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. He is also credited with having brought Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow to prominence.
Davis served as the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 until his death in 2026.
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Personal life and death
Davis was married to Helen Cohen from 1956 to 1965 and to Janet Adelberg from 1965 to 1985; both marriages ended in divorce. He had four children, including Doug Davis, a music executive and Grammy award-winning record producer. Davis had eight grandchildren.
In 2013, at the age of 80, Davis publicly came out as bisexual in his autobiography The Soundtrack of My Life. On the daytime talk show Katie, he told host Katie Couric that he hoped his revelation would lead to “greater understanding” of bisexuality. The autobiography was the basis for the two-hour documentary Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives.
Davis died at his home in Manhattan on June 22, 2026, at the age of 94. He had been hospitalized with respiratory problems shortly before his death. A funeral service for Davis will be held on June 29 in New York City.
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Read the full bio here; too much info to reprint in our newsletter:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Davis
Tributes pour in for music industry giant Clive Davis
Photo: Clive Davis | From his Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=577723600390599&set=a.577723563723936
