@kevankenney: Clive Davis has died at 94. The legendary music executive Clive Davis, the man behind Columbia Records, Arista Records, and J Records, passed away on June 22, 2026, and the Clive Davis death news is sending the entire music world into mourning. Born in working-class Brooklyn in 1932, Clive Davis trained as a lawyer at NYU and Harvard before joining Columbia Records in 1960, in the legal department, not the music side. Seven years later Clive Davis was named president, and one decision at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival changed music history: he saw Janis Joplin and signed her band on the spot. Clive Davis went on to sign Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Chicago, and Pink Floyd. After Clive Davis told Springsteen he heard no hits, Bruce wrote "Blinded by the Light." Fired in 1973, Clive Davis founded Arista Records in 1974, launching Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, the Kinks, and the Grateful Dead, and reviving Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. In 1983 Clive Davis signed Whitney Houston, who sold over 200 million records and starred in The Bodyguard. Clive Davis co-founded LaFace Records (TLC, Usher, OutKast, Pink, Toni Braxton) and Bad Boy Records (The Notorious B.I.G., Mase, Faith Evans, 112, Craig Mack), even though Clive Davis admitted he never understood rap music. In 2000 Clive Davis founded J Records and signed Alicia Keys, then guided the American Idol generation: Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Clay Aiken, Fantasia, and Jennifer Hudson. A five-time Grammy winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Clive Davis came out as bisexual at 80 in his memoir The Soundtrack of My Life. If any of the Clive Davis artists meant something to you, drop a comment below. RIP Clive Davis. Keywords: Clive Davis, Clive Davis death, Clive Davis dead, Clive Davis age 94, Clive Davis obituary, Clive Davis Arista Records, Clive Davis Columbia Records, Clive Davis J Records, Clive Davis Whitney Houston, Clive Davis Janis Joplin, Clive Davis Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Bad Boy Records, American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, music industry legend, Clive Davis tribute, Clive Davis documentary, Santana Supernatural #clivedavis #whitneyhouston

Kevan Kenney

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Monday 22 June 2026 18:39:05 GMT