Music executive Clive Davis dies at 94
Davis built and revived careers across pop, rock and R&B, including Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Alicia Keys and Carlos Santana.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Clive Davis, the music executive whose signings and career revivals shaped decades of pop, rock and R&B, has died at 94, his family said. His death matters across the record business because Davis remained influential through multiple label eras, from Columbia and Arista to J Records and Sony BMG.
Davis died in his Manhattan apartment, publicist Aliza Rabinoff told The Associated Press. AP reported that Davis had been hospitalized earlier this year for an upper respiratory issue and was released after a few days.
In a family statement shared by Rabinoff, Davis’ relatives described him as a music figure whose judgment and drive helped define modern popular music. The family also said he took his greatest pride in family and would be remembered by them for “grace, generosity, and kindness.”
A career built on finding stars
Davis was born April 4, 1932, according to AP. He joined Columbia Records as a lawyer in 1960 and became the label’s president in 1967, beginning a run that made him one of the industry’s best-known executives.
AP reported that Davis signed or backed artists including Janis Joplin, Billy Joel, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Patti Smith, Lou Reed and the Grateful Dead. In a 1999 interview with AP, Davis pointed to that group of signings as evidence of the long list of major acts he had helped bring to wider audiences.
His most famous discovery was Whitney Houston. AP reported that Davis signed Houston to Arista while she was still a teenager and helped make her one of the biggest-selling pop artists of her era, with multiple No. 1 hits.
Houston’s later struggles with drug abuse damaged her career, AP reported. She died in 2012 in a Los Angeles hotel room, hours before she was expected at Davis’ annual pre-Grammy gala.
In his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” Davis wrote that he had believed Houston was improving before her death. “Maybe I should have been more skeptical,” he wrote, adding that he had felt hopeful.
Reviving veteran careers
Davis also became known for extending the commercial lives of established artists, AP reported. Aretha Franklin had later success at Arista after building her legend at Atlantic, and Luther Vandross recorded his final albums for Davis’ J Records.
AP reported that Davis helped create Santana’s 1999 album “Supernatural,” pairing Carlos Santana with contemporary performers. The album won eight Grammys, tying a record, and brought Santana a new level of commercial success decades into his career.
Davis also pushed Rod Stewart toward standards from “The Great American Songbook,” AP reported. The 2003 album sold millions and led to four releases in the series.
Davis’ career included setbacks. AP reported that Columbia fired him in 1973 after accusing him of financial mismanagement; Davis later said he was cleared. He was later indicted on tax evasion charges, pleaded guilty to one count and paid a $10,000 fine, according to AP.
After leaving Columbia, Davis founded Arista, which became home to acts including Brooks & Dunn, TLC, Babyface, Houston and Franklin, AP reported. Arista also released music by Milli Vanilli, whose Grammy-winning debut became an industry scandal after it was revealed the duo had not sung on its records.
BMG pushed Davis out of Arista in 2000, AP reported, but helped him start J Records. The label’s early roster included Vandross and Alicia Keys, whose albums sold millions and won several Grammys.
AP reported that Sony BMG replaced Davis as chairman and chief executive of the BMG label group in 2008 and gave him the title of chief creative officer. Davis had four children and wrote in his memoir that he was bisexual and had been living with a man in later years.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.