Clive Davis — who was responsible for the careers of many legendary musical acts including Whitney Houston, Bruce Springsteen, and Carlos Santana – has died at 94.
The longtime music executive and founder of Arista Records and J Records passed away at his home in New York City on Monday.
Just last month, he was hospitalized in his home state for a upper respiratory infection and was discharged days later.
Davis was a titan of the music industry as he also helped shape the careers of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, among many others.
Davis was president of CBS Records from 1967 to 1973, an era when the record label ran its infamous “But the Man Can’t Bust Our Music” ad in 1968:
The text read:
The Establishment’s against adventure. And the arousing experience that comes with listening to today’s music.
So what?
Let them slam doors. And keep it out of the concert halls. Nothing can stop great sound makers like Ives, Riley, Stockhausen, Varese or the Moog Synthesizer.
They’re ear stretching. And sometimes transfixing. And The Man can’t stop you from listening. Especially if you’re armed with these.
On Columbia and CBS Records
Considering how those at CBS News today have to pretend they’re still a bulwark against the establishment as they fight Bari Weiss’s efforts to produce content that’s remotely objective, surprisingly little has changed there in 60 years.