“By completely trusting and acting on your instincts, the course of your entire life can change.”
Clive Davis is the legendary music industry executive and record producer who is known as “the man with the golden ears” because of his talent for discovering artists and hit songs throughout his four-decade-plus career. From 1967 to 1973 he was the president of Columbia Records; he was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1974 until 2000, when he launched J Records. Then between 2003 and 2008 Davis was chairman and CEO of the RCA Music Group (which included RCA Records, J Records, and Arista Records). He is currently the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment Worldwide. Davis has won multiple Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is credited with launching the careers of such artists as Janis Joplin; Blood, Sweat and Tears; Santana; Chicago; Bruce Springsteen; Billy Joel; Patti Smith; Whitney Houston; and Alicia Keys, among many others. He currently plays a part in the careers of Leona Lewis, Rod Stewart, Harry Connick Jr., Carlos Santana, and Barry Manilow. He is the benefactor of numerous educational scholarships and of the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and his best-selling autobiography, The Soundtrack of My Life, was published in February 2013. He is the father of four and grandfather of six and resides in New York City. (Clive Davis, www.CliveDavisdept.tisch.nyu.edu)
The Interview
I was introduced to Clive by a close mutual friend several years ago. From the moment I met him, he has been the kind of friend to me that I am grateful for every single day. Over the years I have discovered that many, many other people feel the same way. The kind of superior care and excellence he brings to his work he also brings to all the other areas of his life, and his humor and boundless energy never cease to amaze me. I am constantly inspired by him and his incredible generosity, once again demonstrated when he shared his story with me one spring afternoon in his elegant penthouse office overlooking Manhattan.
The Epiphany
To read Clive’s Epiphany, go here.
