Clive Davis, the legendary music producer of industry icons from Janis Joplin and Whitney Houston to Billy Joel and Santana, has died.
Davis, famously dubbed “the man with the golden ears,” was 94. His family confirmed his death in a social media post. His publicist also confirmed his death to CNN.
Davis’s family remembered him as both “a towering figure whose influence changed music forever” as well as “the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness.”
The Brooklyn-born Davis never intended to lead a life in music, let alone shape pop culture’s musical tastes for decades. After his parents died in his late teens, he graduated from Harvard Law School and became a lawyer before going to work for Columbia Records in 1960. Five years later, Davis had ascended to be the record label’s top lawyer and was soon named Columbia’s president.
“I was thrust into it,” he told CNN in 2013. “Never knowing I had a natural ear and gift for music that,” he said, “would become the passion of my life.”
