Legendary Impresario Clive Davis

good book. And your documentary which I rewatched this morning. I got up at five am to watch your documentary again because, um, I think it's probably if it's not the best, it's one of the top four documentaries I have ever seen. No, no, no, it is amazing. And if you third year on Netflix right now, it's on Netflix and they say I've been told it's the fifth post selling documentary of all time. Yes, well, after our podcast,

it's going to be number one. I will look because everybody listening is going to watch that documentary after I get finished with you today. It's it's an incredible documentary because not only does it chronicle the life of a music impresario And do you use the word in presario when you describe your career? Is that why he'd self use it? But it has been used. I still associated with a man named Saul Uruk that you might remember, but I'm plaided when the word is used in describing me.

Whenever anybody says, oh, you know, you know five days I said, yes, that he is the greatest music in Presario I have ever met, and and so I love that word. But what does impresario mean to you? What

does that mean? Well, the word impresario means showman, and I think that it attaches because every year, as you know, I've been for over forty years throwing a party the night before the Grammys, and it's not just a party, it's become the party, and as distinguished from a fifty Lazar party, for example, the night and it's heyday before

the Oscars. I don't it's not just meeting people, but you always might want to meet I mean, Nancy Pelosi is in her twenty second year, and you'll run into streisand you'll run into David Hockney, You'll run into sports figures as well as every head of every label and stars from all the labels. But I put on a show, and you see in that show artists that you'll never see play together. You'll see because it was the lushy Keys is dream to perform on some stage with the

reath of Franklin. So you'll see a reath of with a Lusia. You'll see Um Paramount, a little Jennifer Hudson. You'll see in the past, wouldn't usedon with nut Lee Cole. I saw that. Yes, you've been there many times. Lou read with Rod Stewart and Slash that too. I love that. Oh my gosh, you are known as the man with the golden ears. They look pretty normal to me. There might be a little bit large, like Buddha, but that's

good because you know what that means. If you have large ears, tell me it means that you have a long life. Buddha had the biggest ears. And if you look at long ear lobes, so so if you have long ear lobes, don't fret women who try to cut them off and cover them up. It means a good

long light. It's that interesting. But yours are golden in addition, and uh, and that's because you more than pretty much anybody in the in the latter half of the twentieth century early part of the twenty one century really heard music like nobody else heard it and promoted it and and educated us. I learned so much about music just from your artists, so much. And that's what that documentary does for me too. It re educates me and re

educates me every time I watch it. Uh. In terms of going from Janice Joplin, Now, what would you call her music? Jonas Choplin was to me the original white soul sister. She was rock and roll um but Harange her depth, her soulfulness. She could have been soulful R and B. We never went platform because of her traject prigmant to her death. But there was no one like Janice Trumplin, a true original, that gravelly voice, that energy,

she had, unbelievable sweat. Yes you even mentioned about her, just that her performance was so real every single time, never never a performance it was. Was the first artist I have a sign I got in this old monthly you know, by action. Tell tell us that story. How did you get to be the signer of all these artists? A lawyer employer for Columbia Records? Okay, I was there for five years, after three years of law school, and one day my mentor, predecessor, god Leebison was made a

group president. So the divisions he had but Columbia Records, Fender musical Instruments, Creative play things, etcetera. And UM. He came to me one day which and he said, you know, would you like to become a head Offended Musical Instruments. You did all the contracts offended guitars for Leslie, speakers for Sundway pianos. You could unify that whole group. I said, begotade. You know, I don't think I could do it. I'm getting divorced, I have two young children. It would mean

my moving to the West coast San Diego. Um. And musical instruments. Did you know anything about musical instruments at that time? Oh? I knew nothing about any music or musical instruments. Did you play an instrument ever? Never played a musical instrument. So he said, we'll come see me tomorrow and we'll talk about it. I came there tomorrow the next day and he said, look, there was a gentleman named Norman ad Of the executive vice president. He

wants to live in Lahoya. So we'll make him had a phandom musical instruments, and you'll be the head of Columbia Records. And that it wasn't that God had thought I ideas. It didn't even dream on my part of thinking that you would leave. You'd leave that up to somebody else and you just run the business of the business, never knowing this would become the musical the professional passion of my life. And so I became head. I looked around, we could do better in the new rock and roll.

Um we did a Bob Dylan, but he was mainly a songwriter. Simon and Goldfuncle were just breaking with their first single. We had no idea what they would become. But um, the New Rock I was secondary to Mitch Millow, who was head of A and R. They had Andy Williams, they had a young bober streisand they had Tony Bennett. It was a wonderful middle of the road company with a number one number of roadway shows. My fail, Lady

Camelot Columbia. Yes, but you've already touched on so many things that probably some of my audience doesn't even know what you're talking about. So R and B, what does that stand for rhythm and blues? It's uh. It's the expression that has been used for the likes of Stevie Wonder for a wreath of Franklin for oats reading for R and B rhythm and blues. Okay, what is A

and R stand for? A? And R stands for artists and repertoire, So that when you're an A and R person man or woman, you're either going to discover an artist or if you have the artist and the artist does not write, which was the day of Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and Dinner Shaw, you would find the repertoire that they would so so you'd find the writers. That's composers, that's correct. So it's artists and repertoire. Okay,

that's interesting. And hip hop hip hop was the revolution that really occurred after the rock and roll revolution, and it mainly associated with raps. But it's the beach, it's the rhythm, it's the track as well. The first artist we know well, the first hip hop artist I knew and who I signed, and not too much known about him, but if you ask the cock descenting, he's one of the leading rapper hip hop artists. His name was Gil Scott Heron, and I'm sure one day began to do

a movie about Gill Scott Heron. You're going to do why don't you do the movie? Doing the Whitney movie? And I can't wait for that. That's consuming me. And now so let me see we've gotten through hip hop. What about what about rock and roll? Who's who's rock and roll? Well? And when? When rock and roll began, it was really up tempo rock edge meaning guitars was the guitar revolution, and certainly Phil Specter and the early Records and the Beatles started early rock and roll. Dylan

started folk rock. Okay, he was originally folk and then one day he added an electric guitar and it became folk rock. So that's a few of the definitions that we're talking about Springsteen. Springsteen, who is everything? Um is rock? I mean he is started out folk and started out singing a loan solo with a guitar. And I have good stories about Springsteen. I have no idea what your time element is, days and days, but that'll be that'll

be interview number two. John Hammond and A and all Man brought Bruce Springsteen to play for me and his imagery, his his lyricum was so unique that I and John signed him and a wonderful story. I was just with Bruce and he submitted his first album to me and was called Greetings from Asbury Park. I said, Bruce, the imageries theyre, the lyrics are great. We needed some radio friendly songs at least two um. Sometimes an artists can get very put up that they don't want the creativity

either commented on or observed. Not Bruce. He said, you know, maybe you're right, and in his words, he went to the studio, he went to the beach rama and he wrote blinded by the Light h and Spirit in the night, and you were my recent birthday party, where Bruce explained this and sang blinded by the Light right afterwards. Very memorable experience. But Bruce brings seen to me is probably he and Mick Jagger are the greatest rock performers in

modern day lifetime. I just to set to stage was made ahead of but certainly never thought I'd signed an artist. Never thought that music would be my passion and my natural gift. And I went thinking I would be seeing Simon and golf Uncle and the Mama's and Papas at the first Pop Festival in nine sixty seven, and I didn't even know they would have unknown artists during the day.

And I'm there with my where Alifornia. This is in Monterey, California, the Monterey Pop Festival, and my wife at the time and I sitting in the fairgrounds and new artists we're appearing. And the group called the Electric Flag Mike Bloomfield on guitar for those of your audiens who are a little

more musical sophisticated. And then came this group called Big Brother and the Holding Company, and this unbelievable, charismatic, electrifying, compelling white Gravelly Boys singer Janis Joplin, who had not been built, started singing a piece of my heart. You know some of the times any song, pop songs, rock songs, new songs where some of the songs hers did she write around song? No, she didn't write her own material. But I knew for the first time in my life,

my spine was tingling. There was no other in our person now that you know what he or she is, And I dedicated myself to signing her. She was under contract with never a record out to a small record company called Mainstream Records. I bought that contract for two hundred thousand dollars, a lot of money in those days. So they knew that she was valuable. They knew that she was valuable, and we made Cheap Thrills, her first album,

a great album together. And I hope all you listeners are writing all this down because Cheap Thrills, that's an album we should all be listening to right now, right yeah, I'm putting that in my car at my way to New York to this day. I mean, it will really have great, right, And so she was number one. She was the first artist I signed and then in very short order, and that said, built my confidence. I never

thought i'd had, he is, I never studied music. I signed Blood, Swint, Tears, Chiconko, Santana Um the Santana on Your On Your documentary. It was so interesting to see, even for me because I didn't see the documentary being made.

It was done by the Worthy Scott firm, and where Carlos explained in the documentary that the rest of his band wanted to go with the Atlantic and the Man Famous again, but he said, I connected with you, and I made up my mind I had to be with you, and so I played so lack a daisical from it and now you and you see it's impractly a sleep playing from it and any auditions for me. And he is dazzling virtual, so that he really is. And so

that's how I got sent WA so interesting. So it's artists after artists, year after year now since nine until what are we in now, two thousand and twenty two. How many have you counted? How many artists you actually signed? Not counting the bank major, the main arts. At my birthday, I wanted to make it special and they all knew I could throw a good party, and I do it every year. Six hundred and fifty guests that costa ship Riani in New York. I was. I got an invitation.

I was so happy to be there. We had a great table and the performers were amazing, sing everything, beginning with Verte Patty Smith. Patty Smith. You know I had seen Patty Smith perform and performed. She has never performed better than at your ninetieth birthday party. I really, I'm now I'm listening to Patti Smith music because I never did before. Really, because that night, that poetry, that she

was speaking some of you. You know, people have the power and now and during the Ukrainian War and and but the unrest everywhere. Patty many years ago wrote this fabulous song. People have the power to follow their dreams, to change, but it's not right. So Patty, this is what I did. I said, I'm not don't come and expecting to see my pre grammy party. I invited friends.

I went to college with friends that began with me at Columbia, friends that worked with me at Arista and Jay, as well as Lynn, Manuel and Miranda and Berne that Peter's and in the city. At the next table in Manuel, Jimmy Iveen, and Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Brackets, was very touching, most touching a matha and what was most incredible was here is a man celebrating his career, his ninetie birthday, his amazing, amazing roster of friends with

all of us. And what really struck me, Clive, the clarity of your mind. You talk about you know, you talk about this the soundtrack of your life, my life, your title of your book. It's the clarity of your mind. I am blown away by it, and it is so great for anybody getting old. We're all getting older, but getting older. So listen to Clive Davis to hear him speak. He knew everybody in that room amazingly. You knew what that person meant to you, or what that what you

meant to that person. That's what's so incredible. And that's why I had to talk to you today because climbs of neighbor, Let's get it straight. We've known each other for quite a few years, but that night really cemented my my total admiration for you, because when I'm ninety, boy, I better I better remember everybody in my life like that. I have a feeling you will. I know you will enough to know that you will. But it was it was My parents died Motha when I was a teenager.

My mother was forty seven, my father was fifty six. They both died from my blood pressure. There was no cure then they were on rice diets. I'd take a pill, one pill in the morning, with some lowering of cholesterol in the late afternoon. And it's you and your ninety years old going on cruises, flying off tonight to Sicily

so he can get another honor. How fabulous that is and what a point I want to end up saying is that after Patty and Barry and Earth Wind and Fire and Audi Golf Uncle and Alicia Keys performed, and after I had Gayle King asked me questions for half an hour, no holds barn to give all these people, many of whom I have not seen, a taste of who I am today, what I am to do? What you know? What is this going on? I did have to answer your question, I said, you know, I'm going

to ask Mark Janson to those in this audience. He was the co artist of Uptown Funk with Bruno Mars, but he produced Aby Windhouse. Mark is a brilliant, brilliant young man and I know his parents. I know him since he's a kid. I said, Mark, I would like to have a nobody has ever seen it, including me, an audio visual mix of every hit from the beginning of my career. This is answering you month about you know, do I remember or do we have ever? And they

were it turns out a hundred twenty artists. I said, well, you can go up to a minute, you can. I prefer an hour audio visual because it's going to go on fairly late. But he put together, beginning with the Birds, Amos, the Tambourine Man, Donovan, Mellow Yellow and Sunshine Superman, and going through the years with Whitney and A Wretha and Janis and Blizz Sweat and Simon and Golf Uncle. Uh, this wonderful audio visual brand new mix. Uh. They kept people there. I mean I went on to a quarter

of two. But at a quarter of two, Ladment, Lynn Manuel Miranda was dead dancing and the leadership was dead dancing. And we're looking to there's a lot of interest in getting that shown all over the world. Well I hope, I hope we can all see that, because that is just incredible. And and Clive Davis, he did it. You did it. You brought those people to us, and that is some fantastic accomplishment, just an incredible, incredible thing. But

we're going to go back a little bit. So many artists, you're not only influenced them, you not only nurtured them, You not only loved them, You not only were disappointed in some of them. What's your greatest disappointment in an artist? Did somebody stop doing it or stop playing music prematurely? Or what was the and not talking about about dying. I'm just talking about a musician stopping being a musician

that you you thought never should have happened. Well, that's because I initially were thinking you were, whether dying or not. The biggest disappointment did in ballve Whitney's fatal addiction, and that couldn't be stopped, and that just could not be stopped. And it's like Elvis couldn't be stopped or Janice Joplin couldn't be stopped. Right, Janice I was so young. I never dreamt that her life was at stake with Whitney. It was painful because she didn't want it to stop.

In making this film, you know, we wanted to be honest, realistic, but also show the side of Whitney that captured not just an incredible audience, but every musician, every writer wanted their song to be sung by Whitney. Houston. I've had the great fortune. One of the because thrills in my life is working with Santana twice. I mean, nobody thought it was called Davis is Folly, And you know, I have been let go as out of Columbia so that my documentary is not just and then he signed, and

then he signed it's the idea. And I would say that the key to the documentaries appeal is resilience, that the ability to not take defeat, to overcome obstacles, because nobody's life goes up, up up, and to have the fortitude to have the determination to overcome obstacles that you'll never know appear in your life. So that separated from Santana. I had not seen him for twenty five years. And he calls me up and he says, I'm playing Matters, I'm playing where he was City Musical. We haven't seen

each other. You were there with Though you Come Abo and Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways and my kids want me to be on the radio. And my spiritualist partner said to me, well, who did you have in your life when you had all those hits? And he said, I had Clive Davis. So I'm calling you Clive. I went to see him. He was as dazzling as Eva, and we got together. We collaborated. The blueprint was I took hap the album. I gave him the have to

do what saintanis Magic will do. But I came up with Smooth and with Maria Maria from White Glove from the rob Thomas. That album is down the eleventh best selling world Point album of Old Times. So that renewal a real nighting is so great, such a wonderful experience. Rather than think of artists who lost their appeal, I'm an turn it around and say that my if not my biggest pleasure. I didn't mean lost the appeal. I just meant stopped and didn't go on left the business. Yeah,

just left. You might have tried to get them back, or you might have encouraged them not to do that. I just wondered if somebody just stopped. I really can't think of anybody that just stopped. Music is so compelling that you don't stop, which is you. You're there, if you could last. Now, most of you out there probably familiar with the phrase one hit wonder where careers you know, you have a big, big hit and then you just don't have the hit again. So that it really is

an inspiration to artists. One Santana after fifty is still playing Medicine Squidgg the Staples Center or the Stones into their seventies, or Billy is hanging away. I did sign Billy, so that it's the idea of how many artists you don't think of it when you signed the artists. But when I'm with Barry Manta, whom I signed in V five, that is forty seven years ago and he's still headlining. And Patty Smith, as MONTHA was saying, is as charismatic,

as compelling, as electrifying as ever. I don't know why, but more to me, more she is the quintessential rock and roller. She's in the rock and roll Hall of Fame. She's had the respect. I mean, she's literate, she books are best sellers, are arn't frames some of my walls in my house. Patty is um wonderful, wonderful, quintessential rock and roll artists. So that's how long these careers all lasting, and the business that had been framed with one hit wonders.

I'll tell you I was so disappointed when Paul Simon broke up with Simmit to Gulf. I mean, I remember I was sad. I was sad too, we all were because we love their music so much. So and now Paul was credit has come up with you know, fabulous albums, continued writing incredible songs, um, and he's had for him a very gratifying solo career. And of course we got this Simmon and Colif Uncle when Buds. When Tears broke up, I mean Alkoopa was the original founder about swin Tears.

We had one album and then he said we're not getting along, so they split up. Now they went on in their new organization, their new framework to have a triple platinum album. You make me so very happy, Spinning Wheel and when I die. But you know when that changes, you feel disappointed when the original artists might break up, and I can't help reflecting I'm losing. And I've got to say this of where you have some of the greatest artists of all time, and whether it's from drugs

or natural causes. I loved working with the read friend. I loved it. I mean she was that unique Martha. You will understand as most of all because I can go to a party with any you know, hip making and of course they created a stir. But there were those artists our mutual friend of and even confirm with you about it. So I go to a Valentino Uh party on his life and a wreath they heard about it,

and she says, will you go with me? I s of course, I'll go with you, and we go there and within five minutes, I get a tug at my el boy. I thought it was a little kid, but it wasn't. It's a gentleman you and I know fairly well who lives up where far from where we are currently sitting. And he said, I've never done this. I have to meet a wreath Would you please introduce me? It was Ralph Lauren and everybody wanted to meet a Wreatha Franklin, I mean, because she had an impact on

everybody's all of us, all of us. I was lucky enough to have her come on my show and it was so amazing. She was an incredible lady. Incredible. Yeah, she and I became great friends. She came to Pound Verge, where I love. She came every Memorial Day weekend. I would have Joan Rivers and Patty Lepone and uh Lee

Daniels and Tyler Perry, but her Wreatha came. And I don't care who you were that with Joan Rivers dressed in the American flag, I might say, coming overthinkings, I've got to meet, I've got to meet, and I've got to take a picture with a Retha. A Wreatha was unique and she was history from the way before I met her, and yet I was able after she was forty to have number one records with her Grammy Awards

with her, and we became great friends. I miss Luther Andro's, I Ms. Whitney Houston, prodigious talents, special people in many ways, and I was so lucky to meet those people at your wonderful Grammy parties too. And just just and those those parties, by the way, are the most um friendly parties I ever go to. I mean just the most friendly. Everyone is Nancy Pelosi you talked about so friendly and nice, and you want you want to know them when you

meet them at your party. You want to know everybody. Clive is a party man, and boy, are you a party man. You love to entertain. I do that. That doesn't mean I love to party, so I want to correct it. You love to give part out, but I I'd like to really mix the most interesting people I know with other great interesting people. And you don't cut

the party short. You let those parties go on and on that you let them take their natural, natural path because and that's very nice too, because so many of us, just you know, can't can't extend a party the way you can and it's not it's and it's all natural stuff that happens at your parties. Yes, it's incredible, and you really you're still dancing too. I heard you were dancing the other night. You know, I'm picturing for visually

what all these things look like. I'm not a I will own up to this, not to preach, but I believe in living life. And I had a very We haven't discussed this, but I had a very. Yes, I just celebrated my idea at birth. It never occurred to me I would live tonight. So did you ever think about it? No, you didn't think about it because you were so busy all the time. It goes, and I was, you wonder. I don't know how not to be active. So I'm producing the whiten Need film. I'm working on

three documentaries and a number of projects. I'm still working at Sony. I go in there twice a week because that since you still had that big, that big corner office. I have a great, nice, lovely office different from we don't have that building. So the question is how do I live and what do I do? And you say,

you know your question. But I had occasion to take an unexpected trip, just like six weeks ago where it's been announced in November, I'm being inducted into the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, t C. And they retain an order to do a portrait of you being inducted. I know Serena Williams that this year and Dr Fauci anyway, there are five every other year. I was an am tremendously honored, and I decided I would call on a friend to do my portrait, which thrilled them and thrilled me.

That David Hockney is doing has done my point. Wait, I'm doing what I'm doing tonight, literally tonight. Is that David for me to have my portrait done by him was is still living in Normandy, France and not l A, where he had lived for decades, And so I had to go to Normandy, France, and I stopped off from Paris for three or four nights prior. I loved it. I just love revisiting this wonderful city's highlights, the great restaurants, And I said, you know, as long as I can

those favorite places that I've so loved in life. I've had three great resorts over the years, for many years when we all just sat in the sun. I won't do it anymore. So I don't go to Saint Parts, but Sat Parts. What distinguished it was not the sun, but in the middle of the Caribbean. There were restaurants for lunch and then that you just couldn't believe the quality.

I started going there when my daughter was five, so that was fifty one years ago, and we would see we would be there together, and there were French restaurants on the beach with the most selectable food, remarkable San Crope. For many years I've enjoyed again for the same reason. And the Amalfi Coast Company and Positano and Sorrento and Toronto, and so void by my experience in Paris. Before I visited David Hockney and Normandy, I said, you know, I

love chouldering a yacht. I'm gonna do it, and so knock some wood you're going today that I'm leaving tonight, lucky and I will go on a boat and uh go to Capri and um, it's living life it is. And don't fall overboard, you know, I don't try not

to pull over. You're gonna have a fantastic time. We can go on for hours and hours, but I just want everybody listening to pick up a copy of the soundtrack of My Life by Clive Davis with Anthony Curtis, very excellent book, and watch the documentary because on Netflix. Because it is really a remarkable life well lived, a

life of inspiration and a life of celebration. And thank you, Clive, my pleasure, Thank you for wandering over here from not far away, not far and come come back and visit again. And uh and really it's a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks so much for any of and you bu