In the wake of Clive Davis‘ passing, much has been written by others about the music executive’s accomplishments — but Davis also recently discussed those accomplishments in his own words. Only a few months before his death, the industry legend sat down for a Zoom interview with a former executive who worked for him, in which he reflected on his long career.
Rick Bleiweiss — a former senior vp of sales for Arista Records and, before that, Island Records, who also served as a senior vp of marketing and field operations for Arista’s distributor, BMG Distribution — interviewed Davis in December. The interview is wide-ranging, covering his early career as a corporate lawyer and later transition to general counsel for Columbia Records before becoming president of that label in 1965.
From there, the interview covered some of his biggest signings and his dealings with the likes of Janis Joplin, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and Santana.
Bleiweiss — who has since become an executive in the book publishing industry as well as a mystery author, with three books in the Pidnon Scorpion series, among other writings — also got Davis to talk in depth about his termination from Arista by executives from the label’s parent, BMG, and, even more revealingly, about his subsequent business demands in starting up J Records. Davis’ versions of those stories are even more detailed than last week’s memorial column on him by another former Davis executive, Charles Goldstuck. (Davis was also interviewed by his son, Fred Davis, in May at the Amplify Music Investment Summit.)
To watch the full almost 60-minute interview, follow this link, provided to Billboard by Bleiweiss.
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