. Retrieved
July 28,
2010
.
- ^
"Let CBS Tell Its Own Ugly Story"
.
Record-Journal
. Meriden, Connecticut.
The New York Times
News Service. June 22, 1973
. Retrieved
January 2,
2024
– via
Google News
.
Beginning what may be the second most massive cover-up of the past months, CBS fired its records division president, Clive Davis ...
- ^
Fong-Torres, Ben (July 5, 1973).
"Clive Davis Ousted from Columbia; Payola Coverup Charged"
.
Rolling Stone
.
- ^
Stokes, Geoffrey (April 24, 1977).
"Clive's Comeback"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
Anson, Robert Sam (February 2, 2000).
"Clive Davis Fights Back"
.
Vanity Fair
.
- ^
"Clive Davis' impact on music"
.
timesbulletin.com
.
- ^
Doreen Carvajal (November 27, 1999).
"Creative Turmoil At Arista; Founder and Chief Resists a Successor"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
January 1,
2024
.
- ^
Morris, Edward (May 20, 1989).
"Arista's New Country Division Is Ready To Roll"
(PDF)
.
Billboard
. p. 35.
- ^
"Record Exec Davis Signs Development Pact With Tri-Star".
Variety
. June 24, 1987. pp. 4, 19.
- ^
"Recording Industry Association of America"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Archived from
the original
on December 8, 2006
. Retrieved
November 1,
2013
.
- ^
Segal, David (March 16, 2001).
"The Man with the Golden Ear"
.
The Washington Post
.
- ^
"Clive Davis Wins World Top 100 A&R of 2001"
.
HitQuarters
. January 5, 2002
. Retrieved
February 22,
2012
.
- ^
Moody, Nekesa Mumbi (April 18, 2008).
"Clive Davis replaced by Barry Weiss as BMG head"
.
USA Today
. Retrieved
December 2,
2009
.
- ^
"RCA's Peter Edge, Tom Corson on the Shuttering of Jive, J and Arista"
.
Billboard
. October 7, 2011
. Retrieved
November 1,
2013
.
- ^
LeDonne, Rob (August 18, 2022).
"Clive Davis"
.
grammy.com
. Retrieved
March 10,
2023
.
- ^
Basham, David (December 12, 2000).
"Beach Boys, Bennett, Who To Win Lifetime Achievement Grammys"
.
MTV
.
- ^
Gundersen, Edna (February 4, 2009).
"The official label on Clive Davis' famed gala this year: Grammy"
.
USA Today
.
- ^
Chmielewski, Dawn C. (February 13, 2013).
"CBS stokes Grammy Awards excitement with online extras"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Archived from
the original
on March 14, 2021
. Retrieved
April 21,
2021
.
- ^
Morgan, Laura (March 9, 2000).
"Hall Monitor"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Archived from
the original
on July 30, 2013
. Retrieved
February 18,
2020
.
- ^
"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement"
.
American Academy of Achievement
.
- ^
Malcolm Lazin (August 20, 2015).
"Op-ed: Here Are the 31 Icons of 2015's Gay History Month"
. Advocate.com
. Retrieved
August 21,
2015
.
- ^
Kroll, Justin (September 24, 2021).
"Stanley Tucci To Play Clive Davis in Whitney Houston Biopic 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody'
"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
November 17,
2021
.
- ^
Goodman, Fred (April 11, 2019).
"Meet Fred Davis, One of the Industry's Biggest Dealmakers (And, Yes, Clive's Son)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
January 5,
2023
.
- ^
Newman, Melinda (August 29, 2019).
"Harry Belafonte, Rosanne Cash, Karrin Allyson Celebrate 'Centennial Tribute to Women's Suffrage': Exclusive"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
January 5,
2023
.
- ^
"Clive Davis' Grandkids Unaware About His Bisexuality"
.
World Entertainment News Network
. February 19, 2013
. Retrieved
January 2,
2024
– via
Contactmusic.com
.
- ^
Strauss, Alix
(October 4, 2019).
"On Again, Off Again, and With a Nudge, Now On Forever"
.
The New York Times
.
- ^
"Clive Davis Gets Candid About Bisexuality In 'Soundtrack Of My Life' Memoir"
.
MTV
. Retrieved
June 4,
2024
.
- ^
"Clive Davis Comes Out of the Closet on
Katie
"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. February 18, 2013
. Retrieved
January 5,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
Business positions
|
Preceded by
|
President of
CBS Records
1967?1973
|
Succeeded by
Goddard Lieberson
|
Preceded by
first
|
Founder & President of
Arista Records
1974?2000
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
first
|
Founder & Chief Executive Officer of
J Records
2000 to April 2004
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
first
|
Chief Executive Officer of
RCA Music Group
2002 to April 2008
|
Succeeded by
|
Preceded by
first
|
Chief Creative Officer of
Sony Music
Entertainment
April 2008?present
|
Succeeded by
incumbent
|
|
---|
Performers
| |
---|
Early influences
| |
---|
Non-performers
(Ahmet Ertegun Award)
| |
---|
Sidemen
| |
---|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Artists
| |
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People
| |
---|