Davis had no knowledge of the music industry when he got a job at Columbia Records in 1960, but he went on to discover and cultivate some of the greatest talents in music history. Over his 6-decade career, Davis served as president of Columbia Records, founder of Arista Records, and Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment. Widely celebrated as “the man with the golden ear”, Davis had a special ability for identifying talent and guiding them down the right path.
Here are just some of the artists that Davis has been credited with launching into stardom.
The Grateful Dead
When Clive Davis was appointed president of Columbia Records in 1967, he was especially interested in the newest innovations in rock and roll. In June 1967, he was convinced by friend and business associate Lou Adler to attend the Monterey Pop Festival. This is where he first encountered The Grateful Dead. Davis was blown away by the way they cultivated such a strong community for their fans and saw the potential for massive success. He tried to sign them a couple of times, but the band was determined to maintain their independence. After failing to distribute and promote their own music, they finally agreed in 1977. By this point, Davis had been fired from Columbia for using their funds inappropriately and had launched his own label called Arista Records. Davis brought the band onto the new label under a few key conditions, all of which were intended to push them outside of their comfort zone and expand their potential. The results were incredibly effective. Under Davis’s guidance, the band produced two gold albums and a double-platinum album. Davis played a crucial role in reviving The Grateful Dead’s career in their later stage.
Barry Manilow
Following his ousting from Columbia Records, Clive Davis was brought onto Columbia Records to reorganize their legacy labels. With a $10 million investment, Davis folded all of the labels and launched Arista Records. Bell Records, one of the legacy labels, signed Barry Manilow in 1969. His first album was a commercial failure, but Davis decided to keep Manilow on Arista after witnessing his performance at the Wollman Skating Rink in June 1974. While working on his second album, Davis made the suggestion to add “Mandy” — a song that quickly soared to number one when it was released as a single in October 1974. Working closely with Davis throughout the recording process, Manilow’s second album ended up becoming a multi-million dollar seller. However, Manilow and Davis had differing visions when it came to Manilow’s career, and the artist ended up leaving Arista for RCA in 1985. After realizing that his records weren’t doing nearly as well, Manilow returned to Arista in 1987. Despite their differences, Manilow and Davis built a strong relationship founded on mutual respect that lasted for decades.
Santana
Clive Davis signed Santana in the late-’60s as part of his effort to infuse Columbia Records with new rock and roll artists. Under his wing, Santana released 2 number one hit albums and several hit singles such as “Evil Ways”, “Black Magic Woman”, and “Oye Como Va”. The band stuck with Davis after he was fired from Columbia, releasing their 1999 album Supernatural under Arista Records. The album earned Diamond certification from RIAA and won 9 Grammys. In his tribute post, Carlos Santana called Davis a “visionary” who “believed in Santana from the beginning”.
Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston was arguably Clive Davis’s greatest discovery. When talking with PEOPLE in 2015, Davis recounted the night he first saw her perform at a club called Sweet Water in 1983. After a rendition of George Benson’s “The Greatest Love of All”, Davis was determined to sign the young Houston on the spot. “To see this young 19-year-old find meaning in that song… she was bringing it to a whole other level that I had never heard before.” Davis stayed by Houston’s side for the entirety of her career, serving as a sort of fatherly figure. After her death, Davis spoke in length about how powerless he felt in the face of her addiction, claiming to have written a letter begging her to stop and staging an intervention at his home in Westchester. Despite her struggles, Davis only ever had positive things to say about Houston, claiming that her love and understanding of music was innate. Reading the countless tributes dedicated to the mogul, one can’t help but notice how similarly people thought of him.
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