Clive Davis, Record Exec With Knack For Identifying Talent and Hits, Dies at 94—Tributes

Clive Davis, pictured with Paul Simon and Donovan. This photo appeared in the Oct. 21, 1972, issue of Record World.

Clive Davis, the record executive who had a knack for identifying talent and hit singles in a storied career, most prominently with the Columbia and Arista labels, died today (June 22, 2026) at age 94. While at the helm of those labels and others, he helped make stars of such recording giants as Janis Joplin, Chicago, Barry Manilow and Whitney Houston. The news of his death was announced by his family; Davis had been hospitalized earlier this month with respiratory issues.

Among other accomplishments, Davis, as president of Columbia Records, signed Aerosmith in the 1970s, launched Arista Records—home of everyone from Patti Smith to the Grateful Dead—and founded Bad Boy Records alongside Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. Davis also played a major role in bringing to stardom Laura Nyro, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Sly and the Family Stone and Santana (twice).

The family’s announcement of his death noted, “To the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives. He discovered, mentored and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations.

“To his family, Clive was Dad and Granddaddy, the steady presence at the center of our lives, the source of wisdom, strength, encouragement and unconditional love. No matter how extraordinary his professional accomplishments, he never lost sight of what mattered most: the people he loved.”

A documentary, Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, based on his 2013 bestselling autobiography, written with music journalist Anthony DeCurtis, opened the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

The film chronicled Davis’ influence since his emergence in the 1960s. Directed by Chris Perkel, it told the story of what drove Davis—a child of early twentieth-century working-class Brooklyn who lost both parents as a teenager—to full academic scholarships to NYU and Harvard Law School and a brief but impactful stint as a white-shoe lawyer. His unrelenting drive to be the best and a twist of fate led Davis to assume the presidency of Columbia Records at just 35 years of age. It was only after the discovery of Janis Joplin at the Monterey Pop Festival, and Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, Santana and Aerosmith shortly thereafter, that it became clear that Davis had a natural gift for identifying talent.

One of the hundreds of hit albums piloted by Clive Davis throughout his career.

Davis signed, influenced and drove the careers of many of the most important classic rock acts of the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to those already mentioned, these include Simon and Garfunkel, Billy Joel, the Kinks and Dionne Warwick, among many others.

From his official biography: Davis served as General Counsel of Columbia Records and was appointed Vice President and General Manager in 1966. In 1967 he was named President of the label. The Monterey Pop Festival in June 1967 confirmed what Davis had been feeling about rock: the new music was a powerful force, the artistic expression of an emerging culture. He personally signed Janis Joplin’s Big Brother and The Holding Company to Columbia. After that, he was directly responsible for the signing and/or nurturing of many more landmark artists in the rock field, among them Blood, Sweat & Tears, Chicago, Santana, Boz Scaggs, Loggins & Messina, Laura Nyro, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and Earth, Wind and Fire. In addition to bringing this fresh, brand new talent to Columbia, he signed such artists as Neil Diamond, Pink Floyd, Herbie Hancock and the Isley Brothers.

While building the rock roster, Davis was also strengthening the label’s catalog in all fields of recorded music, achieving historic success in the areas of R&B, country, jazz and pop music. He played a key role in the careers of Simon & Garfunkel, Sly and the Family Stone, Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand and Andy Williams. Davis figured prominently in shaping career turning points for Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, and he signed Weather Report. Davis’ deal with Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff brought to the company the famed Philadelphia-International label, which had an enormous string of hits and helped set the course for black music in the ’70s.

Watch Clive Davis tell David Letterman about signing Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and others

Davis left Columbia in 1973, for allegedly using company funds to pay for his son’s Bar Mitzvah party, defending himself by noting that the event was an essential opportunity to entertain scores of fellow industry titans. He soon founded—with Columbia Pictures—Arista Records in 1974. Only three months after the company opened its doors, Barry Manilow’s “Mandy,” hand-picked by Davis, went to #1.

This photo of Barry Manilow and Clive Davis appeared in the Dec. 21, 1974, issue of Record World

Under his leadership, Arista launched the careers of Houston, Patti Smith, Kenny G, Sarah McLachlan and numerous others. The label also attracted such stars as Aretha Franklin, the Grateful Dead, the Kinks, Lou Reed, Warwick and Carly Simon, returning these acts to prominence.

In 1994, Davis and producer/entrepreneur Sean “Puffy” Combs entered into a joint venture that resulted in the creation of Bad Boy Records with an artist roster that grew to include Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, and of course, Combs, as it became the most successful Hip-Hop and Rap label of the ’90s.

In 1999, he reunited with Santana. The resulting album, Supernatural, earned nine Grammy Awards, and sold over 26 million copies worldwide, produced the #1 hits “Smooth” and “Maria, Maria.” Carlos Santana and Davis accepted, as producers, the Grammy for Best Album of the Year.

Clive Davis, Bob Dylan and Carlos Santana at the 2000 Grammy Awards

In 2008, Davis was appointed Chief Creative Officer for all of Sony Music Entertainment. In 2021, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called Davis to book the performers for the “We ♥ NYC: The Homecoming Concert,” on the Great Lawn in Central Park. Not surprisingly, Davis chose many acts that he had longstanding relationships with: Springsteen, Paul Simon, Santana, Earth, Wind and Fire, Manilow and others.

Davis’ autobiography is available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.

Related: Musician deaths of 2026