Clive Davis, the hands-on hitmaker with a “golden ear” who brought Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen to the world and revitalized the careers of Carlos Santana, Rod Stewart and Aretha Franklin, died Monday. He was 94.
Davis, most recently chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment, a former head of labels Columbia, Arista Records and J Records and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, died at his home in New York City. He recently had been hospitalized with an upper respiratory infection.
Through his six-decade career, the music mogul also nurtured such acts as Billy Joel, The Grateful Dead, Alicia Keys, Simon & Garfunkel, Jennifer Hudson, Barry Manilow, Pink Floyd, Earth Wind & Fire, Aerosmith, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Kenny G, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson and Patti Smith, who once said that Davis “has a weakness for the unique performer.”
Davis was the recipient of five Grammys, including the Recording Academy’s Trustees Award in 2000. Each year on the Saturday night before the Grammys since 1976, he brought together top music executives and artists for a party, held at the Beverly Hilton when the event is in L.A. (The 2021 edition was online because of the pandemic.)
