Clive Davis, the visionary record executive who discovered and nurtured some of the biggest names in music history, including Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Alicia Keys, has died at 94. His family confirmed his passing to The New York Times. He had been hospitalized recently for an upper respiratory infection.
For seven decades, Davis was a towering figure in the industry, instantly recognizable by his tinted glasses, thick Brooklyn accent, and sharp suits. Artists revered him. “He’s like family to us,” Earth, Wind & Fire’s Verdine White told USA TODAY in 2021. Davis, in turn, never lost his passion for music. “I found, by accident, a role for music in my life that became a natural part of me,” he said in 2022. “I realized I had a natural gift for discovering artists.”
Barry Manilow credits Davis with launching his career. In 1974, Davis brought him a rock track called “Brandy,” which Manilow transformed into the hit “Mandy.” That moment sparked a partnership that lasted more than 50 years. “It’s been a lot of arguing over the years,” Manilow told USA TODAY in 2026, “but we both respect each other. It’s been a decent relationship when it comes to the music. And then it’s been an even better one as friends.”
Even in his later years, Davis remained deeply involved. Days before his annual Pre-Grammy Gala, he could be found in his bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel, fine-tuning his remarks and excitedly discussing the newcomers he had chosen to perform alongside legends. “It’s not a matter of that I still want to be part of [the industry], I just am,” he said in 2024. “And I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York. After his parents died when he was a teenager, he moved to Queens to live with his sister. He studied political science at New York University and later earned a full scholarship to Harvard Law School, graduating in 1956. His career began not in music, but in law. In 1960, he joined Columbia Records as a contract lawyer. His business savvy—especially renegotiating a contract for Bob Dylan—caught the attention of CBS Records head Goddard Lieberson. In 1967, Davis was appointed head of Columbia Records.
Over the years, Davis unearthed talent that became legendary: Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Chicago, Pink Floyd, and Aerosmith. His knack for spotting hits was legendary. “If it wasn’t for Clive and Columbia Records in 1972, Earth, Wind & Fire as you know it today just wouldn’t be here,” the band’s Ralph Johnson told USA TODAY in 2026. “He had vision.”
But Davis’s early career was marred by scandal. In 1973, he was fired from CBS/Columbia after a government investigation found he used company money for personal expenses, including a bar mitzvah for his son and redecorating his apartment. He denied the charges and later pleaded guilty to failing to report $8,800 in income on his 1972 tax return. A judge said Davis was “a victim of ‘appalling publicity’ that had unfairly linked him to charges of payola and organized crime.”
By then, Davis had become president of Columbia Pictures’ record division, which merged into Arista Records. Under his leadership, Arista became a powerhouse. Three months after its launch, Manilow scored a No. 1 hit with “Mandy.” Throughout the 1970s, Davis guided the careers of Carly Simon, Bruce Springsteen, and the Grateful Dead, who sometimes changed the lyrics to their song “Jack Straw” to: “we used to play for acid, now we play for Clive.” Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir said Davis wanted them to be aware of how their presentation affected listeners. “He knows art when he hears it.”
One of Davis’s most monumental discoveries was Whitney Houston. Their close professional relationship lasted throughout her career, but Davis wrote in his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” that he could not stop her drug use. After she missed the 2000 Oscars, Davis urged her to go to rehab. “She told me point-blank that whatever was going on with her was a personal matter,” he wrote. Houston died in February 2012, hours before Davis’s Pre-Grammy Gala.
Davis co-produced the 2022 Houston biopic, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” which he called one of his “most meaningful” projects. Stanley Tucci portrayed him in the film.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Davis expanded the Arista empire, signing Thompson Twins, Taylor Dayne, and Ace of Base. He enlisted L.A. Reid and Babyface to form LaFace Records, which launched TLC, Toni Braxton, Usher, OutKast, and Pink. He also partnered with Sean “Puffy” Combs to create Bad Boy Records, home to Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans.
Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, the same year he left Arista. He founded J Records, where he ignited the careers of Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, and Maroon 5. “I’ll never forget meeting Clive,” Keys told People magazine in 2016. “He was really appreciative and celebratory of the fact that I was my own artist.”
In his nearly 600-page memoir, Davis shared behind-the-scenes stories, including Janis Joplin offering to consummate her record signing, Manilow bristling at recording “I Write the Songs,” and missing out on signing Elvis Costello and Meat Loaf. A documentary, “The Soundtrack of Our Lives,” arrived in 2017.
Davis also revealed he was bisexual. “I embraced bisexuality, which is the most misunderstood term in sexual identity,” he told Rolling Stone in 2019. “I just opened myself up to the person rather than to the gender.”
In August 2021, Davis spearheaded “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert,” an all-star event in Central Park celebrating the city’s reopening after the pandemic. The lineup included Bruce Springsteen, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Jennifer Hudson, but a thunderstorm cut the show short. Still, it was a fitting tribute to Davis’s career. “I owe so much to New York,” he said. “I am forever personally indebted to New York City.”
