{"id":2481898,"date":"2026-06-30T14:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2481898"},"modified":"2026-06-30T14:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T14:27:10","slug":"music-royalty-turns-out-to-bid-farewell-to-clive-davis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/music-royalty-turns-out-to-bid-farewell-to-clive-davis\/","title":{"rendered":"Music Royalty Turns Out to Bid Farewell to Clive Davis"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The music and entertainment industry turned out one last time to give Clive Davis, one of the most revered business executives in the music world, a dramatic sendoff on June 29.<\/p>\n

He was a five-time Grammy Award winner and was admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer in 2000. Davis served in the music industry for 66 years, shepherding music icons of multiple generations and launching two successful labels.<\/p>\n

He died on June 22 due to \u201cage-related illness,\u201d according to Davis\u2019 rep. Aliza Rabinoff. He was 94.<\/p>\n

Music industry royalty turned out for his final sendoff<\/a>. \u201cHe changed my life forever,\u201d said rock legend Bruce Springsteen in a eulogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cClive was the most humble man in the music business,\u201d Springsteen said, eliciting laughter from the crowd of friends and artists who knew otherwise, before he quickly acknowledged: \u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cClive was big and bombastic and brave and full of ideas and just believed, believed, believed, believed,\u201d he said. He is credited with discovering Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, and many others, often rejuvenating the careers of faded stars and launching them to new success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you, I adored him,\u201d said Dionne Warwick, one of the stars he helped relaunch to new success years after the Supremes. \u201cHe was also asking where\u2019s my Dionne? Well, I\u2019m here today, Clive, for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are moments in life that feel like they were written before you ever live them so that something extraordinary can be born. Meeting you was one of those moments for me,\u201d said Alicia Keys, a classically trained pianist who was signed by Columbia Records but, after a dispute with the label, jumped to Davis\u2019s label J Records<\/a> to release her debut studio album, \u201cSongs in A Minor<\/a>,\u201d which would sell over 12 million albums.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would show me a song, I would turn it down. We would argue, I would rearrange it,\u201d said Barry Manilow, who had a single album flop before he was signed by Arista Records and Davis, and his career took off.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart is heavy with the loss of my friend Clive Davis,\u201d Manilow posted on Instagram<\/a>. \u201cFor fifty years we worked together, created together, argued together, and celebrated together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, some would say it was business. But to Clive, it never was. It was family. And I was honored to be a part of his.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis was a Brooklyn native, born in 1931 during the Great Depression in 1932 and lost both of his parents when he was a teenager. He said the hardship taught him early in life the value of hard work.<\/p>\n

Once president of Columbia Records at 22 years old, Davis was well known for signing American icons from Springsteen to Janis Joplin. During the ceremony, Springsteen said that Davis never missed a single one of his New York shows.<\/p>\n

Later in Davis\u2019 career, he founded Arista Records and J Records and was instrumental in shaping the careers of legendary artists including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Alicia Keys, and Stevie Wonder.<\/p>\n

Additional attendees at Davis\u2019 funeral included Jeff Ross, Gayle King, Adrien Brody, Ja Rule, Rob Thomas, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos and Pat Houston, sister-in-law of the late Whitney.<\/p>\n

The service in Midtown included a musical number by Kenny G and speeches from Davis\u2019 sons, Warwick, Manilow, and Keys in addition to Springsteen. Hudson also performed Leonard Cohen\u2019s \u201cHallelujah\u201d and Whitney Houston\u2019s cover of \u201cI Will Always Love You,\u201d by Dolly Parton.<\/p>\n

Davis served in the music industry for 66 years, shepherding music icons of multiple generations and launching two successful labels.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives,\u201d said the Davis family. \u201cHe discovered, mentored, and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was laid to rest in a private ceremony following the public funeral.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n