Hi Bob, as you know…

My late father in law Larry Uttal owned Bell Records, which he sold to Columbia Pictures in the 70s.  Fed up with working for Columbia, he left after his deal was up to start another label, and was replaced by Clive, who renamed Bell Records as Arista. And Arista's first hits were by artists that Larry had signed—Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester and the Bay City Rollers.  

Clive spent the next 50 years trying to rewrite history, even spinning Larry’s Billboard obituary to suggest Arista was created out of whole cloth and wasn’t a continuation of Bell.  When I called the Billboard writer who I'd spoken to as he was writing the obit, he said, almost apologetically, “I know, but Clive is very sensitive about this and he’s a big advertiser.”

When the ‘definitive’ book on Arista came out a few years ago, the first 40 pages were entirely about Larry, his career, and Bell.  Clive must have been apoplectic.

As you point out, on the other end of the spectrum were execs like Mo Ostin, who I had the great fortune to work for. 

Mo never did interviews. Ever.  It was Mo's philosophy that the artist should be getting all of the press, not him. To my knowledge, in all of his years in the business Mo did only two interviews. One was for a PBS documentary about David Geffen, talking about Geffen, not himself—and I'd imagine that was at Geffen's behest. The other was for a book about Warner Bros. Records, long after he'd retired.  And he was pressured into that.

I thought what you wrote was right on. Clive may have been behind many hit records, but people like Mo and Ahmet signed enduring artists.  

All the best,

Jeff Gold

Recordmecca.com

SittinIn.com
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Credit where it’s genuinely due, your Clive Davis piece is not only accurate, it’s unusually candid. You laid out the reality with clarity, receipts, and a willingness to say plainly what many prefer to leave implied. That’s rarer than it should be.

You’ve chosen to document it in a way that doesn’t look away or soften the edges. That takes a measure of conviction, especially when the easier path is to preserve the mythology.

Allen Kovac 
Someone Who Was in the Room
____________________________________

My band Native was the first Jamaican or reggae band to sign to Arista Records back in 1979.

I remember delivering my album and them telling me that they were not crazy about the album. 

So I explained that maybe they don't understand reggae. They said DONT TELL ME ABOUT REGGAE, I KNOW JOHN MARLEY PERSONALLY !! So I disappeared rather than tell them that the name is Bob!!

But as far as record men, although Clive knew a hit, he did not have the magic ears and credibility of my favorite record man of all time Chris Blackwell. Chris created some of the greatest artists of all time who had hits, credibility and careers. U2, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens, Roxy Music, Amy Winehouse.

Clive had Milli, Blackwell had Marley!!

Native Wayne Jobson 
Los Angeles
____________________________________

Clive came to speak at a work event I attended last fall and everything you shared below aligns with my impression of him. We were told to watch his doc before the event and come prepared with questions, but only 2-3 questions were able to be asked because he ended up just speaking endlessly and repeating all of the details and stories we already heard in the documentary, and the information wasn’t even relevant to the questions that were asked.

I hate to say it, but I came away unimpressed and pretty disappointed with the experience. I was looking forward to some genuine insight from someone with decades of experience, but it ended up just being 45 minutes of self promotion. On the plus side it made me feel more confident about my ability to carve out a meaningful career in the music business if he was considered the pinnacle of success. 

I have no desire for public facing accolades or success. As long as the artists I work with and my bosses are happy with my work then I’m thrilled. I think that’s why so many of my colleagues get into the business side in the first place. We love music and the mechanics involved in getting it to people, but we don’t have any desire to actually be on stage ourselves and prefer to work in the background. I’ve always been wary of the business person who seems to seek the stage and spotlight for themselves. 

Appreciate your honest assessment here. 

-Ben Mathewson
____________________________________

I don't know enough to either agree or disagree on your opinion of Clive Davis however sending this soon after his death is announced.  It just feels plain mean to me and you are better than that!

Mark O'Neill
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I AGREE

CLIVE was an attention seeker--- no-- he snatched it all up if was due him or not. The amount of attention his passing got on CNN alone was ..... gross..

Highly ironic that Stevie Wonder told hapless Anderson Cooper that " his favorite CLive melody" was I Will Always Love You... written by Dolly Parton in 1973 and released in 1974 

I highly doubt without a talented team around him in A&R- retail marketing publicity and promotions- if he would
have been able to take credit for half the things he took credit for. 

give him kudos for surrounding himself with executive talent- and list the artists his team discovered
and broke - not give him all the credit for everything.

Well written Bob... 

Chris Long
____________________________________

I am unsubscribing from your newsletter.  Considering the timing, this is beyond tasteless and disrespectful. RIP Clive Davis.

Thea Hopkins
____________________________________

It took fifteen people at the label to approve a song for Whitney Houston and she wasn't one of them. 

Joel Selvin
____________________________________

My production company makes short (2-3 minutes) films that play every year at an annual “8 Over 80” gala here in NYC, honoring eight people over the age of 80 who have led impressive lives are still going strong.  The organization that runs the event, the New Jewish Home, decided on the format because they knew - and know - that no one likes to sit through long speeches at these kinds of events.  The films are an effective way to keep the focus on the honorees, and keep the evening short.

When Clive Davis was selected back in 2018, in advance of the filming, we told him what we tell all the honorees:
A short film of three minutes or so is not nearly long enough to cover an entire person's life story, so we are liberated from having to hit all the highlights of a person's career.
Instead, I said, we can focus on just one aspect of your life or career, something people don't know much about. Maybe just a single artist, maybe a hobby people don’t know about, maybe a favorite cause, or a single story.  

Especially with someone whose career is so well-known (and about whom there'd already been a complete feature-length biographical documentary), trying to tell the whole story is a fool's errand.
"So," I asked Mr. Davis. "Any thoughts?"
"Yeah," he said. "Do the whole thing."

Nick Davis
____________________________________

Go stand on your lawn and yell at people to "GET OFF MY LAWN"!

You have become one angry and bitter old man.

I feel sorry for you.

Dennis Paulik
____________________________________

Joe Smith. Yes.
Jac Holzman too.
And Seymour Stein.
Herb & Jerry?
Chris & Terry?

And for all the talk about taking over a "failing" Bell, Larry Uttal built an indie machine that continually delivered hit singles, including in 1974, at the end when it WASN'T failing.  OK, maybe he didn't transition to albums as well as the others, but he did sign the Bay City Rollers, Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester and Lou Rawls, who all delivered gold and platinum for Clive. 

Toby Mamis
____________________________________

Thanks for your honest opinion on this.  I think you really nailed it 

The idea of "selling out" is what we as young aspiring musicians always talked about in the 90's.  I think Clive Davis epitomized that paradigm as you pointed out:

"What they want is Clive Davis to put them up front and center, to promote them to the world."

Also about his ego trip:

I saw an interview with him about Whitney Houston, where he was very self satisfied and totally appeared to be taking credit for her success, as a singer.

Cheers
Alex Specht
____________________________________

This much earned vitriol and nothing on the Bar Mitzvah?!?!!!

Probably a wise move. 

Gregg DeMammos
____________________________________

I knew this email was coming from you long before Clive’s passing.  This makes you look like a small man.  Today everyone is their own brand., their own IP. Clive knew that 50 years ago.  Instead of giving Clive credit for what he was great at - you dismiss him on his death.  Yet every major media out and artists he has worked with have spoken of his greatness. Go figure.  He just didn’t fit into the mold you like. Guess you weren’t invited to his Pre-Grammy parties.

Hosh Gureli 
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Bingo. 

Rik Shafer
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I produced a couple of albums for Arista. Sat with Clive in the control room one memorable afternoon when he made the trip from his Beverly Hills Hotel bungalow. And that afternoon convinced me to never trust a man who doesn’t wear socks.

Cheers,

Chris Desmond
____________________________________

I've had the unique privilege to work with every major music executive since 1982 - Mo, Ahmet, Geffen, Seymour , Herb & Jerry, Blackwell , Doug Morris Roger Ames and Clive.

They were all great and unique and with different strengths  however , Clive's diversity and impact was greater than any other 

Andy Kipnes
____________________________________

Back in the early 90’s the BMG Canada crew flew to Seattle for the BMG North America conference. I was relatively new to the company. Prior to the Arista presentation I was told by one of my more seasoned colleagues to make sure I went to the bathroom before Clive’s presentation and to bring a coat and a snack. It was blistering hot in Seattle and we had just had lunch. Why? I asked. My colleague said, “You’ll see”. Clive’s presentation was endless. You were forbidden to leave your table to go to the bathroom or Clive would call you out from the stage, and Clive had the hotel turn the air conditioning to a meat locker temperature to make sure no one nodded off. The last act he presented was Barry Manilow. Other label heads had showcased some of their artists by having them play live or they played us new, unreleased recordings. Clive had no new music by Manilow and the artist was not present. We had to endure what must have been an hour of old Manilow music, Clive testifying to Manilow’s brilliance and boring the crap out of all of us. I was now initiated into the Clive experience. 

Regards,

Steven Ehrlick
____________________________________

Thanks for this brave piece on this a$$hole. This is anecdotal I know, but after years of record collecting I always noticed that the few Arista titles I’d buy were always pressed horribly.

Rob Pachol
____________________________________

This piece written about Clive Davis, and on the day that he passed away is so disrespectful and mean and not even accurate.

I feel badly for you that you chose to write and distribute this.

When you pass away, I trust people will be more sensitive to you than you consciously chose to be to Clive Davis and his family.

Eddie OLoughlin 
____________________________________

It had to be said
This is why I subscribe 

All the best 
George Silva
____________________________________

Good obit. The comparison with the Tin Pan Alley period is apt: Clive really did signal a return to that formula (along with the boy bands in the 90s). “Pro songwriters & fungible pretty faces” sums it up these days. Tho one wonders how many of this period’s hits will end up in the Great American Songbook

Big Al
____________________________________

Not real sure why you wrote this. A lot of what you said about Clive is probably true, but why now and this harsh. In my 30 years in the music business I believe like you it is always about the artist. People would say to us when Amy Grant broke wide open you guys are so smart and I would always say we were lucky. It was the artist not us. I will always be thankful those who helped us Jim Gercio, Jerry Moss, Ed Rosenblatt and John Huie at CAA. And especially John Eastman.

Dan Harrell
____________________________________

Your perspective on Davis’ career is most welcome, particularly in the current hurricane of slavish adulation. 
Thank you for shining a light.

Nigel Russell
Toronto, Canada
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Loved this piece, Bob! It amused me that the next message in my inbox was a typically fawning obit in MBW. I much preferred your take. 

Nigel Harding
____________________________________

Hi Bob, I can not agree more with you "he wrote a book about his career there. 1974's "Clive: Inside the Record Business" was very different from the man's 2013 tome, "The Soundtrack of My Life." The latter was a victory lap, it was unreadable hagiography. "I did this and then I did that and aren't I great!" Well, the true greats don't have to tell us they are.". When I started at CBS 1978 I got his book and read it many times, best book ever. Then when the new one came I threw it away...but his 6 hours product presentations were outstanding with him sitting like a king on a podium and firing questions to local radio promoters why certain singles weren´t doing well...what a man.

Anders Hjelmtorp
____________________________________

Clive Davis deserves all of the accolades he received in the many obituaries. He did a terrific job with every artist in his purview and was a true gentleman.

I regularly saw Clive at industry events and concerts. He was always warm, gracious, and kind.

Your bitter, vicious post about Clive Davis is an insult to this wonderful man and his lasting legacy. Clive was deeply loved by his artists and many people in the industry.

Clive deserved much better from you.

Judith Arden
New York City
____________________________________

You are a small pathetic man.  Clive was a giant.

Glenn Whitehead
____________________________________

I was Executive Vice President for a LONG year.  Always said, Clive is the greatest music man that ever was and the worst music businessman. 

Bill Berger
____________________________________

You nailed it! Perfectly. 

If we ever connect real time, I will share a few antidotes.

Stay well and hug your loved ones.

All the best,
Jim Caparro
____________________________________

What you said about Clive may indeed be all true, but I do think it did not have to be printed right after his death. It would probably have been more effective a few weeks later. Not sure what the rush was.
Regards,
Bill Migicovsky
Montreal
____________________________________

Sad to see the passing of Clive Davis.  He was always very nice to me and offered me marketing jobs at Arista twice.  I thought I was too rock-album-oriented and too methodical for Clive.  I just didn’t think he would have the patience for a guy like me.  I didn’t think I would do well in his system.  It did get me a couple of nice raises at Sony Music, though, and I was always appreciative of his interest.  In my early days at Leber-Krebs Management, I worked on marketing Beatlemania while we were still in development at the Colonial Theater in Boston. Steve Leber and I pitched CBS-TV on a prime-time musical special, and they bought it.  I ran into Clive at Michael’s restaurant in NYC as I was leaving just before we opened the show at the Winter Garden Theater, and he asked how it was going.  I told him that ticket sales were doing great and about the TV commitment.  By the time I walked back to the office, Clive was on the phone to Steve Leber and had bought the soundtrack album.  I always thought it was funny, trying to think of who would buy that soundtrack when they could buy a Beatles greatest hits album.  

All the best,

Dan Beck
____________________________________

Wow talk about scathing..but the reality is you speak the truth. I can go back to a couple of things I saw in front of me. There was the story how Clive discovered Whitney Houston but if you were in New York City during that time  you knew that wasn’t true.. many knew about Cissy  Huston‘s daughter and although Clive took all the credit it was Gerry Griffith that first heard her singing at Sweetwater and brought her up to Clive… many knew what the real story was, but that was the deal. But the thing that really got my head spinning was at Arif Mardin’s memorial in NYC. It was a beautiful night when so many greats in the music world came out for this memorial.. Norah Jones sang, Bette Midler, Eddie Brigatti  from the Rascals.. and other luminaries that spoke and were humble and recognized the greatness of Arif and the true genius that he was and the effect that he had on so many great artists. And then who was the last to speak? Clive….. and he definitely made it so it was all about him in some very bizarre way… I was sitting there in the audience, just dumbfounded how the whole script could just be flipped in a second from this guy. But that was the way he was and that was how he was sold and that’s how he sold himself and in that case, it was very successful. 
There is no doubt about it, though that Clive was one of a kind… no matter what you thought of them that was the impression that he is leaving. The guys that made the big differences like Mo Oustin and Ahmet will never come around again.. and for sure you won’t see another Clive Davis again..

Peace,Jason Miles
____________________________________

I will never, ever forget the night Clive launched Whitney to all the executives he’d flown in from his distributors around the world …he’d hired a theatre in New York and there were about a 150 of us present, rather lost in such a large venue…Clive proceeded to harangue us from an empty stage about how this was going to be the biggest thing ever blah, blah…then plays the album through, with track by track commentary..from beginning to end…then gave us another half hour lecture on how she should be marketed and launched etc, then proceeded to play the album, in its entirety all over again… by this stage, 2 and a half hours in, most of us jet lagged exces would have paid money just to leave…but it was Clive, so we fought back the tiredness and tuffed it out…

Egotistical, self important twat was my take out of Clive and I never saw or heard anything since that would change that view.

Regards
Victor Stent
New Zealand.
____________________________________

Totally fair to prefer classic rock to pop Bob but I Wanna Dance With Somebody will still loved and remembered for as long as anything from the classic rock era. And I was just reading The New Cue's interview yesterday with Danny McNamara of Embrace (UK indie rock band from the 90s):

"What was the first record you loved?
Barry Manilow. I was about 8 and I wanted a ghettoblaster and my mum got me a tape deck with a radio on it. She bought Barry Manilow for herself but that was the one I used to play all the time. The first time I ever fell in love, I was eight years old, it was this girl at school called Sharon Pownall. I’d take my ghettoblaster to the end of her street and sit watching her house to see if she came out and play Barry Manilow. I Made It Through The Rain was a really big song for me as an eight-year-old, which is kind of ironic cos you haven’t really been through the wringer as an eight-year-old but it really feels like that when you first fall in love."

Yours,

Joe Taylor
____________________________________

I have no skin in the game here, but I’m guessing that many of your subscribers will be reflecting on the passing of someone they knew, worked with, were friends with… Perhaps you could have given these people a minute to settle before sharing your thoughts? Perhaps you could have toned down the language just a bit? Be kind - someone just died.  

Cheers

Andy Fordyce
____________________________________

That was a very mean spirited article even by your snarky standards.
When it comes to ‘tooting your horn’ nobody does it better than you Bob.
I didn’t know Clive Davis but he was IN the music business..Bob you’re on the sidelines lobbing meaningless drivel.

Best Wishes 
Thomas Black 
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Oof! Interesting and insightful as ever Bob. Bet you get some blow-back on this one!
Stay well... Pete Flatt
____________________________________

..brilliant..you are a prolific writer.

Barbara Zats
____________________________________

Songs written by committee are a rupture in the creative process. By design, a committee encourages groupthink and discourages self-expression. Imagine Dylan by committee. I’m no expert, but it smells like stabilization of profit is the culprit. Someone wanted a more dependable revenue stream, and the committee got the call. The committee produces vanilla music that sells enough and the investors won’t have to take chances on unknown acts that don’t fit the current standard. I hope some small label can sign a great act and break the mold. Something like Sun and Elvis.

Regards,
James Riley
____________________________________

He gave us Laura Nyro.  Took all her songs, had hits with other Columbia artists at the time.  But it worked to where he could justify her making her own classic albums despite them not being a hit.   

Annie Roboff
____________________________________

I didn’t know Clive but he was approachable. I remember seeing him frequently in Toronto checking out bands. When asked, by a group of us, how he found time to come to Toronto he said — actually, New York is closer to Toronto than Chicago. I’ve always remembered that quick answer. 

Michael Burke
____________________________________

' I never knew the man, or cared either way, but right or wrong, your remarks are pretty cold-blooded Bob. 

Like Trump saying “I’m glad he’s dead”.

Whoo boy

Dave Dalzell
____________________________________

Bullseye.

Warm regards

Mark Burger
____________________________________

Wow, Bob, tell us how you really feel!
A little jealous, maybe?

Thanks,
Ernie Canadeo
____________________________________

This missive should be printed everywhere, for all to see. I'm glad that you wrote this...

As a record man, he couldn't shine Ahmet's shoes.
He also helped to ruin Rod Stewart's musical path by putting out all of those schlock records.

Kevin Kiley
____________________________________

Wow, Bob. You sh*tting on Clive was not on my bingo card. Oooof.
—Todd Campbell
____________________________________

In 1980/81 when I was not involved with Gregg or The Allman Brothers Band they signed with Arista under Clive's aegis and had two albums and a mid-chart single which they absolutely hated and broke up for the second time. Earlier on Capricorn with first Atlantic distribution and then WEA, I got to be around Phil Walden, Ahmet and Jerry, Mo and Joe. Now those were some fun times and I learned a lot about the music business.

Willie Perkins
____________________________________

Amen, Bob. I’ve been seeing the tributes all afternoon, thinking to myself exactly what you’ve written here! Not only that, but I experienced it firsthand. 

Back in the mid-90s, I made an album that Pete Townshend funded. (It never came out, but by coincidence, it’s finally coming out later this year.) Once we had some tracks done, Pete helped shop them. One of the lunches was with Clive. 

My memory is that I was drunk and arrogant. But in retrospect, I just didn’t buy what Clive was selling. I was talking about my vision for the album and my career, and about what kind of artist I wanted to be, while Clive was focused on the sort of lowest common denominator chum I despised. Boy, did I piss him off when I pushed back. It was all very “don’t you know who I am, kid?” That’s why your comment about him being of a pre-Beatles mindset really struck a chord. It really did feel like Clive was all about the “How Much is That Doggy in the Window?” way of doing things. 

But my abiding memory, and the first thing that popped into my head when I heard the news of his death, was how creepy Clive was. Like, Puffy level creepy. I was in my mid-20s at the time, so it was part of the terrain, but man was it gross. 

And now he’s gone. Sure, he was an ancient white man, but it’s 2026. I’m shocked I’m not seeing more of what you wrote and what I remember. Or maybe it’s coming. I sure hope so. 

Anyway, thanks for writing what I’ve been waiting all day for someone to write. No matter what blowback you get, there are plenty of us out here in the business that every bit of it rings true for. 

Jeff Slate
NYC
____________________________________

Jesus, dude.  It’s like you have a personal vendetta against this guy.   Even if everything you are saying is true, why is it an issue that he wasn’t the biggest or the greatest?  Clive is worth some recognition, and you have some pretty obvious animosity towards him.  Sure, you’re a journalist, but, then again, who are you?  

No one will remember, just like you say no one will remember Clive.  

Chris Friday
Warehouse Manager - Phish
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Please Mr.Lefsetz mute session would have been preferred at this time .

Danielle Lise Desrochers
____________________________________

What an amazingly eloquent history lesson. Pay heed boys and girls.  

Harold Love 
____________________________________

Pretty brutal even for you, Bob.

Lou Maresca
____________________________________

Spot on ! Clive was wayyyy overrated ! 

Can you say “shooting fish in a barrel”! 

Doug Pomerantz
____________________________________

I generally enjoy your writing, but this one is really out of bounds. There's really no need for this right after the guy died. The adage "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" really applies here.

Be better.

Ed Hannan
____________________________________

this prodigious musical guru. Perhaps he was during his era.

One omission in your narrative was the public feud between Clive Davis and Kelly Clarkson that he detailed in his memoir. She fought to keep the rock edge of 'Since U Been Gone,' while Davis wanted it watered down. Fortunately, she prevailed, and the result was one of the most iconic and influential pop (rock) songs of the 2000s.

Arash Shirazi
____________________________________

Wow.
Clap clap!

Galen Hudson
____________________________________

There was not enough love in the world for Clive Davis. The boy from Brooklyn was always trying to convince us he was worthy. Only someone extremely insecure would need to promote himself to this degree.

Pretty harsh for a dude who had to make it in the world despite the trauma of losing parents at young age. Of course he’s messed up and had to fight for himself.  He had no one else! 

Best,
Brian Winston
Massachusetts
____________________________________

Getting older, thinking about legacy… then I remember that for 5 years (1978-1982), guess who the biggest movie star in the world was? Betcha never guessed Burt Reynolds. 

Fame is fleeting and though they might last a little longer, even the rich and famous will fade into obscurity…

Already obscure,
Drew Arnott
____________________________________

appreciate your telling it like you know and mean it...
and not bowing to the obligatory praise the dead.

Hong Son
____________________________________

The guy just died for crying out loud.  I’m sure his family and friends don’t appreciate your timing let alone unkind words. You could’ve waited a respectful time and then said what you wanted to. Bad form, Bob. Bad form. Unnecessarily nasty. 

Ken Green
____________________________________

And in contrast with Clive Davis is Chris Blackwell..

Let's wish the boss a happy birthday – 89 years young – a man who transformed the landscape of contemporary music in ways that people can only dream of or dare to imagine in 2026.

Lee Ginty
____________________________________

A well deserved take on Clive's hustle.  The tell will be the funeral/memorial.  It won't be well attended or if it is, it will be people of his ilk, those who share the same preoccupation with mindless self promotion.  

John Brodey
____________________________________

Coulda just said ‘rest in peace Clive’

Denise Lutz
____________________________________

For cultural impact I say Seymour Stein was the goat of A&R executives. 

Steve Tipp 
____________________________________

As a true music executive, Clive was absolutely not in the league of Ahmet, Mo Ostin, Seymour Stein, Bruce Lundvall, Leonard Chess, Sam Phillips, Jac Holzman, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, Jerry Wexler, Chris Blackwell, Creed Taylor... 

He signed Janis, BS&T, Chicago (CTA), Laura Nyro, et al post-Monterey bring Columbia Records to huge young audiences.  A business decision.

I always felt he was a master self-promoter who understood hits for the music marketplace rather than really understanding music on any seriously level.

And your last statement is so accurate - the great Arista releases by Patti Smith, Lou Reed, a couple by The Kinks, and a few others proved the exceptions to the rule.  

Thanks for the truth, Bob!

Best,

Danny Kapilian
____________________________________

I completely agree with your take on Clive Davis. 

I will say, though there are exceptions that he signed as “fresh” talent especially within niche rock communities that are still revered, even though he did derail their career with his hit seeking mentality.  Jeff Healey, for example.

The first Jeff Healey Band album See the Light, had the big crossover ballad hit, no doubt heavily pushed by Davis, Angel Eyes, but the rest of the album was pure, blues rock authenticity with wicked vicious electric guitar playing, like Stevie Ray Vaughan with more distortion and aggression. In the era of Stevie Ray Vaughan, I think Jeff Healey was Clive’s attempt to get in on some of that action. And like you stated instead of leaving well enough alone, once most us in the rock and blues rock guitar community discovered Jeff was more than that ballad, and he was BLIND, playing and wailing on guitar the way he did, Jeff was getting some serious traction. But like you stated, Clive doesn’t want to leave well enough alone and thought he knew better. So of course, instead of realizing he’s got a career artist for the label, he starts meddling on the second album, demanding a slicker more polished sound. His second release Hell to Pay, it’s still a great album with Jeff’s stellar cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps with George Harrison and Jeff Lynn adding backing vocals, and Jeff doing a Mark Knopfler penned song(I Think I Love You Too Much), with Mark, providing guitar and backing vocals, having modest success, sonically the album lacked the fire of the first album thanks to the slicker production sound. Predictably sales were less than the first album. 

There was one more proper studio album, Feel This, and then what for all intents and purposes feels like a contract fulfillment album of covers called Cover to Cover, and I think Jeff was done with Arista. He still maintained a small career until his death, play more traditional, blues, and jazz, as jazz trumpet was actually his first love and opened up his own jazz club in Toronto, but in my opinion, Clive completely wasted the potential of what Jeff could do for the label in terms of credibility.  Like you stated, he thought in short-term hits versus long-term legacies. Ironic that he was doing it in the hopes of establishing his own long-term legacy. 

Michael Moniz
____________________________________

And Clive, to paraphrase Tom Petty (RIP) “didn’t  hear a single on our friend Eric Carmen’s, “Boats  Against the Current” Album that you’ve touted as a favorite. At the EC50 tribute show we did last November,  Eric sang his song vocal (courtesy of Sony.)
 
A 13 year old concert pianist prodigy,! Mikey Klein, recorded Eric’s exquisite piano part in advance in 2 takes! Live it was fretless bass (me!) along with first album drummer, Don Krueger, and the Lakewood Project  Orchestra - high school kids who learn classical music by ear first, then notation under the tutelage of Dr. Elizabeth Hankins. 

Goes to show how Clive completely “missed the Boat” on this wonderful piece of music. I’m already seeing “Boats” garnering a lower level but similar degree of late term respect that Pet Sounds has. 

In the other hand, Clive was a one of a kind. Got to meet him 2x. He knew a pop hit when he heard it as you said. 

We’re losing the historic music business and artists. Sadly, I don’t see many new pioneers-just labels sliding AI clauses into their new artist agreements. Glad to see Irving leading “ The Rising” against it. 

Stephen Knill

(Note: Note: "Boats Against the Current" was a song suite submitted with a specific running order beginning with "Run Away" and ending with "Boats Against the Current." Eric Carmen told me that Clive insisted on reversing the running order on the ultimately released album.)
____________________________________

I have a Clive story.

It's around 1991 or 92 I think, give or take.

When I was coming up in NYC as young drummer, I was given the opportunity to play in a band that was being courted by Arista.

I jumped at the chance.  The music was good, the players were good, and I understood the implications of Clive's power.

So, I started rehearsing and playing shows with them and then the keyboard player told the band that Clive wanted to see us live. 

But, Clive didn't want to come to a club, he wanted us to put together a private showcase for him. 

So, we played for Clive in the keyboard player's brownstone, in the living room.

It was an audience of three, Clive, Tom Corson (his head of Marketing --I think) .... and Mitchell Cohen (who i think was Clive's Head of A&R at the time).

I guess we did OK because the band got signed (I'll happily tell you privately who the band was but I'd rather not put it this public forum).

Now, it's well-known, as you pointed out, that Clive liked to tinker with his acts creatively. I would go so far as to say he would micro-manage.

But, that was the price you'd pay for stardom.  And as distasteful creatively as his ideas often were, if you wanted "the push," you'd take Clive's advice. 

In fact, more than that, if you wanted the push, you'd be smart to tell Clive that his ideas were genius and implement them, even if you hated them.

Because the truth is that often, artists don't get more than one legitimate shot in this game.  

And in 1992, as a musician, having Clive put the power of Arista behind you could change your life.

I always figured that if you were going to sign with a label like Arista, the whole point would be to let Clive mold you. 

Right? Because if you sign with Clive, and you do everything he says, there's a decent shot he's going to get you a pretty good shot at pop stardom. 

This is one of the big reasons I joined that band.

A few months later the keyboard player and singer went to meet with Clive to talk about the first record. 

And they came back from the meeting and told us (the rest of the band) that Clive had a lot of ideas but that they didn't really like many of them. 

In fact they told us---like it was a good thing---that they told Clive they weren't going to do most of things he asked.

My heart sank when I heard this.  Because I knew that was the end of the band's chance of anything happening at Arista.   

So, not long after that, I quit the band. Literally, a few weeks later,  I told them I didn't want to make the record.  

I believed the record would never come out, and I didn't want to go through all of that work and not have the album released.

I was probably a bit too impulsive back in my twenties, because making another record at that level would have probably been a good thing for me.... that was probably short-sighted.

But, as it turns out, the record was not ever released.  

So, the moral of the story was; with Clive, if you wanted to be successful (at  a possible creative cost....yes, admittedly).....you'd have to do what he said or you're out.

Thanks for being honest, Bob
Regards,
Mark Feldman
Boston (formerly of NYC)
____________________________________

"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." That quote was spoken by newspaper editor Maxwell Scott in the 1962 western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It referred to the power of myth-making and that a culturally significant story is sometimes preferable to the factual truth. 

It's hard to argue with what you've written except to say it could have been told in a kinder way. But that's OK, I remain a fan of the no holds barred Lefsetz method.

As we watch the media espouse the legend, and although all acts signed to a label must be done with a president's pen, it is important to note that Bruce Springsteen was brought to the label by John Hammond and little known fact, Aerosmith was discovered by a Columbia A&R man (who I remember being there for less than a year) named Ray Colcord who talked the label into signing them. Yes, Clive signed The Dead but I don't think that would have happened without Michael Klenfner's introduction and counterculture credibility. And for all the hits, only us who were there can name the many misses. 

But having said all that, I must tell you, I worked for seven presidents during my time at Columbia. And the two smartest ones were Clive Davis and Don Ienner (who is a Clive Davis protege). Both had a 24/7 work ethic and both had a sixth sense and vision about the possibilities for their artists.

Clive had the most amazing memory and he took an all-hands approach like I've never seen before. Here is a story which indebted me to him for life.

In 1972 I was in my second year as local album promotion man for Los Angeles and surrounding areas. I worked all formats but of course my favorite was FM rock radio. A new band was formed called West, Bruce, and Laing and being a guitar guy I totally fell in love with Leslie West weaving his guitar licks alongside Jack Bruce's bass lines with Corky Laing providing the big drum engine which drove the whole thing. I turned LA upside down for these guys in anticipation of their November debut at the Hollywood Palladium. Heavy airplay on all four FM rock radio stations and unique promotions on each was only topped by the over-the-top party I threw after the show. I blew the budget on a food sculpturist who created a whole New York scene replete with the Brooklyn Bridge's iconic suspension cables created with string cheese! Keith Moon was there as he was a friend of Leslie's. The entire event was the talk of the town for weeks.

Bud Prager was the manager, and I don't know what was up with him the week of the show but all he did was complain about the supposed lack of effort I'd showed for his band. He kept hammering me every day with stupid sh*t like "Why don't I hear their record on the radio?" He even complained about the party and made me have breakfast with him the on the Saturday after to dress me down and pontificate on how to throw a party. 

I wasn't one who expected thank-yous but I'd literally worked myself sick for West, Bruce, and Laing and just couldn't take the abuse. On Monday morning I poured my heart out to regional promotion man Chuck Thagard. Somehow word got back to Clive.

Clive Davis was a very busy man working with top level artists, managers, promoters, etc. I didn't even think he knew who I was, but apparently he knew WHO EVERYBODY WORKING FOR HIM was. He called Bud and MADE BUD PRAGER APOLOGIZE TO ME. Bud called and reported what Clive had told him. "Bud, I don't know what you think, but Paul Rappaport is one of our new up-and-coming superstars of promotion. Near as I can tell LA has exploded with West, Bruce, and Laing excitement. I want you to call Paul and apologize for your behavior."

And, he did. I remember thinking when Bud called, with Clive's backing I can really blow this guy a new a**hole or I can take the high road and be a class act. How do I want to be known in this business? I chose the latter, thanked Bud for the call, was sorry for any misunderstanding he'd had, and reassured him how much I loved his act and how I would continue working 110% on their behalf. Thank you Clive Davis.

For all his downsides (and way too long speeches, haha), the man did reinvent himself three times over. I don't know many who could even rise from the ashes like he did after being completely humiliated by CBS, much less do it again two more times. That is an unprecedented feat and takes some powerful courage. 

Even at the height of his fame, he was always approachable with thoughtful words of wisdom after listening to a new artist's tape I'd send now and then.

So, yeah, print the legend. He deserves it.

Paul Rappaport
____________________________________

Just when I thought your missive on Grillo’s was going to be the best thing I read this week, Clive Davis dies. And you deliver a positively dill-lightful read.

Terence Reilly
____________________________________

I knew you would be rough on Clive but this was brutal.  Please print the letters.   My bet, 90% of the writers will be fighting back for Clive.  Me too.   

Lizzz Kritzer
____________________________________

Wowee!

You might have to hire someone to start your car!!!

Mike Bone



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