Clive Davis is one of the most important record executives of the last forty years.
Clive Davis
From 1967 to 1973, he was president of Columbia Records, signing Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Santana, Laura Nyro, Chicago, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Earth Wind and Fire, Aerosmith and many more.
In 1975, he started Arista Records, bringing the world artists like Whitney Houston, Patti Smith, Ace of Base, Air Supply, Barry Manilow and the Outlaws and signing free agents like Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Carly Simon, the Grateful Dead, the Kinks and Lou Reed.
Then, from 2002 to 2008, he was chairman and CEO of RCA Records, J-Records and BMG North America.
That’s a lot of life and a lot of stories. Davis has announced that he will be putting it all into a new autobiography that will tell “the excitements, the disappointments and the triumphs.”
The untitled book will be issued by Simon & Schuster and will be written with Anthony DeCurtis.
Davis previously told tales from the early part of his career in the 1975 book Clive: Inside the Record Business.
