Life in the Key of Clive

Skip to main content The famed label boss was also a world-class adviser on all manner of topics, as friends and fellow music-makers remember Clive Davis Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Clive Davis, who died on June 29, closing out a five-decade run in the music business, has been characterized as an innovator, mentor, risk taker, and believer. He was also hailed as an adviser, doling out opinions on everything from vacation spots to restaurants to catchy choruses and music videos. There to receive his words of wisdom were all manner of friends and associates, 10 of whom shared their experiences with Rolling Stone. Rob Thomas: Career Planning Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage “When I did my first solo album, everybody was making good money off of Matchbox Twenty. So they were like, ‘I don’t know if this is a good idea.’ After that, I wanted to make another Matchbox record, and everybody went, ‘Bad idea! You have a Number One solo record. You’ve got to do another.’ … Clive [said]: ‘You have to go where your heart is.… If you give them good music, the labels will follow.’” Rob Thomas appeared on Carlos Santana’s 1999 hit “Smooth,” which spent 12 weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. Barry Weiss: Ambition Image Credit: Larry Busacca/WireImage “At Jive Records, we used to say, ‘The difference between us and Clive is that we’re in the record business, and Clive Davis is in show business.’ We were always on the hunt for hit songs and hit records, whereas Clive looked at it from a much-bigger-picture point of view. He had an innate ability to reach for the stars and go for global superstardom, as opposed to just trying to find hits.” Barry Weiss worked with Davis while running Jive Records. He is currently CEO of the Sony Music-distributed label Records. Dionne Warwick: Friendship Image Credit: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images “We built our relationship over the years. I had to be at every dinner that he had at his home, and at every party he gave for the Grammys. I could always call him, or he would call me — just to banter more than anything else. We would talk at least twice during the week. If I had a question, I had his personal phone numbers, as he had mine. I’m going to miss him an awful lot.” Dionne Warwick was signed to Arista Records, where she released the hit songs “I’ll Never Love This Way Again,” “Heartbreaker,” and “That’s What Friends Are For.” Jimmy Jam: Championing Others Image Credit: L. Busacca/Getty Images “A lot of people aren’t good at inheriting things. You know how it goes at record companies: An A&R guy will sign you. If that executive leaves the company, you’re done as an artist, because nobody wants to take on things they didn’t have a direct hand in. But with Clive, just because it wasn’t his idea, didn’t mean that he didn’t champion things that he believed in. “He gave our record [Heather Headley’s single ‘I Wish I Wasn’t’] such a beautiful ride. I love that he embraced it. It taught us a lot.… You can’t teach experience. And he had the experience, and he used that in such a beautiful way, to give opportunities to the most talented people in those spaces to do what they do.” Jimmy Jam is one-half of Grammy-winning production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whose credits include writing and producing classic hits for artists including Janet Jackson, Usher, Mary J. Blige, and many more. Kenny Loggins: Generosity Image Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty Images “As a new act, when I was 21, he supported Loggins and Messina’s first tour because he could tell that we could break through that marketplace. Columbia Records, meaning Clive, paid for that tour. We couldn’t have gone out there and been seen by an audience if he hadn’t supported that. And then during the tour, we got to New York City on the day before the Grammys, so he rented tuxedos for us so that we could attend the Grammys. That sort of paternal caretaking approach to being a record company is gone, and we were probably the last generation to get to experience that level of support.” The pairing of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina was suggested by Clive Davis. After a string of hits in the Seventies, Loggins went on to have a successful solo career in the Eighties with “This Is It,” “Footloose,” and “Danger Zone.” Kenny G: Creative Decisions Image Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty Images “When we would differ about an artistic decision, Clive would always tell me some version of the following: ‘Kenny, it’s ultimately your decision, it’s your career, but if you don’t listen to my advice, it will be the biggest career mistake you will ever make!’ Ha! But even when I would go against his advice, he never held on to any ill feelings and supported the decision as if it was his idea all along. He taught me to believe in myself. That’s huge in this business.” Smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G was signed to Arista where, under Clive Davis’ leadership, he notched a crossover hit with “Songbird,” among other successful tracks. Kenny G also performed at Davis’ funeral. Larry Jackson: Making Hits Image Credit: Shahar Azran/Getty Images “Clive and I did meetings at a bungalow in the Beverly Hills Hotel for one week every month. Scheduled every hour, on the hour, we’d have the biggest songwriters in the world come and share their material with lyric sheets.… I learned the craftsmanship of making a star and of what makes a hit record. He taught me how it’s not an accident — what you look for in a lyric, in terms of phrasing, puns, metaphors, refrains — what makes something clever, what makes something ordinary.” Larry Jackson was a senior A&R executive at J Records. After a decade at Apple Music, he launched music company gamma. in March 2023. Ryan Tedder: Taking Chances Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Gabrielle's Angel Foundation “Clive gave me my first hit with [Leona Lewis’] ‘Bleeding Love.’ He took a shot on a nobody with a song that already got passed on by another label, because he ‘heard’ it. It profoundly changed my life. After that, he and I became close, spoke, and collaborated for years.” Ryan Tedder is a Grammy-winning songwriter and producer whose credits include Beyoncé’s “Halo,” Adele’s “Rumour Has It,” and Ellie Goulding’s “Burn.” He’s also the frontman of OneRepublic. Dianne Warren: Time For Yourself Image Credit: Leon Bennett/Getty Images “Clive would tell me, ‘All you do is work. You need to travel more, go on more vacations.’ And I’d say, ‘I just don’t know what to do on a vacation.’ It’s not like me to go sit on a beach. I’d get bored in five minutes. I know Clive would rent a yacht with his family and friends, but I’m sure he wasn’t just sitting there not working — knowing Clive … Clive Davis was the best friend a song ever had. He loved songwriters. He appreciated us.” Diane Warren is an award-winning songwriter whose credits include Celine Dion’s “Because You Loved Me,” Aerosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” Toni Braxton‘s “Un-Break My Heart,” and Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time,” among other eternal hits. Gayle King: Handling the Noise Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Child 13/Getty Images “When there was all sorts of stuff in the press about me and CBS — ‘Is she staying? Is she going? What is happening?’ — he sent me a physical letter that said: ‘I just wanted to reach out to you and let you know, whatever you decide, you are so talented, so special, and I hold you in such high regard as a friend.’ It was so nice to know that somebody was thinking of you and reminding you, ‘Don’t forget who you are. And don’t doubt who you are.’ The fact that he would even take the time to send an actual letter, when he could have sent a text … I will treasure that letter.” Gayle King is an award-winning journalist and television personality, best known as co-host of CBS Mornings. She served as MC for Clive Davis’ 2026 pre-Grammy party, and cut short her European vacation to attend his funeral. Music Music Lists More News Go to PMC.com Most Popular You might also like