Clive Jay Davis, excellently known as Clive Davis is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He is well recognized for winning five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. He has fronted several notable record labels, including Columbia Records, RCA Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and BMG. From 2002 until April 2008, Clive was the chair and CEO of the RCA Music Group chair and CEO of J Records, and the chair and CEO of BMG North America. He also founded LaFace Records with L.A. Reid and Babyface. Additionally, Davis is also active in social media as he has earned more than 82.1K followers on his Instagram account and he has gained over 52.6K followers on his Twitter account.
Clive Davis famous for
- Davis is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer.
- He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000.
Where was Clive Davis born?
Clive Davis opened his eyes for the very first time on 4th April 1932 in New York City, U.S. He was born with the real name of Clive Jay Davis in a Christian religious family. He holds American nationality and he belongs to the American-white ethnicity. Davis has celebrated his 90th birthday back in 2022 and as per his birthdate, his star sign is Aries. Thus, his race is white. He is the son of his father Herman Davis and his mother, Florence Davis. His father was an electrician and salesman. His mother sadly died at age 47, and his father died the following year when Davis was still a teenager. Clive has one sibling a sister named Seena Davis with whom he lived in Bayside, Queens, New York City after her marriage.
Moving to Clive’s education, he attended New York University College of Arts and Science, where he graduated magna cum laude, with a degree in political science and Phi Beta Kappa in 1953. He also received a full scholarship to Harvard Law School, where he was a member of the Board of Student Advisers and graduated in 1956.
Clive Davis Career
- Clive Davis kicks off his career working as an assistant counsel of CBS subsidiary Columbia Records at age 28, and then general counsel the following year.
- He was appointed as administrative vice president and general manager in 1965.
- Then he was appointed president and became interested in the newest generation of folk rock and rock and roll and immediately signed Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Columbia went on to sign Laura Nyro; The Electric Flag; Santana; The Chambers Brothers; Bruce Springsteen; Chicago; Billy Joel; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Loggins & Messina; Aerosmith; and Pink Floyd.
- He signed Earth, Wind & Fire to Columbia Records in 1972 however, he was fired from CBS Records in 1973 for allegedly using company funds to bankroll his son’s bar mitzvah.
- After that, he was hired to be a consultant for the company’s Bell Records label where he took time out to write his memoirs and then founded Arista Records in 1974.
- He signed Barry Manilow, followed by Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Patti Smith, Westlife, Al Jourgensen, The Outlaws, Eric Carmen, The Bay City Rollers, and many others.
- As well, Clive co-founded Arista Nashville in 1989 with Tim DuBois, which became the home to Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Pam Tillis, and Brad Paisley.
- He later founded LaFace Records with L.A. Reid and Babyface as well as Davis founded Bad Boy Records with Sean “Puffy” Combs and it became the home of the Notorious B.I.G., Combs, Mase, 112, and Faith Evans.
- Subsequently, Clive left Arista in 2000 and started J Records, an independent label with financial backing from Arista parent Bertelsmann Music Group.
- His continued success in breaking new artists was also recognized by the music industry A&R site HitQuarters when the executive was named “world’s No.1 A&R of 2001” based on worldwide chart data for that year.
- He remained with RCA Label Group until 2008 when he was named chief creative officer for Sony BMG.
- Also, he was elevated to Chief Creative Officer of Sony Music Entertainment however, Arista Records and J Records, which were both founded by Clive, were dissolved in October 2011 through the restructuring of RCA Records.
Books
- Clive: Inside the Record Business (1975)
- The Soundtrack of My Life (2013)
Awards and Achievements
- Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
- Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album
- Grammy Award for Album of the Year
- Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
- Grammy Award for Album of the Year
- Grammy Trustees Award
- President’s Merit Award
- Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
Is Clive Davis gay?
Clive Davis is a married man. He has been married and divorced twice as he first tied the knot with Helen Cohen from 1956 to 1965 and to Janet Adelberg from 1965 to 1985. He has four children: Fred (born 1960), a prominent media investment banker, Lauren (born 1962), an entertainment attorney and Arts Professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Mitchell (born 1970), and Doug Davis (born 1974), a music executive and Grammy award-winning record producer. Also, he has eight grandchildren. Talking about his sexual orientation, he publicly came out as bisexual in his autobiography “The Soundtrack of My Life” in 2013. He told host Katie Couric on the daytime talk show “Katie” that he hoped his coming out would lead to a “greater understanding” of bisexuality.
How does Clive Davis make money?
Clive Davis is among those few individuals that have such a wide range of experience and remains true to whatever he embarks on. He has a net worth of $850 million as of 2023 and he also earns a handsome amount of salary which is also in millions of dollars per year. He’s living the American dream. He has the access to all the world’s luxury and comfort. In addition, his major source of income is his record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer career. Clive has also done endorsement work for several brands from where he gained a considerable amount of money.
How tall is Clive Davis?
Clive Davis has unarguably accomplished a decent height career-wise. He is 5 ft 8 in or 173 cm tall and his body weighs around 75 kg or 165.5 lbs. He has short light brown hair and dark brown eyes color. Besides, his body build type is average. Unfortunately, in February 2021, he was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy.
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