CLIVE DAVIS (1932 - 2026)

Clive Davis, the legendary music executive who had an amazing ear for discerning talent, has passed away on June 22nd at the age of ninety-four. The five-time Grammy Award winner and inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had been hospitalized with respiratory problems late last month but had been released. Davis was largely responsible for signing and nurturing the careers of some of the greatest artists in popular music which includes Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Barry Manilow, Santana, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Aerosmith, Billy Joel and Whitney Houston to name just a few.

Born in Brooklyn, NY on April 4, 1932, Davis began his professional career as a lawyer working for a small firm. He was hired as an assistant counsel for a subsidiary of CBS Records, Columbia Records and later became general counsel. Despite not having much knowledge about music or the business, Davis soon worked his way into the industry going from from general manager of the label to president by 1966. While Columbia Records had been best known for releasing jazz, theatrical soundtracks and pop standards, Davis was interested in moving more heavily into rock and roll. One of the first artists he signed was the folk-rock musician, Donovan. During the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Davis was advised to attend and was mesmerized by the live performance of Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, signing the band immediately. Other acts that Davis would go on to sign during his time at Columbia included Laura Nyro, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Loggins and Messina, and Santana.

But in 1973, Davis was abruptly fired from CBS Records. It had been rumored that the reason was that he allegedly used company funds to bankroll his son's bar mitzvah. However an article in Rolling Stone magazine claimed he was actually let go due to him supplying drugs to musicians and being a part of an alleged payola scandal, all of which Davis had vehemently denied.

After regrouping, Davis founded Arista Records in 1974. He set about signing well-known artists to his label that either he previously worked directly with at Columbia or had greatly admired their artistry, performers like Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, the Grateful Dead, Patti Smith, Lou Reed and Carly Simon, with him working to revitalize their recording careers and achieving great success. And Davis developed new talent, helping to establish Alicia Keys, Kenny G, Taylor Dayne, Ace of Base, Air Supply, and most notably, Whitney Houston, who he signed at nineteen and worked extensively towards making her a global pop music superstar. Davis also helped found LaFace Records with L.A. Reid and Babyface as well as Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Records.

In 2000, Davis left Arista to start J Records, an independent label that received financial backing from Bertelsmann Music Group. Four years later, BMG merged with Sony Music Entertainment to form Sony BMG with Davis named chief creative officer. He was made chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment in 2018 and had remained in the position until his death.

THE 100 BEST SONGS OF 1969

Woodstock. The Manson Family murders. The Apollo 11 moon landing. The Stonewall riots. These were just some of the life-changing, mind-altering and Earth-shaking events that occurred fifty years ago this year. And this was the year when we began to see a shift in popular music. The era of factory-written, easy-listening expressions of life and love was being pushed away by singer/songwriters who were pushing the envelope to fuse together musical genres and communicate with unconventional ideas.

The staff of Billboard magazine have put together a list of the best one hundred songs that were released and charted in the year of 1969. As I went through the list (and I was a seven year old during this year), I found many songs that I loved and some that I had never heard of before. But what they all have in common is that they are all inventive and creative songs that helped shape and define a generation.

Click below to read the article:

The 100 Best Songs of 1969

And here are a few songs from this list that are my all-time favorites:

99. Friends of Distinction - "Grazing in the Grass"



89. Cass Elliot - "Make Your Own Kind of Music"



67. Blood, Sweat & Tears - "Spinning Wheel"



56. Tommy James and the Shondells - "Crystal Blue Persuasion"



44. Laura Nyro - "Save the Country"



24. The Foundations - "Build Me Up Buttercup"



5. Isaac Hayes - "Walk on By"