The Lasting Power of Clive Davis

Eric Olson once said, “Music is what life sounds like,” an incredibly apt observation on his part. One man has done more to set the soundtrack of the typical American life over the course of the past four decades than any other: Clive Davis. The unmatched—and unstoppable—mogul is the man behind the music, the one with the golden ears. Since the late 1960s, he has been hand-selecting the greatest musical stars of this era from amidst the millions of aspiring wannabes. He personally launched the careers of megawatt stars like Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Carlos Santana, Chicago, Barry Manilow, and Patti Smith, among others. For an artist, being chosen by Clive Davis all but ensures greatness and industry domination, and the albums and singles that result from his choices become the anthems of more than one generation. From his first encounter with Janis Joplin at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 straight through to Leona Lewis’ debut album in 2008 and Whitney Houston’s comeback album in 2009, Davis has always had a knack for backing winners.

One has to wonder what the musical landscape of this country would sound like if it weren’t for Davis. This bleak hypothetical was almost a reality. Growing up in humble conditions in Brooklyn, Davis never dreamed of a career in music, however, he did spend a lot of time listening to the pop icons of his day, like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. “That’s what I grew up with,” he explains, “and that’s the music I heard, never remotely thinking that it would become my passion and my life’s calling.” He attended Harvard Law School on a scholarship and was practicing in New York City when fate intervened. His firm repped CBS, and Davis was assigned as general counsel for CBS subsidiary Columbia Records. The rest, as they say, is history.

He first got a taste of the music industry when he helped renegotiate a young Bob Dylan’s contract. “You know, that got a lot of press at the time,” he recalls. “I was a very young lawyer in my late 20s, just advising John Hammond, a major figure in music who had signed Bob Dylan. My best recollection, because we are going back many years, is that Dylan was getting some advice that upon reaching the age of 21 he could disaffirm his contract. So the only thing I did was give advice to John Hammond. ‘You signed this artist, you have faith in this artist.’ John Hammond was the man who signed Billie Holiday. John Hammond was the man that had signed Aretha Franklin. John Hammond was, subsequently years later, the one who brought Bruce Springsteen for both of us to sign together. So he had a rapport with Dylan. I said, ‘Use your common sense. Speak with him, see what’s on his mind, and allay any questions that he has. If that rapport leads to a mutual trust, just have him come into the office and affirm the contract.’ And that’s what happened.”

While this anecdote certainly showcases Davis’ business acumen, it doesn’t speak to his inherent gift of musical appreciation that has long dictated the popular music platform. He hears what others don’t. While most can appreciate a good tune once it hits the airwaves, being able to recognize potential in an unpolished act is a gift few have, though it took Davis awhile to recognize and utilize this invaluable tool. “Because I was made chief lawyer for Columbia five years out of law school, I never knew what they meant when they said, ‘You have ears,’” he says.

It wasn’t until the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 that his true talent began to emerge and subsequently change the face of popular music. Up until that point, Columbia Records had avoided signing rock bands but Davis was instrumental in ushering in a new era. “My life-changing moment came when I went to the festival thinking I was just going to enjoy Simon & Garfunkel and the Mamas & the Papas. I didn’t know that they were going to have afternoons showcasing new talent.”

The scene in California was much different than what the native New Yorker was encountering back home, and the hippie movement compelled him. “I was struck by the culture, struck by the enormity of the change in my coming from urban New York to this new environment, with the flowing dresses and the utopian, wonderful Haight-Ashbury lifestyle. That was alien to my Brooklyn background, not unacceptable or hostile, just outside of the realm of my experience. I went to the grounds and I saw these new artists come on stage and saw one act called Big Brother & the Holding Company. An unbilled Janis Joplin came on stage, and that was my life-changing moment, when I saw her talent, her hypnotic, magnetic, compelling, electrifying, charismatic, soulful voice. Probably the greatest white soul voice of all time.”

That voice was Davis’ call to action. “I knew that I couldn’t sit on the sidelines. I had to move; I felt it in my being.” He signed Joplin and Big Brother, buying their just-signed contract with a small company called Mainstream Records for $200,000. Out of Monterey, he also signed a new group The Electric Flag with Mike Bloomfield on guitar and Buddy Miles on drums. Six weeks later, he was asked to audition a group that was just starting out, led by a man named Al Kooper. His group was called Blood, Sweat & Tears. Davis decided he would quietly gild the music recording process for these artists. “I remember preparing the marketing people of Columbia for what I felt to be a revolution, the electrification of the guitar, a different approach towards contemporary music. And when all three came home—not just one of the three or two of the three, but when all three made their impact on music—it gave me the confidence to keep trusting my instinct and my ear.”

These infallible instincts are responsible for some of the most important musical artists in recent history. Davis went on to sign the likes of Santana, Chicago, Billy Joel, Earth, Wind & Fire, Aerosmith, and he brought on Neil Diamond and Pink Floyd, before Dark Side of the Moon was released, to Columbia. It was Aerosmith that immortalized Davis in their song “No Surprise” with the lyrics “Old Clive Davis said he’s surely gonna make you a star, just the way you are.”

He was named the president of Columbia Records when he was just 35, and the label soared in every direction. For R&B, he founded and partnered Philadelphia International Records with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, leading to The O’Jays, Teddy Pendergrass, and “Me and Mrs. Jones” by Billy Paul. He’s credited with sharpening the impact of Miles Davis on young audiences and then signing Herbie Hancock, The Headhunters, Weather Report, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, opening up progressive rock to an important new audience. After a much publicized separation from Columbia Records in 1973 where Davis was dismissed, as the label and industry were traumatized by a payola investigation, Davis founded Arista Records in conjunction with Columbia Pictures. It should be mentioned that no payola was ever found at Columbia Records, and CBS and Columbia Records immediately issued a check for $1 million to secure record club rights to this new company owned and headed by Davis.

The song that launched Arista was Barry Manilow’s single “Mandy,” which immediately went to No. 1 upon its release. At Arista, he later discovered Whitney Houston and signed Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, The Grateful Dead, and Lou Reed. He also joint ventured the LaFace label with L.A. Reid and Babyface, bringing in Outkast, TLC, Usher, and Toni Braxton; and the Bad Boy label, bringing in Puffy Combs and Notorious B.I.G.

Asking Davis which of his artists is his favorite is like asking a parent to choose a favorite child. “I’ve had so many memorable artists, so to pick and choose runs a risk of therapy sessions for those not included.”

BMG eventually came to control Arista, and as Davis’ years progressed, the powers that be at the corporation tried to change his role to that of a corporate chairman. Davis resisted this and BMG, knowing that Davis was still at the peak of his powers (Santana’s Supernatural album, co-produced by Davis, had just won eight Grammys and sold more than 25 million albums) funded a new label for Davis, J Records, with a $150 million investment. He brought 10 Arista artists with him—five platinum or multi-platinum—and five artists in development. In addition, almost all of Arista’s senior management came with Davis to constitute J’s senior management. They should be thankful; Davis had just discovered one of the greatest artists to emerge in the new century.

Much like Manilow’s “Mandy” launched Arista, the debut album of Alicia Keys launched J Records and immediately reaffirmed Davis’ ability. He says that upon hearing Keys play for him, he knew that she was destined to be a star. He began bringing her to perform wherever he was speaking, as he wanted to share her talents with the world. “Alicia was so unique, so special, but I was concerned that urban stations were looking for more tempo, and top 40 pop stations were looking for something not so urban,” he explains. “I was concerned that we might not break Alicia, so I wrote a letter to Oprah. I said, ‘Look, there’s a whole new neo-soul movement, and what you do for authors, you really should do for artists.’” Davis pointed out three up-and-coming female artists in this category, two of which were not on his label, and asked Oprah to lend her considerable weight to launching their careers. “She called me up and said, ‘Do you think Alicia is good in person?’ and I said, ‘I’ll testify.’”

Oprah invited Keys to Chicago to perform at a dinner for her advertisers, and Oprah was just as blown away as Davis. When the show for the new neo-soul artists aired on The Oprah Winfrey Show and Alicia performed “Fallin’,” Oprah already knew all of the words and was shown singing along with the artist. “It was memorable. The album Songs in A Minor came out, and without any major airplay at all—based on Oprah’s program—it entered the charts at No. 1. Radio then followed and broke that song, which ultimately broke all over the world.”

Davis was back on top, and Songs in A Minor sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. He attracted Luther Vandross, Busta Rhymes, and Jamie Foxx to the label, and they immediately launched platinum albums. J Records broke new artists like Maroon 5 and Gavin DeGraw to platinum and multi-platinum status. Today, Davis serves as the chief creative officer of Sony Music Group (Sony bought out BMG in 2008), which gives him greater freedom of expression. He explains, “The difference is that I can work with artists, not just on RCA, Arista, or J, but also on Columbia or Epic. It’s the broad spectrum of Sony Music.”

He is certainly taking advantage of the freedom. He recently completed Harry Connick Jr.’s album Your Songs, on Columbia Records. He also partnered with Simon Cowell to produce Leona Lewis’ new album Echo, on Sony Music. Meanwhile, he is working with Carlos Santana, Barry Manilow, Jennifer Hudson, and rising singer/songwriter BC Jean, and is excited to get into the studio with Marc Anthony. “So it’s a full plate,” he quips.

When not going to see artists in concert or holding auditions, Davis can be found in his New York office, where his day-to-day activities are dictated by the musician he is working with at the moment. “It depends on whether the artist writes or does not write,” he explains. “If the artist, like Whitney [Houston], does not write, I am in meetings with writers and producers. They are submitting material to me; I am meeting with Whitney, going over the material, then going over the arrangements.” The sheer number of artists he represents precludes him from always going into the studio as he did for the Harry Connick Jr. album. “I will go over tempos, will go over material, will go over vocal interpretation, in my office. And then they will go into the studio and send the tapes right to me.”

With Connick, whom Davis had never worked with before, he took a more active role. Your Songs is a compilation of covers of classic tunes like “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” and “Just the Way You Are,” a track list that emerged over long meetings when the two would listen to music for hours on end. Davis said that his goal with the album was to prove how great songs have extreme lasting power. While the resulting album is certainly worthy of praise, it was not necessary for Davis to put it together to showcase the enduring legacy of some hits.

Take, for example, Whitney Houston, who Davis happened to put on the map almost 25 years ago. “Her first single was ‘You Give Good Love,’ and then ‘Saving All My Love for You,’ then ‘How Will I Know,’ then ‘The Greatest Love of All,’” he recites from memory. “Her first album sold over 20 million copies worldwide.” Those hits are anthems of the 80s, and still relevant today, despite an artist who has had her share of public ups and downs. But Davis was standing at her side for every step of her comeback release last year and was extremely proud to see the album sell more than two million units worldwide in the weeks following its debut.

The lasting power is also evidenced by Carlos Santana, whom Davis discovered decades ago. “It was some 20-some-odd years later that we got together for Supernatural with ‘Smooth’ and ‘Maria Maria.’ We’re going to be celebrating the 10th anniversary of that album, and that’s symbolic. Santana represents both the discovery of an artist and also reuniting with an artist, which shows how long a career can last.”

It is this lasting impression that is Davis’ most gratifying professional achievement. “I’m very proud of the musical profession that I’ve loved since the moment I was fortunate enough to find myself in it. I’m proud that it was not just hit records or making money. It was the launching, the maintaining, and the developing of careers that have lasted, no matter what kind of music.” All sectors of this broad spectrum of genres that have been touched by Clive Davis came together for a tribute of the 25th anniversary of Arista in 1999, during which Santana, Barry Manilow, Annie Lennox, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Sarah McLachlan, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Whitney Houston, and others took to the stage over the course of the evening. “I sat in the audience as they performed, and notwithstanding what your taste is, each was a headliner,” he proudly states. “These were headliners who had survived over a period of time to become a part of the fabric of the nation’s cultural performers.”

Despite all of these successes, Davis never forgets his roots. A scholarship recipient, he is forever grateful for the generosity of others, thus establishing financial assistance programs at NYU and at his children’s school in Riverdale. He also touts the significance of health-related charitable causes and places a personal emphasis on AIDS. Not content to simply be a donor, he has repeatedly called artists to action for this cause. “I put together Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach for ‘That’s What Friends Are For.’ We got Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Elton John to participate on that song, which was released as a charity single. Every single penny raised went to the cause, accounting for around 85 percent of amfAR’s funding during its first two years of existence. The proceeds from Arista’s 15th and 25th anniversary concerts went to the cause as well.”

As his years progress, he is taking steps to ensure that the next generation is prepared to follow in his footsteps, namely through the founding of the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at NYU. “I always saw that film was being supported by schools for students who wanted a career in that field,” he says. “There was nothing for music except elite approaches, be it classical music or jazz, but not the music that was being heard around the world.” The resulting degree program is the first of its kind, offering professional leadership training for aspiring creative music entrepreneurs, a “training ground for future music moguls.”

But that does not mean to indicate that Clive Davis is showing any signs of slowing down. Music lovers around the world can continue to anticipate hearing chart-topping hits from stars discovered and nurtured by Davis’ golden ears.

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