Clive Davis
Induction Year: 2000
Induction Category: Non-Performer
Clive Davis helped shape the modern music industry as president of CBs’ Records Division and as president and founder of Arista Records. A Brooklyn native, he joined CBS as a lawyer in 1960. He served as president from 1967 to 1973, turning Columbia and its affiliated labels into a major force in rock and roll with his prescient signings. He marks his attendance at the Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 as “the creative turning point in my life.” As a direct result of Monterey, Big Brother and the Holding Company (featuring Janis Joplin) and the Electric Flag were brought to Columbia, and Davis went after more of the new generation of rock acts in its wake. Other artists signed to Columbia under his watch included Blood, Sweat & Tears, Santana, Boz Scaggs, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and Billy Joel.
After a controversial firing from Columbia in 1973, Davis continued his winning ways as founder of Arista Records a year later. His unerring eye for talent led him to sign a 19-year-old Whitney Houston, for whom he’s provided creative input and career guidance as her “executive producer.” Over the last quarter century he’s launched such diverse talents as punk poetess Patti Smith, hip-hop impresario Sean “Puffy” Combs, country superstar Alan Jackson and new-folk mainstay Sarah McLachlan. At various points, Davis also revived the careers of such stalwarts as Aretha Franklin, the Grateful Dead, Lou Reed and Santana by bringing them to the label. The Grateful Dead, for instance, had their highest-charting album (In the Dark) and only Top Forty single ("Touch of Grey") at Arista in 1987. Davis proved to be a player even at the turn of the millennium when his vision of returning Carlos Santana to the charts resulted not only in a 1999 hit album (Supernatural) and single ("Smooth") but also won the guitarist an astounding eight Grammys.
TIMELINE
1967: Clive Davis’ attendance at the Monterey Pop Festival results in his first signings to Columbia Records: Janis Joplin, Laura Nyro and the Electric Flag. Blood, Sweat & Tears and the Chambers Brothers follow.
1968: At Bill Graham’s suggestion, Clive Davis checks out Santana, whom he brings to Columbia.
1973: Clive Davis signs Billy Joel and Aerosmith to Columbia, where they quickly become cornerstone artists. That same year, Davis is fired from Columbia Records in a controversy over alleged mismanagement of funds.
1974: Clive Davis launches a new label, Arista Records.
January 1, 1975: Patti Smith signs to Arista. Her influential debut album, Horses, is released at the end of the year.
July 1, 1977: The Grateful Dead sign to Arista after the demise of their own label; a month later, they release Terrapin Station, their first album for the label.
1983: After seeing her perform at a New York showcase, Clive Davis signs Whitney Houston. Her first album for Arista, released in 1985, hits #1 for 14 weeks and sells more than 12 million copies.
1989: Producers L.A. Reid and Babyface sign a deal with Clive Davis to develop LaFace Records, an Atlanta-based label that becomes an Arista affiliate. It yields such top-selling artists as TLC and Toni Braxton. This same year, Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan releases her first album on Arista.
1994: Arista partners with Sean “Puffy” Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment, whose artist roster includes The Notorious B.I.G. and Ma$e.
1999: Prince signs a distribution deal with Arista, his first involvement with a major label since 1996. Arista celebrates its 25th anniversary after having enjoyed its most successful year, which yielded $425 million in sales and 69 gold or platinum discs.
March 6, 2000: Clive Davis is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the fifteenth annual induction dinner. Patti Smith is his presenter.
Recommended Reading
Clive: Inside the Record Business
Clive Davis. (out of print)
