If you’ve been living under a rock and you have no idea who Clive Davis is, then I feel sorry for you because you have missed out on the legend that IS Clive.
Born in Brooklyn, raised in London and Brooklyn, Clive Davis became President of Columbia Records in 1967 and signed artists like Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springteen, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, Earth WInd and Fire, Boston and Aerosmith. After being fired from CBS for using company funds to give his son a Bar Mitzvah, he went on to Columbia Pictures and was soon offered the Presidency. In 1974, Clive merged Colpix, Colgems and Bell records to form Arista records.
Once on Arista, Clive found Whitney Houston and Lou Reed and after years of history being made there, Clive founded J Records in the year 2000. The label had its first break with Alicia Keys’ Songs In A Minor in 2001, but Olivia Longott (formerly of G-UNIT) was actually the first artist to be signed to J Records.
Besides the great talent Clive showcased with his record labels, he is also known for his amazing pre-Grammy parties. For the past 30 years, Clive has put together the end all, be all of parties the night before the Grammys. His parties are the ONLY thing that happens before the Grammys that is worth being at.
‘Why?’ Well, his list of guests include the likes of Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Chris Brown, Jamie Foxx, Diana Ross, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Tyrese, Monica and so many more. People will give their arm and a leg for a chance to be at one of these parties. Not only does he have that tremendous amount of talented guests, he even has them perform for the guests and in cases like Whitney Houston, stage their comeback.
Clive Davis is one of the few men in the music industry that can bring all these stars together in one room whether it to be to perform or maybe even find new talent. Either way, this man is and will always be a legend in the music business.
