Clive Davis has died at 94.
He had been suffering from respiratory ailments.
Davis was a music industry behemoth who discovered talents that burgeoned into superstars.
Clive Davis, a music industry colossus, died on Monday at the age of 94. He was hospitalized in late May for an upper respiratory issue, Rolling Stone reported, but was discharged earlier this month. He died in his Manhattan apartment. He had propelled the careers of superstars like Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys,
Davis was born in the New York borough of Brooklyn on April 4, 1932 . He stepped into the music industry through legal engagements. He took galvanizing chances in the music industry, especially in his support for Black artists. “I signed Patti Smith, the great Renaissance woman ... I signed Lou Reed ... I signed the Grateful Dead,” he proudly touted in an interview with The Associated Press in 1999. Davis won four Grammys for producing works by Clarkson, Carlos Santana and Jennifer Hudson, and a fifth for his contributions to music. He resurrected careers as he did for Santana with an album that won nine Grammys in 2000.
He built the Columbia roster by signing Chicago, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Springsteen, Santana, Billy Joel, Sly and the Family Stone and Boz Scaggs. He revelled in the success and attention and led a lavish lifestyle. He discovered a teenage Whitney Houston in 1983 and steered her career to record-breaking heights with a slew of No 1 hits.
He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and became very famous for his star-studded annual pre-Grammy gala The 200-seat theater at the Grammy Museum is named after him. He also founded the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University in 2003, which is part of the Tisch School of the Arts and was one of the first such schools to merge music with business programs. In a statement, Patti Smith thanked Davis for “transforming music, and on a very personal note, for believing in me, shepherding my efforts and a half century of your love and support.”
In his 2013 memoir, The Soundtrack of My Life, Davis, revealed his bisexuality, his long-term relationships with men. He was married and divorced twice and had four children.
