Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Clive Davis, the hands-on hitmaker with a âgolden earâ 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 Manhattan, a rep announced. 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 âhas a weakness for the unique performer.â
Davis was the recipient of five Grammys, including the Recording Academyâs 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.)
Talking about his ability to identify talent, Davis told Playboy magazine in 2013: âI didnât necessarily have an ear, but I think I developed one. Whether there was a natural ear that was triggered, I donât know the answer to that. But when you see a Joplin or a Springsteen, you know. And the statistics start mounting and give you confidence. You think, âMy God, yeah, I did say yes to Santana.'â
Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932, to parents Herman and Florence, who raised him in the middle-class Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. His father made ends meet as an electrician and traveling tie salesman. As a kid, he never collected records but did like to listen to music on the radio. He attended Erasmus Hall High School and was awarded a full scholarship to New York University.
Both his parents died within 10 months of each other when he was 18, his mother succumbing to a cerebral hemorrhage and his father suffering a heart attack. He moved in with his older sister, Seena, her husband and their daughter in Queens while attending NYU and later received another full scholarship to attend Harvard Law School.
After graduating from Harvard in 1956, Davis found frustration working in small New York firms. At 28, he was offered a job in the Columbia Records legal department by Harvey Schein, who would go on to build CBSâ international record business. Davis accepted the opportunity even though he didnât know much about music, but he took night classes to educate himself on copyright laws, contracts and litigation.
In 1968, his friend, manager, promoter and future fell Rock Hall of Famer Lou Adler encouraged Davis to come to California to attend the Monterey Pop Festival, which the New Yorker described in his 2012 autobiography The Soundtrack of My Life as âa defining realization.â
âAlthough I had begun to make some creative decisions at Columbia, I had no idea that I would really be in the business of signing artists,â he wrote. âYes, seeing Janis Joplin perform provided one of the greatest musical experiences of my life.â
Davis was married twice, to Helen Cohen from 1956-65 and to Janet Adelberg from 1965-85. Survivors include his children, Fred, Lauren, Mitch (a concert promoter) and Doug; his grandchildren, Austin, Charlie, Matthew, Hayley, Harper, Sloane, Billie and Cody; two great-grandchildren; cousin Jo; and partner Greg Schriefer.
âTo the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives,â his family said in a statement. âHe discovered, mentored and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations.
âTo his family, Clive was Dad and Granddaddy, the steady presence at the center of our lives, the source of wisdom, strength, encouragement and unconditional love. No matter how extraordinary his professional accomplishments, he never lost sight of what mattered most: the people he loved.
âThrough every chapter of his remarkable life, family remained Cliveâs greatest pride and deepest joy. Today, we celebrate not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity and kindness. We will miss him greatly, cherish him always and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.â
Rest in power king
#clivedavis
#clivedavisdeath
#clivedaviscauseofdeath
#clivedaviswhitneyhouston
Clive Davis, the hands-on hitmaker with a âgolden earâ 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 Manhattan, a rep announced. 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 âhas a weakness for the unique performer.â
Davis was the recipient of five Grammys, including the Recording Academyâs 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.)
Talking about his ability to identify talent, Davis told Playboy magazine in 2013: âI didnât necessarily have an ear, but I think I developed one. Whether there was a natural ear that was triggered, I donât know the answer to that. But when you see a Joplin or a Springsteen, you know. And the statistics start mounting and give you confidence. You think, âMy God, yeah, I did say yes to Santana.'â
Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932, to parents Herman and Florence, who raised him in the middle-class Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights. His father made ends meet as an electrician and traveling tie salesman. As a kid, he never collected records but did like to listen to music on the radio. He attended Erasmus Hall High School and was awarded a full scholarship to New York University.
Both his parents died within 10 months of each other when he was 18, his mother succumbing to a cerebral hemorrhage and his father suffering a heart attack. He moved in with his older sister, Seena, her husband and their daughter in Queens while attending NYU and later received another full scholarship to attend Harvard Law School.
After graduating from Harvard in 1956, Davis found frustration working in small New York firms. At 28, he was offered a job in the Columbia Records legal department by Harvey Schein, who would go on to build CBSâ international record business. Davis accepted the opportunity even though he didnât know much about music, but he took night classes to educate himself on copyright laws, contracts and litigation.
In 1968, his friend, manager, promoter and future fell Rock Hall of Famer Lou Adler encouraged Davis to come to California to attend the Monterey Pop Festival, which the New Yorker described in his 2012 autobiography The Soundtrack of My Life as âa defining realization.â
âAlthough I had begun to make some creative decisions at Columbia, I had no idea that I would really be in the business of signing artists,â he wrote. âYes, seeing Janis Joplin perform provided one of the greatest musical experiences of my life.â
Davis was married twice, to Helen Cohen from 1956-65 and to Janet Adelberg from 1965-85. Survivors include his children, Fred, Lauren, Mitch (a concert promoter) and Doug; his grandchildren, Austin, Charlie, Matthew, Hayley, Harper, Sloane, Billie and Cody; two great-grandchildren; cousin Jo; and partner Greg Schriefer.
âTo the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives,â his family said in a statement. âHe discovered, mentored and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations.
âTo his family, Clive was Dad and Granddaddy, the steady presence at the center of our lives, the source of wisdom, strength, encouragement and unconditional love. No matter how extraordinary his professional accomplishments, he never lost sight of what mattered most: the people he loved.
âThrough every chapter of his remarkable life, family remained Cliveâs greatest pride and deepest joy. Today, we celebrate not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity and kindness. We will miss him greatly, cherish him always and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.â
Rest in power king
#clivedavis
#clivedavisdeath
#clivedaviscauseofdeath
#clivedaviswhitneyhouston
