ByJason Kravarik
Clive Davis, the legendary music producer of industry icons from Janis Joplin and Whitney Houston to Billy Joel and Santana, has died.
Davis, famously dubbed “the man with the golden ears,” was 94. His family confirmed his death in a social media post. His publicist also confirmed his death to CNN.
Davis’s family remembered him as both “a towering figure whose influence changed music forever” as well as “the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness.”
The Brooklyn-born Davis never intended to lead a life in music, let alone shape pop culture’s musical tastes for decades. After his parents died in his late teens, he graduated from Harvard Law School and became a lawyer before going to work for Columbia Records in 1960. Five years later, Davis had ascended to be the record label’s top lawyer and was soon named Columbia’s president.
“I was thrust into it,” he told CNN in 2013. “Never knowing I had a natural ear and gift for music that,” he said, “would become the passion of my life.”
Davis’ first major signing was Janis Joplin, whom he first saw perform at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. In his 2013 memoir “The Soundtrack of my Life,” Davis described Joplin’s stage presence as “not conventionally beautiful,” but “her body seemed to vibrate with the modulations of her voice, which struck with equal impact whether she was wailing at the top of her lungs or delivering an intimate whisper.”
His instinct for talent led Davis to discover and sign eventual megastars like Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, Chicago, Earth, Wind and Fire, Aerosmith and Barry Manilow. Billy Joel was floundering as a recording artist when Davis signed him in 1973. “Piano Man” was Joel’s first album at Columbia and paved his way to superstardom.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with more information.
Source: edition.cnn.com