Clive Davis, the record executive and producer who signed and developed artists including Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Billy Joel, and Bruce Springsteen, has died at 94. He was still working as chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment, a role he had held since 2018.
Tributes came from artists such as Rod Stewart, Santana, and Bruce Springsteen, and from senior music industry leaders.
Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music Group, said:
“Not only are many, many artists we represent continuously indebted to his service but so many staff members have been influenced and mentored by his deep love and respect for our company which he carried right up until today. Our working lives are better for having had his constant presence in the aura and perception of Sony Music.”
Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group (UMG), shared a memory from 1981:
“In 1981, I was in a basement club on Baker Street in London to see a band I desperately wanted to sign: Haircut 100. The moment I saw Clive there, I knew they’d sign to Arista.”
Grainge added that although they never worked together, “I loved how he fused creative and commercial nous, setting the way for the modern music business.”
