Clive Davis, the music mogul who oversaw the monumental careers of Whitney Houston, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Kelly Clarkson, has died. He was 94 years old.
Davis passed away peacefully at his home in Manhattan from age-related illnesses, his family confirmed in a statement to Page Six.
He was surrounded by family and loved ones, the statement said.
“To the world, our father was an iconic musical legend whose vision, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives,” Davis’ family told Us. “He discovered, mentored and championed some of the greatest artists in the history of modern music, leaving an indelible mark on the culture for generations.
“To our family, Clive was a father and grandfather, a steady, central presence in our lives and a source of wisdom, strength, encouragement and unconditional love,” the statement continued. “No matter how extraordinary his professional accomplishments, he never lost sight of what was most important: the people he loved.”
The statement also said the father of four had been his “greatest pride and deepest joy” through “every chapter of his remarkable life.”
“Today we celebrate not only a great man who influenced and changed music forever, but also a man who led our family with grace, generosity and kindness,” the family said. “We will miss him very much and will always cherish him and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.”
Bruce Springsteen, who signed Davis when he was president of Columbia Records, called Davis “a great record man and a great friend” in a statement to Page Six.
“When I was 22, Columbia Records signed me and changed my life,” said the 76-year-old musician. “He treated me with the same respect and kindness as a 22-year-old young man, just as he did after I achieved success. He is an amazing person. We gave him all of our prayers and love.”
Davis sparked concerns when he was hospitalized in New York City on May 29, with a source telling TMZ that Davis was “suffering from an upper respiratory infection.”
Officials said he was “admitted to the hospital out of an abundance of caution” and is expected to be released within 24 hours.
Just 10 days before his hospitalization, the iconic producer was spotted attending the Gordon Parks Foundation Awards Dinner and Auction in New York City.
The Arista Records founder was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in February 2021, and a rep revealed that he is “being treated with antibiotics and steroids” and is “expected to recover within six to eight weeks.”
Davis entered the industry in the early 1960s and established himself as a music mogul, being appointed president of Columbia Records in 1967 at the age of 35.
After visiting that year’s Monterey Pop Festival, Davis signed Janis Joplin and her band Big Brother and the Holding Company to Columbia. This is his first contract with the iconic label.
He then became founder and president of Arista Records in 1974, a position he held until 2000 when he founded J Records.
Under the newly formed Arista label, he self-selected his 1974 song “Mandy” and pitched it to Barry Manilow, which became the label’s first hit record.
The hundreds of chart-topping singles this music legend has overseen over the decades include Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Piano Man,” Billy Joel’s “Smooth,” Alicia Keys’ “Fallin'” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You Been Gone.”
Davis served as chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment from late 2008 until his death.
He was known for his iconic pre-Grammy parties, which began in 1975 and were only interrupted by Davis being diagnosed with Bell’s palsy in 2021.
The mogul was forced to postpone the second half of his traditional party, but at the time his representative reassured fans that the party would go on.
“He is in good spirits and is looking forward to performing later at the pre-Grammy Gala in May,” a rep said.
In 2014, the Grammy Awards rated the event as “the second most coveted ticket in town.” “Davis is nothing short of a living legend in the music industry, and his parties are legendary as some of the most star-studded and exciting VIP parties,” the release reads.
“Over the years, a variety of A-list talent has performed at these events, turning the celebrations into the ultimate intimate ‘insider’ concert.”
These “insiders” were none other than the greatest names in music. Repeat participants include John Legend, Joni Mitchell, Manilow, Jennifer Hudson, Dave Grohl, and more.
Other A-listers over the years have included Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, and Houston.
Davis once spoke in an interview about how pre-Grammy parties played a substantial role in launching the careers of many artists.
“All an artist can really do is create an opportunity to be seen by tastemakers,” he said. “But if they don’t have the goods to back it up, it becomes just another social function. The value of music should not be diminished.”
Exclusive Bash has also been found in the middle of several incidents, including one in 2012 that was the scene of tragedy.
On February 11, Houston, then a Grammy Award-winning pop and R&B titan, was found dead in his hotel room at the Beverly Hilton, hours before a gala was to be held at the same location.
Davis chose to move forward with the event, turning it into a somber tribute to the pop diva he met as a teenager.
“Simply put, Whitney would have wanted her to continue playing music, and her family wanted her to continue playing music,” Davis said at the event, according to The Hollywood Reporter, before calling for a moment of silence.
Tony Bennett, Alicia Keys and others paid tribute to the late singer on stage hours after his death.
Davis exclusively told Page Six in 2022 that Houston had been working on sobriety before his death.
“She showed me what she’s been doing in rehab,” he told us. “How she stopped smoking, how she got the nicotine out of her throat. And she wanted to go into the studio. . . . 48 hours before she died, I had no idea that she would die and that her life would end so horribly and prematurely.”
Mr Davis added: “During that time she was making a valiant effort to get off drugs and into rehabilitation.”
Houston once addressed critics’ claims that Davis was “pulling the strings” behind the scenes of her career.
“No one forces me to do anything I don’t want to do,” she told Rolling Stone. “Clive and I work very well. We get annoyed with each other at times, but we’ve been together for 10 years. Anyone can get on someone’s nerves for that long.”
As for the personal bond with the mogul that led her to global superstardom, Houston once said, “Clive is always with me. He’s my guide, my best friend, and he knows love songs so well.”
Other stars have similarly praised him, with Carly Simon once saying, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “He’s predictable, but he’s forward-thinking. His stamina is outstanding. He’s very loving and has a big heart.”
Davis’s excellent eye for talent was succinctly explained by Davis: “I look for stars. I look for compositions[of artists]that can have long careers and become headliners.”
He also spoke about his personal relationships with the stars he has coached, telling the Guardian in 2014:
Still, he once revealed that his incredible influence on the industry (he won five Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 2000) was largely by chance.
“I never thought I would fall in love with music,” he told the Guardian. “I wasn’t prepared for a music career, but here I was by pure luck and realized that I not only had a talent and an ear, but a passion for music, which continues to this day.”
Regarding his ability to identify talent, Davis told Playboy magazine in 2013, “I didn’t necessarily have an ear, but I think I developed an ear. I don’t know the answer to that, whether it came naturally or not. But when you look at Joplin or Springsteen, you know. And then the stats start to add up and you start to feel confident. You think, ‘Oh my god, I said yes to Santana.'”
Davis also influenced Barbra Streisand’s career. Although he never produced any of her songs, he worked with her at Columbia Records and helped her pivot from medleys to her 1971 contemporary pop/rock album, Stony End.
At a gala honoring Streisand in 2010, Davis introduced her as “the soundtrack to the movie of our lives.”
The music mogul was married and divorced twice, to Helen Cohen from 1956 to 1965 and to Janet Adelberg from 1965 to 1985.
He welcomed son Fred in 1960, daughter Lauren in 1962, son Mitchell in 1970, and son Doug (himself a Grammy Award-winning record producer) in 1972.
Davis publicly came out as bisexual in 2013, at the age of 80, in her memoir, The Soundtrack of My Life. At the time, he wrote that he had been in a “strongly monogamous relationship” with a man for the past seven years.
A record producer once said on Talk, “Music is a necessary element in people’s lives.”
“We need to understand that no matter what revolutions happen in technology, music will never become obsolete,” he said.
“People need music, and have needed music in many different ways over the years. Whether it goes back to church traditions or other traditions in life, whether it’s pop or soul or rock or jazz…Music is a very, very natural, fundamental element that is essential to enjoying life to the fullest.”
