It is almost impossible to tell the story of the rise of Whitney Houston without ever mentioning Clive Davis, the man who discovered her. Their relationship was beyond music as Davis also was highly involved in her iconic movie, The Bodyguard. There is more to their relationship and how they were together shortly before Whitney’s demise.
Beyond Clive’s relationship with Whitney, who is he? Clive Davis is a 92-year-old American record executive, producer, A&R executive, and lawyer. He was the founder and president of Arista Records and has had a career in Columbia Records. Davis worked with numerous famous artists such as Aretha Franklin, Tony Orlando, Pink Floyd, Westlife, Faith Evans, and Barry Manilow.
Davis is passionate about humanitarian activities. He has been involved in fighting AIDS and cancer and is the first man to be named Humanitarian of the Year by the T.J. Martell Foundation.
A Close Look at Davis’ Relationship with Whitney Houston
Clive Davis had very long-term personal and career relationships with Whitney Houston. In fact, Davis discovered Whitney when he saw her perform alongside her mother Cissy Houston at a New York City nightclub in the early 1980s.
He was drawn to her and later signed the former Bobby Brown’s wife. Through his guidance, Whitney became one of the biggest-selling artists and award-winning musicians in history.
Davis and Whitney’s relationship was beyond the confines of music. He also guarded her through a successful career as an actress when she featured in The Bodyguard.
Davis influenced Whitney’s performing I Will Always Love You which was originally recorded by Dolly Parton. This song became a huge success in Whitney’s career.
Also, as part of their relationship, Davis looked out for the Greatest Love of All singer. When she had issues with drug abuse, he was there to encourage her to go to rehab.
Houston has been accused of being a lesbian and again, Davis showed himself as a defender. He narrated how she was not lesbian as the media alleged and he also opened up about his knowledge of her relationships with Jermaine Jackson, Eddie Murphy away from her ex-husband Bobby Brown.
In a nutshell, The Brooklyn-born Clive was there in the highs and lows of Whitney. It is safe to say that they had some form of a father-daughter-and-friends relationship. This is apart from their work relationship of course.
Whitney died at the age of 48 in 2012. About 48 hours prior, she was with Davis who had spoken to her about her addiction.
Davis was also at her funeral where he spoke about her life and their relationship. In his words, he said,
I am devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years
…
You wait a lifetime for a voice like that
What to Know About The Life of Clive Davis Away from Whitney
The Man Who Discovered Whitney Houston Was Born in 1932. The music executive was born Clive Jay Davis on April 4, 1932, in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. He was born into a Jewish family.
Davis’ family was prominent in their own right and they hail from Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, Brooklyn, New York.
His parents, Herman Davis and Florence Davis. They were married in September 1924, about 8 years before the birth of Clive.
Davis’ father Herman Davis was an electrician and salesman while his mother was from a famous Jewish society family.
Sadly, Herman, Davis’ mother died at 47 on November 2, 1950. Then, his father died less than a year later on October 25, 1951, at 54.
At the time, the music executive was still a teenager. He had to move in with his only sibling, a sister named Seena (born in 1925) in Glen Oaks Village.
He Attended the Same Institution as Dave Liebman
Davis attended New York University College of Arts and Science, the same college that musicians such as Milton Babbitt, Neil Diamond, Dave Liebman, and Alan Menken.
At the college, Clive Davis graduated magna cum laude with a degree in political science[6] and Phi Beta Kappa in 1953. Afterward, he received a full scholarship to Havard Law School and graduated in 1956.
More to his education the music exec received an Honorary Ph.D. of Fine Arts from the New York University in 2011.
He was Responsible for the Rise of Many Famous People
After Clive completed his education, he practiced in a small firm in New York. After that, he transitioned to a New York-based law firm Rosenman, Colin, Kaye, Petschek, and Freund.
After he became an attorney for CBS, he became assistant counsel for CBS subsidiary Columbia Records.
Clive became notable in his early career days as a General Counsel of Columbia Records. Later, he was appointed Vice president and General manager in 1966.
He recorded a huge success and signed numerous artists. In the earliest phase of his career in the music industry, he signed Donovan, Tony Orlando, and Barry Manilow.
In his later career with Columbia, Davis signed numerous artists from the US and also the UK. Also, at the time he served as the president of Columbia Records, he went beyond signing artists whose genres were common with the records. He explored other musicians such as rock bands Pink Floyd (for rights to release their material outside of Europe) and Aerosmith.
He Started His Own Record in 1974 at the Age of 42
After Davis was fired by Columbia Records for using company funds to bankroll his son’s bar mitzvah, he started his own record label called Arista. He started the label in 1974 and he signed some famous stars such as Barry Manilow, Aretha Franklin, Westlife, and Alicia Keys.
Recording a huge success with Arista, Davis expanded his career as the founder of LaFace Records with L.A. Reid and Babyface. In later years, he became the cofounder of Bad Boy Records with Sean Combs who is famous as P Diddy.
Furthermore, he founded J Records and later, his Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) merged with Sony Music Entertainment (SME) to form Sony BMG
Through all of the labels he has been involved with, Davis has worked with artists, including Faith Evans, Mase, Usher, TLC, Pink, and Notorious B.I.G.
From his extensive music career, Davis has won 4 Grammy Awards in 1994, 2000, and 2009. This was for his being the product of some albums by Jennifer Hudson, Santana, and Whitney Houston.
Clive Davis has been Married Twice
Davis has been married twice. He was first married to Helen Cohen in 1956 before he married Janet Adelberg in 1965.
His first marriage to Helen lasted for almost a decade from 1956 to 1965 before they divorced after two children.
The same year he divorced Helen, Davis married his second wife Janet Adelberg. The marriage lasted another 9 years before it ended in 1985 after having a son together.
The 92-Year-old Music Executive has 4 Famous Children
Davis has 4 children who are all famous in their own rights. As earlier mentioned, he had 2 children from his first marriage to Helen and had a son from his second marriage.
Fred Davis is the Music Executive’s First Child
His first son, Fred Davis was born in 1960. He is a renowned businessman in music and investments. He is a partner at merchant bank The Raine Group. He has also been described as one of the biggest dealmakers in the music industry.
In a 2019 report, the younger Davis brokered $500 million worth of deals within only 18 months.
His Daughter Lauren is an Attorney
Moving on to Clive’s second child, Lauren Davis, she was born in 1962. She is an attorney in the recorded music industry. In her career, she is open to handling record deals, publishing deals, licensing, and many other aspects of the industry.
In her career, Lauren, a graduate of New York University Tisch School of Arts has worked with Boyz-II-Men, Allman Brothers, Donny McClurkin, and Method Man among others.
Lauren is also a professor at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Mitchell “Mitch” Davison Keep a More Private Life
Mitch is one of the four children born to Clive from his two marriages. He keeps a private life compared to his siblings and father. Regardless, he was born in 1970 and has also been involved with a career in the music industry.
The New York native held an internship at Arista in the summer of 1991.
Mitch is married to a woman named Clare and the couple share two children.
Clive’s Last Child Doug Davis is a Grammy Award-winning Record Producer
Clive’s last child is Douglas J. Davis, best known as Doug Davis. He was born on March 6, 1974.
Like his father and siblings, Doug has an extensive career in the music industry. He is a music executive, entertainment lawyer, and a Grammy Award-winning producer.
In his career, he has produced original music for Netflix, WWE, Disney, and Nickelodeon.
He is married to Jessie Davis and they have two daughters.
Clive has No Fewer Than 8 Grandchildren
From Clive’s children, the music executive has also welcomed not less than 8 grandchildren. Among them are Doug’s children Billie Davis and Cody Davis.
Davis’ grandchildren live private lives but if they stay true to the careers that have been in the family, a number of them will have careers in the music and legal industries.
Clive Davis has Identified as Bisexual
Following his second failed marriage, the 1932-born executive lived as a bisexual. He made the revelation in his book, The Soundtrack of My Life (2013).
According to him, he is still attracted to women despite having 2 long-term relationships with men for over two decades.
He dated a doctor from 1990 to 2005 and also had a strong monogamous relationship with another man for 7 years (at the release of the book).
