Clive Davis, the legendary music executive who led Columbia, Arista, and J Records to the heights of pop music, passed away on Monday (the 22nd) at his home in Manhattan, New York, at the age of 94. With a career that spanned half a century, he almost witnessed—and rewrote—half of American pop music history.
Born in New York in 1932, Clive graduated from Harvard Law School and joined Columbia Records in 1960 as a legal adviser, becoming its president in 1967. Thanks to his sharp “good ear,” he led the once-conservative Columbia into the rock revolution, successively signing superstars such as Janis Joplin, Santana, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, and Pink Floyd, making the company a key player of the rock era.
In 1973, he was dismissed due to alleged embezzlement of funds, but made a comeback the very next year by founding Arista Records. There, he not only launched the careers of Barry Manilow and Patti Smith, but in 1983 signed a 19-year-old Whitney Houston, whom he molded into a global pop diva. Arista also boasted best-selling artists like Kenny G and Air Supply, and in 1999, Santana’s blockbuster comeback album “Supernatural” swept 9 Grammy Awards.
In 2000, Clive left Arista and founded J Records, once again successfully propelling Alicia Keys’ career. In his later years, he served as Chief Creative Officer at Sony Music, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. His passing marks the end of an era of behind-the-scenes masterminds of America’s pop music golden age.#
Source: Apple Online News