lit a candle 7d agoA light in the dark
Some people leave a mark on the world that doesn't fade. Clive was one of them.
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Clive Jay Davis (April 4, 1932 – June 22, 2026) was an American record executive, A&R executive, record producer and lawyer. He won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 2000. From 1967 to 1973, Davis was the president…
Clive Jay Davis (April 4, 1932 – June 22, 2026) was an American record executive, A&R executive, record producer and lawyer. He won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 2000. From 1967 to 1973, Davis was the president of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1974 through 2000 until founding J Records. From 2002 until April 2008, he was chair and CEO of the RCA Music Group (which included RCA Records, J Records, and Arista Records), chair and CEO of J Records, and chair and CEO of BMG North America.
Davis is credited with having hired a young recording artist, Tony Orlando, as a music executive for Columbia in 1967, who provided Barry Manilow with his first recording contract a few years later. Davis signed many artists who achieved significant success, including Pink Floyd; Sly and the Family Stone; Janis Joplin; Laura Nyro; Santana; Bruce Springsteen; Chicago; Earth, Wind & Fire; Aerosmith; Billy Joel; Donovan; the Bay City Rollers; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Luther Vandross; Loggins and Messina; Ace of Base; Olivia Longott; Westlife; and Gavin DeGraw. Davis is credited with bringing Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow to prominent stature as artists. Davis served as the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 until his death in 2026.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photos
3Clive Davis in his office Sept. 10, 1980
by People Forever
Clive Davis speaks at the Kennedy Center Honors dinner at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Saturday, December 2, 2023. (Official State Department photo
by People Forever
Clive Davis at the 63rd annual New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center in 2025 for the film Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
by People Forever
Beautifully said.