Clive Davis, one of the most influential figures in American music and the executive behind the rise of artists including Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin, Carlos Santana and Janis Joplin, died Monday at his home in New York. He was 94.
Davis spent seven decades in the industry and worked across many genres. After becoming president of Columbia Records in 1967 at age 35, he helped drive major commercial successes for artists such as Janis Joplin, Barry Manilow, the Grateful Dead, The Notorious B.I.G., Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson. He remained active until the end, including as host of his annual pre-Grammy party, which sometimes drew as much attention as the awards show itself.
Born in Brooklyn on April 4, 1932, to a Jewish family, Davis lost both parents before age 19. He studied at New York University and Harvard Law School on scholarships, worked as a lawyer, then moved into CBS, where he rose quickly to become chief legal officer of the music division and later Columbia Records president. A turning point came at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, where he saw Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and later signed Joplin and her band. He then built Columbia into a major label and signed Santana, Springsteen, Billy Joel, Chicago, Pink Floyd, Neil Diamond and Earth, Wind & Fire.
His career also included a major setback in 1973, when he was fired after being linked to a document-falsification scandal; he was later cleared of most accusations, but admitted one tax offense and paid a $10,000 fine. He later renamed Columbia Pictures' music arm Arista, then founded J Records in 2000 and later led RCA Music Group. He published his memoir, The Soundtrack of My Life, in 2013, revealing publicly that he was bisexual. Aretha Franklin called him “the greatest record man of all time,” and Davis said in 2017, “I still love it today. I am immersed in it. I think music is the universal language.”
