Clive Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973, Davis was the president of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975 through 2000 until founding J Records. Currently Davis is the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment. He currently plays a part in the careers of TLC, Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, and Jennifer Hudson. (More from Wikipedia)
Patti Smith Group was signed by Clive Davis to a major-label contract with Arista Records; and their debut album Horses was one of the first punk rock albums, being released in December 1975 (four months before the Ramones’ first album came out). Actually, through most of the 1970’s, punk rock was mostly found on 45’s and an occasional EP; except for the biggest punk rockers, LP’s were pretty rare.
(February 2014)
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When Bruce Springsteen was putting together his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973), Columbia Records President Clive Davis said that the album needed a hit single. In response, Bruce wrote “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night”; the two songs, particularly “Blinded by the Light” feature a host of characters and cryptic lyrics whose meaning is hard to follow.
(June 2014)
