New York: Clive Davis, the legendary music executive who launched and revived the careers of some of the biggest names in music, including Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys, has died at the age of 94.
Davis died in his Manhattan apartment, weeks after being hospitalised for an upper respiratory issue, his publicist Aliza Rabinoff said.
Since the 1960s, Davis shaped the careers of artists across genres, from Barry Manilow to 'American Idol' winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. His support for Black artists earned him the NAACP's Vanguard Award, while his annual pre-Grammy gala, first held in 1976, became a music industry institution.
Born on April 4, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York, Davis studied at New York University before attending Harvard Law School. He began his career as an in-house lawyer at Columbia Records and rose to become the company's president, helping the label embrace rock music after witnessing the counterculture movement at the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival.
Among his greatest achievements was discovering Whitney Houston, whom he signed to Arista Records as a teenager and helped transform into one of the world's biggest pop stars. Houston went on to score multiple chart-topping hits before her career was affected by substance abuse. She died in 2012, hours before Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala.
Davis also signed or worked with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, the Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross and Alicia Keys. He was also behind Carlos Santana's Grammy-winning 1999 album 'Supernatural' and encouraged Rod Stewart to record 'The Great American Songbook' series, which became a commercial success.
After leaving Columbia Records in 1973, Davis founded Arista Records, which became home to artists including Brooks & Dunn, TLC, Babyface and Houston. Following his departure from Arista in 1999, he launched J Records, where he signed Keys, whose debut established her as one of contemporary R&B's leading artists. He later served as worldwide chief creative officer at Sony Music Entertainment.
Many artists paid tribute following his death. Santana described Davis as "a visionary", while Patti Smith thanked him for a half century of "love and support." Former President Barack Obama had earlier praised Davis' ability to recognise talent, saying, "Clive's talent has always been seeing and hearing what other people don't."
Davis was married twice and, in his 2013 memoir The Soundtrack of My Life, revealed he was bisexual and living with a man.
His family said he "shaped the soundtrack of countless lives" by discovering, mentoring and championing the greatest artists in modern music history. In a statement, they said they celebrated "not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness."
