Clive Davis, the legendary report government who based Arista Information and J Information and signed Whitney Houston, has died on the age of 94.
Davis died at his house in New York Metropolis on Monday (June 22). His household introduced his dying in an announcement posted to his official X account.
“To the world, our father was the enduring music legend whose imaginative and prescient, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence formed the soundtrack of numerous lives,” the Davis household wrote. “He found, mentored, and championed the best artists in fashionable music historical past, leaving an indelible mark on tradition that can endure for generations.
“To his household, Clive was Dad and Granddaddy, the regular presence on the heart of our lives, the supply of knowledge, energy, encouragement, and unconditional love.
“Regardless of how extraordinary his skilled accomplishments, he by no means overlooked what mattered most: the folks he liked.
“By each chapter of his exceptional life, household remained Clive‘s best pleasure and deepest pleasure. As we speak, we have fun not solely a towering determine whose affect modified music perpetually, however the man who led our household with grace, generosity, and kindness.
“We are going to miss him enormously, cherish him at all times, and carry his love with us for the remainder of our lives,” concluded the assertion, signed the Davis Household.
Davis was named President of Columbia Information in 1967, the place he signed artists together with Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Santana and Aerosmith.
He based Arista Information in 1974, and the label went on to launch music by Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith and the Grateful Useless.
In 1989, Davis co-founded LaFace Information with Babyface and L.A. Reid, the house of OutKast, TLC, Usher, Pink and Toni Braxton.
He later launched Dangerous Boy Information with Sean Combs, which launched music by The Infamous B.I.G. and Religion Evans.
In 2000, he left Arista to launch J Information, which signed and developed Alicia Keys.
Between 2002 and 2008, Davis served as Chairman and CEO of the RCA Music Group.
He later turned Chief Artistic Officer of Sony Music Leisure, a title he held till his dying.
No artist turned extra intently related to Davis than Whitney Houston, whom he signed to Arista in 1983.
He oversaw her recordings from her debut album by to her dying in 2012, a partnership that produced seven consecutive US Quantity One singles.
“No-one’s life goes up, up, up – and music is an particularly robust enterprise… You’ve bought to have the ability to face adversity and rely on resilience,” Davis instructed MBW in 2017.
“No-one’s life goes up, up, up – and music is an particularly robust enterprise… You’ve bought to have the ability to face adversity and rely on resilience.”
Clive Davis, talking with MBW in 2017
Davis hosted an annual pre-Grammy gala, which had taken place the evening earlier than the awards present since 1975.
He hosted the most up-to-date gala on January 31, 2026, which honored Republic Information co-founders Monte and Avery Lipman.
Davis had been hospitalized in New York Metropolis in late Could with an higher respiratory an infection.
The Arista title was relaunched by Sony Music as a frontline label in 2018, underneath David Massey.
Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame in 2000 and received 5 Grammy Awards throughout his profession.
Aretha Franklin as soon as referred to as Davis “the best report man of all time.”
Tributes have poured in for Davis at the moment.
Rob Stringer, Chairman, Sony Music Group, issued the next assertion on Monday on the passing of Clive Davis:
“Clive in fact performed a seminal position within the story of Sony Music by two unimaginable chapters, and he’s chargeable for an enormous a part of the recorded legacy of the corporate completely,” stated Stringer.
“Not solely are many, many artists we symbolize repeatedly indebted to his service however so many workers members have been influenced and mentored by his deep love and respect for our firm which he carried proper up till at the moment.
“Our working lives are higher for having had his fixed presence within the aura and notion of Sony Music.”
Carlos Santana stated: “Clive Davis was a visionary. He might hear the intangible earlier than anybody else might see it. He believed in Santana from the start, and years later he believed in us once more. That form of religion is a wonderful blessing, and I’ll at all times be grateful.
“Clive understood that music is greater than leisure. Music is a therapeutic drive. It brings folks collectively past concern, past separation, past borders. He devoted his life to championing artists and serving to them share their items with the world.
“Clive acknowledged the sunshine in folks. He inspired artists to belief their very own voice and step into their future. Due to his imaginative and prescient, numerous musicians had been in a position to attain hearts throughout the planet.
“I thank Clive for his friendship, his belief, and his perception in Santana. We have fun his extraordinary journey and the legacy of pleasure, inspiration, and risk that he leaves behind. We ship our deepest love and blessings to his household and to all who had been touched by his life. Peace, love, and light-weight.”
Bruce Springsteen stated: “Over right here on E Avenue, we mourn the dying of the nice report man and shut buddy Clive Davis. At 22 years previous, he modified my life when he signed me to Columbia Information. He handled me with the identical respect and kindness as a 22-year-old no one as he did in any case my success. An important man. All our prayers and love.”Music Enterprise Worldwide
