Remembering Clive Davis: The ultimate record man and the “soundtrack of our lives”
The music industry has lost one of its most towering architects, legendary music industry executive, star maker, and five-time Grammy Award winner Clive Davis. Clive passed away peacefully at his home in Manhattan at the age of 94. At MUBUTV (Music Business Television), this loss hits incredibly close to home as I have known Clive for 46 years. He was a good friend. I worked for him for 6 years (1981-1987). He gave me my start in this industry. In May 2024, we had the profound honor of hosting Clive for an exclusive, career-spanning interview on our Music Business Insider Podcast. Hosts Ritch Esra and Eric Knight sat down with the industry giant to unpack
“the stories we’ve never “heard” — revealing deeply personal reflections on his 50-plus-year journey. During that memorable conversation, Clive looked back on the fundamental truths of what it takes to build a viable and sustainable career in the music business; shared the invaluable creative and non-creative criteria he used when scouting the world’s most defining talents, and what it really takes to last in this business for as long as he did. This was the last deep-dive, entire career-spanning interview he gave. Ritch Esra / MUBUTV