So I’m looking through the midyear issue of “Pollstar” and there’s a chart for “Venues With Capacities Of 5,000 Or Less.”

Now if you’re a dedicated follower of the main “Pollstar
chart (if not fashion), you know it tends to be dominated by the usual suspects, mostly acts with years under their belts, playing big buildings. But it’s the smaller venues where acts break, so that’s why I was interested.

And I’d be lying if I told you I knew every act who appeared.

Now let’s be clear, these are not anomalies. This is a six month chart, you needed to do consistent business in order to triumph.

So starting with the 2,001-5,000 capacity venues…

Number one is Jerry Seinfeld, which is not surprising.

But I’d be lying if I told you I knew number two, Subtronics. Turns out he’s a deejay. That’s a world unto itself, based on word of mouth, a veritable underground scene when it comes to mainstream publicity. But people want to party. So, they’ll come to see the deejay du jour, in numbers.

#3 was Bert Kreischer, not exactly my cup of tea, but he’s a well-known comedian.

#4 Another act I had not heard of, Josiah Queen. Google tells me he’s a Christian contemporary artist, and that’s a world unto itself even more than deejays/EDM, one that would not normally fly on my radar screen.

#5 was Def Leppard. This act goes out seemingly every summer, I didn’t think they were even playing buildings this small. They represent an era, good for them.

#6 Mannheim Steamroller. An annual holiday event (this chart runs from November 13, 2025 to May 13, 2026).

#7 K40S. Now the funny thing is if you Google you end up getting results about a Xiaomi smartphone, they fill the entire first page. K40S, who I was unaware of, turns out to also be an EDM artist, but you have to Google ” K40S music” to discover this, the act doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page, never mind press, but they pulled in in excess of 3,000 people an evening, for a nightly gross of $142,412, and that’s not chump change.

#8 At this point legendary comedian Jim Gaffigan.

#9 Michael McIntyre, another person I’d never heard of. Turns out he’s a British comedian, and he’s 50!

#10 Josh Johnson, another comedian.

So if you’re doing the math, five of the ten highest grossing acts in what we used to call theatres are COMEDIANS!

Whoa, whoa, whoa… How about all those acts in the Spotify Top 50, aren’t they supposed to be driving the culture, isn’t music everything?

NOPE!

Now if you’re on social media…

On my TikTok and Instagram Reels I get a plethora of comedy clips. And in about two-thirds of the cases, I’ve never heard of the person. And almost all of them are funny to a degree. But I’m thinking how competitive it is. Anyone can do it, kinda like music, but building a fan base and earning a living?

Now comedy acts complain, that’s part of their routine, including about the travel and club owners, but I never encounter anyone protesting that they’re being screwed by the system, that they’re entitled to attention and a living, that’s the domain of “musicians.” How can the perspectives be so different? They both live and die on attention, and that delivers remuneration. And to make it in comedy, you must work live. I don’t see people posting clips from their bedrooms, sans audience. You’ve got to get out there. But there are a ton of people who make music who never work live, they can’t get the gigs.

Then again, there are fewer places to play.

But does that have something to do with the music?

I’d say so. People are willing to pay for entertainment, but it seems to be comedians who they want to see. And a comedian can’t bomb on a regular basis or they will no longer be able to work, they’ve got to succeed most of the time.

The bottom line is comedy has usurped music’s spot on the bleeding edge.

Sure, there are chains of clubs, and Netflix specials, but it’s still the wild west compared to music. In music everyone rails on about the labels and Live Nation and Ticketmaster, but in comedy, the acts know they must earn their success.

And I see the equivalent of open mic videos on social media. There are a slew of people who will do standup locally, but won’t go any further, because the response is not solid enough and they’re not willing to do the work. And you have to do the work if you’re a comedian. Even if you theoretically purchased your material, that’s only half of it, you need to know how to deliver it.

And comedians know no bounds, they’re unafraid, they don’t go on stage worried about alienating sponsors, they don’t think of clothing lines, they’re selling their identities, anything that compromises their identity will ultimately hit their bottom line, shortening their career.

If you want the truth, you go see a comedian.

That’s rarely the main feature in music. How could it be, with the music made by committee? Comedians are singular.  You need to have a personality and a point of view to have any success at all.

The bottom line here is the numbers do not lie, the public is responding.

And when you go down the chart to smaller buildings, comedians continue to punch above their weight.

It’s not like comedy is new, but fifty years ago when it came to hip comedians you had George Carlin and…maybe Robert Klein. And a bunch of Borscht Belt hangovers.

This is not the comedy of yore.

It’s comedians who are skewering politicians, and the excesses of the public too. That’s part of the act, ridiculing nincompoops with a profile and things that just don’t make sense. This is not Fox vs. MSNow, there’s not an underlying corporate agenda, comedians are outsiders, commenting on the happenings of the day and life in general. Sure, they want to get paid, but they harbor no dream of  going inside and taking over the jobs of the people they’re making fun of. Scratch that, we did have Al Franken, but you get what I mean.

In other words, comedy has usurped music’s power. And it’s so hot that it’s getting wannabes to participate. It’s exciting and it’s anything but fake.

And there’s no equipment and entourage necessary, if you make it, costs are low and you get paid quite handsomely.

But you’ve got to be good.

No, you’ve got to be GREAT! And competition is fierce, upping everybody’s game.

And the public is riveted. 

1

I bought “Get Your Wings” because I bought Aerosmith’s first album.

I mean you only had to hear “Dream On” once. And I’m not sure if it was the first time I heard it driving my ’63 Chevy convertible from UMass Amherst back up to Middlebury, but I specifically do remember hearing it that brisk fall day, with the top down  (wearing my corduroy jacket, something that no one owns in Los Angeles, not a sport coat but a heavier jacket worn for warmth).

I’d like to tell you I loved Aerosmith’s debut, but it was middling, not great. I was surprised they covered “Walkin’ the Dog,” I always disliked that Rufus Thomas track, however after going to Memphis and learning more about Rufus the script has been flipped, I now realize how great Rufus was, but I’d still like to know what inspired him to wear short shorts on stage.

But I played that initial Aerosmith LP.

Sometimes you purchased an album for a track and there was nothing anywhere close to as good on the rest of the record, then it was one and done. But if you played it and liked it, you bought the follow-up. Like I purchased “Tarkus,” but after that I was done with ELP. However, I do love “Welcome Back My Friends,” even though I know that’s not the name of the song, but once you’re invested in an artist, you never let go. Then again, I still can’t forgive Rod Stewart for those “American Songbook” records…

Anyway, I was a bit skeptical of “Get Your Wings” because of its black and white cover. Especially after color on the first. I was always worried it was a cost-saving measure. From a label that didn’t really want to believe.

And although “Dream On” got airplay, ultimately becoming legendary years later, Aerosmith was far from America’s Rolling Stones at this point, they were not well-known, they did not have a legion of rabid fans.

So I purchased “Get Your Wings” without hearing a single song on it, it was positively fresh. I dropped the needle and heard…

“Same Old Song and Dance.”

Well, that was disappointing. Not because it was bad, but because it was the opening cut, and that’s usually where acts placed their strongest songs. So if this was the top…

But then came my absolute favorite Aerosmith song, “Lord of the Thighs.”

Now this is not like “No More No More,” my second favorite Aerosmith track, from the subsequent year’s “Toys in the Attic.” That album was Aerosmith’s breakthrough.

By 1975…

Every burg had an FM rock station. It was the culture and soul of America. And when you’d made it there, you’d made it everywhere.

But in 1974… At that late date, FM was still building, and not everybody was paying attention to Aerosmith, so even at this late date, I don’t think most people know “Lord of the Thighs.”

“Down  to who knows who just to socialize

I’m waiting for my girls when you caught my eyes”

David Krebs, the band’s manager during this era, told me you can’t write lyrics like this anymore, that social mores have changed and have excised an entire slice of music, now seen as misogynistic.

Funny if you think about it. The raw sexuality of rock, which if it even exists today is in driving, forceful metal, is no longer a feature of mainstream music. Unless it’s sung by a woman. Our genes haven’t changed, our desires are still there, but it’s taboo for men to sing about them and own them.

But back in the dark ages…

That was one of the draws of Aerosmith, they were dark, they were raw, they hadn’t sold out. Bands like this don’t exist today. Right after they form they’re looking for sponsorships, to become brands, business is as important, if not more important, than the music. The acts want to get RICH!

Not that no one wanted to make money back in the seventies. But there was more to it, the lifestyle, being an outsider, making your own hours, not having to work a 9 to 5…

And the power of this music drew people to you, and in this pre-smartphone camera era, this meant a lot of sex. And drugs too. You were outlaws. In some cases even if you sang soft rock. That’s what the Eagles’ “Desperado” is all about.

And believe me, Aerosmith was selling sex. It’s the essence of a great frontman.

Now the truth is “Lord of the Thighs” could never cross over to AM. As a matter of fact, by time we got to 1975, rock stations on the FM dial had been codified, they wanted to only play hits, and they didn’t go too deep on albums. And this was 1974!

And after ‘Lord of the Thighs” came “Spaced,” which was a tear that defies categorization. “Spaced” sounds like a rock band shot out of a rocket towards Earth, not away. Definitely an alien feel.

And then comes “Woman of the World.”

There’s that drum beat, and then that guitar figure and then Tyler comes in…

“Well she’s a woman of the world

And god she knows it”

This was the flip side of the equation, instead of male domination, this was putting the woman on a pedestal.

For all the men who think they’re god’s gift, most see themselves as underdogs, they’ve got to psyche themselves up to make an effort, bridge the gap, interact with a woman, especially a woman like this.

“She’ll turn my head every time she shows it”

Wow. What a first side! It was direct, to the point, the following three tracks were better than “Same Old Song and Dance.” They delivered. And the sound was richer than it was on the first LP, more full-bodied.

Credit Jack Douglas.

I don’t want to say too many negative things about Adrian Barber, but he missed the target on the first Allman Brothers album too. The songs were there, but the band needed Tom Dowd to nail their sound, to get it exactly right.

Now to be honest, I played the first side of “Get Your Wings” much more than the second.

“S.O.S. (Too Bad)” had a directness that resonated. But I couldn’t quite understand why they covered “Train Kept a Rollin’,” it wasn’t that obscure, why take up the space?

Now their version of “Train Kept a Rollin'” was really good, but it’s hard not to see the Yardbirds’ take as definitive, even though Aerosmith’s take was an extended one.

2

Now “Get Your Wings” was released during the spring of 1974, just before I graduated from college. And before I began my drive cross-country, in search of a job in Alta, Utah just after Labor Day, I put the album on cassette for the ride. And I played it plenty. And the following spring, in May of 1975, at Mammoth Mountain in California, I turned my newfound buddies on to the record, I knew they were hooked when Hooker stole the cassette to provide music while they practiced their flips.

Although having played the first side so many times before I began my excursion across the nation, I was not as familiar with the second. Meaning I played it, but I didn’t know the song titles, I didn’t bother to write those down on the cassette J-card (funny how I used pencil, in case I wanted to erase the cassette and record something new on it).

So when Robert told me he was hoping Aerosmith played “Seasons of Wither” when they opened the House of Blues on our birthday in 1994, I wasn’t exactly sure what song he was talking about.

And believe me, seeing an arena band up close and personal in a club, there’s nothing like it. And then Aerosmith launched into a number whose intro I knew by heart, and Robert elbowed me and smiled.

Yes, I realized, THIS WAS SEASONS OF WITHER!

And the thing is it sounds like winter, with the wind blowing, as if composed in a darkened room, alone, safe from the elements, but feeling them nonetheless.

And the verses convey the mood evidenced in the words, i.e. “woe is me.”

But the thing about “Seasons of Wither” is it gains energy as the song progresses. It builds and builds.

Such that despite starting off quietly, by the end Tyler and the band are amped up…

“Ooh, woe is me, I feel so badly for you

Ooh, woe is me, I feel so badly for you in time

Bound to lose your mind

Live on borrowed time

TAKE THE WIND RIGHT OUT OF YOUR SAIL”

And the track doesn’t fade out, it does move on, like the wind blowing into the wilderness and…

The song ends and you’re still thinking, you’re still contemplating.

3

Now Aerosmith went on to be gigantic, America’s Stones, as referenced above, before they imploded. And then suddenly reappeared years later under the guidance of Tim Collins and John Kalodner.

And the first Geffen LP, “Done With Mirrors,” didn’t resonate with the public, despite being produced by Ted Templeman.

But Templeman’s sound was a bit different, cleaner than what Aerosmith was purveying. And when the band hooked up with Bruce Fairbairn the magic was completely recaptured, the latter day run began, in an era where if it didn’t work at first, you didn’t abandon it, you stayed with it.

And now Adrian Barber is not the only one gone.

But Jack Douglas too.

And the House of Blues on Sunset.

And Robert.

Seasons of Wither indeed.

Legendary agent for the Allman Brothers, Alice Cooper, Cyndi Lauper and so many more.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jonny-podell/id1316200737?i=1000774169980

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/f7a31ad1-e0ee-41fe-a4a7-2469a206cc6a/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jonny-podell

Hi Bob, as you know…

My late father in law Larry Uttal owned Bell Records, which he sold to Columbia Pictures in the 70s.  Fed up with working for Columbia, he left after his deal was up to start another label, and was replaced by Clive, who renamed Bell Records as Arista. And Arista’s first hits were by artists that Larry had signed—Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester and the Bay City Rollers.

Clive spent the next 50 years trying to rewrite history, even spinning Larry’s Billboard obituary to suggest Arista was created out of whole cloth and wasn’t a continuation of Bell.  When I called the Billboard writer who I’d spoken to as he was writing the obit, he said, almost apologetically, “I know, but Clive is very sensitive about this and he’s a big advertiser.”

When the ‘definitive’ book on Arista came out a few years ago, the first 40 pages were entirely about Larry, his career, and Bell.  Clive must have been apoplectic.

As you point out, on the other end of the spectrum were execs like Mo Ostin, who I had the great fortune to work for.

Mo never did interviews. Ever.  It was Mo’s philosophy that the artist should be getting all of the press, not him. To my knowledge, in all of his years in the business Mo did only two interviews. One was for a PBS documentary about David Geffen, talking about Geffen, not himself—and I’d imagine that was at Geffen’s behest. The other was for a book about Warner Bros. Records, long after he’d retired.  And he was pressured into that.

I thought what you wrote was right on. Clive may have been behind many hit records, but people like Mo and Ahmet signed enduring artists.

All the best,

Jeff Gold

Recordmecca.com

SittinIn.com

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Credit where it’s genuinely due, your Clive Davis piece is not only accurate, it’s unusually candid. You laid out the reality with clarity, receipts, and a willingness to say plainly what many prefer to leave implied. That’s rarer than it should be.

You’ve chosen to document it in a way that doesn’t look away or soften the edges. That takes a measure of conviction, especially when the easier path is to preserve the mythology.

Allen Kovac
Someone Who Was in the Room

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My band Native was the first Jamaican or reggae band to sign to Arista Records back in 1979.

I remember delivering my album and them telling me that they were not crazy about the album.

So I explained that maybe they don’t understand reggae. They said DONT TELL ME ABOUT REGGAE, I KNOW JOHN MARLEY PERSONALLY !! So I disappeared rather than tell them that the name is Bob!!

But as far as record men, although Clive knew a hit, he did not have the magic ears and credibility of my favorite record man of all time Chris Blackwell. Chris created some of the greatest artists of all time who had hits, credibility and careers. U2, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens, Roxy Music, Amy Winehouse.

Clive had Milli, Blackwell had Marley!!

Native Wayne Jobson

Los Angeles

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Clive came to speak at a work event I attended last fall and everything you shared below aligns with my impression of him. We were told to watch his doc before the event and come prepared with questions, but only 2-3 questions were able to be asked because he ended up just speaking endlessly and repeating all of the details and stories we already heard in the documentary, and the information wasn’t even relevant to the questions that were asked.

I hate to say it, but I came away unimpressed and pretty disappointed with the experience. I was looking forward to some genuine insight from someone with decades of experience, but it ended up just being 45 minutes of self promotion. On the plus side it made me feel more confident about my ability to carve out a meaningful career in the music business if he was considered the pinnacle of success.

I have no desire for public facing accolades or success. As long as the artists I work with and my bosses are happy with my work then I’m thrilled. I think that’s why so many of my colleagues get into the business side in the first place. We love music and the mechanics involved in getting it to people, but we don’t have any desire to actually be on stage ourselves and prefer to work in the background. I’ve always been wary of the business person who seems to seek the stage and spotlight for themselves.

Appreciate your honest assessment here.

-Ben Mathewson

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I don’t know enough to either agree or disagree on your opinion of Clive Davis however sending this soon after his death is announced.  It just feels plain mean to me and you are better than that!

Mark O’Neill

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I AGREE

CLIVE was an attention seeker— no– he snatched it all up if was due him or not. The amount of attention his passing got on CNN alone was ….. gross..

Highly ironic that Stevie Wonder told hapless Anderson Cooper that ” his favorite CLive melody” was I Will Always Love You… written by Dolly Parton in 1973 and released in 1974

I highly doubt without a talented team around him in A&R- retail marketing publicity and promotions- if he would

have been able to take credit for half the things he took credit for.

give him kudos for surrounding himself with executive talent- and list the artists his team discovered

and broke – not give him all the credit for everything.

Well written Bob…

Chris Long

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I am unsubscribing from your newsletter.  Considering the timing, this is beyond tasteless and disrespectful. RIP Clive Davis.

Thea Hopkins

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It took fifteen people at the label to approve a song for Whitney Houston and she wasn’t one of them.

Joel Selvin

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My production company makes short (2-3 minutes) films that play every year at an annual “8 Over 80” gala here in NYC, honoring eight people over the age of 80 who have led impressive lives are still going strong.  The organization that runs the event, the New Jewish Home, decided on the format because they knew – and know – that no one likes to sit through long speeches at these kinds of events.  The films are an effective way to keep the focus on the honorees, and keep the evening short.

When Clive Davis was selected back in 2018, in advance of the filming, we told him what we tell all the honorees: 

A short film of three minutes or so is not nearly long enough to cover an entire person’s life story, so we are liberated from having to hit all the highlights of a person’s career. 

Instead, I said, we can focus on just one aspect of your life or career, something people don’t know much about. Maybe just a single artist, maybe a hobby people don’t know about, maybe a favorite cause, or a single story.

Especially with someone whose career is so well-known (and about whom there’d already been a complete feature-length biographical documentary), trying to tell the whole story is a fool’s errand.

“So,” I asked Mr. Davis. “Any thoughts?”

“Yeah,” he said. “Do the whole thing.”

Nick Davis

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Go stand on your lawn and yell at people to “GET OFF MY LAWN”!

You have become one angry and bitter old man.

I feel sorry for you.

Dennis Paulik

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Joe Smith. Yes.

Jac Holzman too.

And Seymour Stein.

Herb & Jerry?

Chris & Terry?

And for all the talk about taking over a “failing” Bell, Larry Uttal built an indie machine that continually delivered hit singles, including in 1974, at the end when it WASN’T failing.  OK, maybe he didn’t transition to albums as well as the others, but he did sign the Bay City Rollers, Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester and Lou Rawls, who all delivered gold and platinum for Clive.

Toby Mamis

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Thanks for your honest opinion on this.  I think you really nailed it

The idea of “selling out” is what we as young aspiring musicians always talked about in the 90’s.  I think Clive Davis epitomized that paradigm as you pointed out:

“What they want is Clive Davis to put them up front and center, to promote them to the world.”

Also about his ego trip:

I saw an interview with him about Whitney Houston, where he was very self satisfied and totally appeared to be taking credit for her success, as a singer.

Cheers
Alex Specht

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This much earned vitriol and nothing on the Bar Mitzvah?!?!!!

Probably a wise move.

Gregg DeMammos

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I knew this email was coming from you long before Clive’s passing.  This makes you look like a small man.  Today everyone is their own brand., their own IP. Clive knew that 50 years ago.  Instead of giving Clive credit for what he was great at – you dismiss him on his death.  Yet every major media out and artists he has worked with have spoken of his greatness. Go figure.  He just didn’t fit into the mold you like. Guess you weren’t invited to his Pre-Grammy parties.

Hosh Gureli

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Bingo.

Rik Shafer

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I produced a couple of albums for Arista. Sat with Clive in the control room one memorable afternoon when he made the trip from his Beverly Hills Hotel bungalow. And that afternoon convinced me to never trust a man who doesn’t wear socks.

Cheers,

Chris Desmond

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I’ve had the unique privilege to work with every major music executive since 1982 – Mo, Ahmet, Geffen, Seymour , Herb & Jerry, Blackwell , Doug Morris Roger Ames and Clive.

They were all great and unique and with different strengths  however , Clive’s diversity and impact was greater than any other

Andy Kipnes

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Back in the early 90’s the BMG Canada crew flew to Seattle for the BMG North America conference. I was relatively new to the company. Prior to the Arista presentation I was told by one of my more seasoned colleagues to make sure I went to the bathroom before Clive’s presentation and to bring a coat and a snack. It was blistering hot in Seattle and we had just had lunch. Why? I asked. My colleague said, “You’ll see”. Clive’s presentation was endless. You were forbidden to leave your table to go to the bathroom or Clive would call you out from the stage, and Clive had the hotel turn the air conditioning to a meat locker temperature to make sure no one nodded off. The last act he presented was Barry Manilow. Other label heads had showcased some of their artists by having them play live or they played us new, unreleased recordings. Clive had no new music by Manilow and the artist was not present. We had to endure what must have been an hour of old Manilow music, Clive testifying to Manilow’s brilliance and boring the crap out of all of us. I was now initiated into the Clive experience.

Regards,

Steven Ehrlick

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Thanks for this brave piece on this a$$hole. This is anecdotal I know, but after years of record collecting I always noticed that the few Arista titles I’d buy were always pressed horribly.

Rob Pachol

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This piece written about Clive Davis, and on the day that he passed away is so disrespectful and mean and not even accurate.

I feel badly for you that you chose to write and distribute this.

When you pass away, I trust people will be more sensitive to you than you consciously chose to be to Clive Davis and his family.

Eddie OLoughlin

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It had to be said
This is why I subscribe

All the best
George Silva

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Good obit. The comparison with the Tin Pan Alley period is apt: Clive really did signal a return to that formula (along with the boy bands in the 90s). “Pro songwriters & fungible pretty faces” sums it up these days. Tho one wonders how many of this period’s hits will end up in the Great American Songbook

Big Al

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Not real sure why you wrote this. A lot of what you said about Clive is probably true, but why now and this harsh. In my 30 years in the music business I believe like you it is always about the artist. People would say to us when Amy Grant broke wide open you guys are so smart and I would always say we were lucky. It was the artist not us. I will always be thankful those who helped us Jim Gercio, Jerry Moss, Ed Rosenblatt and John Huie at CAA. And especially John Eastman.

Dan Harrell

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Your perspective on Davis’ career is most welcome, particularly in the current hurricane of slavish adulation.

Thank you for shining a light.

Nigel Russell

Toronto, Canada

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Loved this piece, Bob! It amused me that the next message in my inbox was a typically fawning obit in MBW. I much preferred your take.

Nigel Harding

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Hi Bob, I can not agree more with you “he wrote a book about his career there. 1974’s “Clive: Inside the Record Business” was very different from the man’s 2013 tome, “The Soundtrack of My Life.” The latter was a victory lap, it was unreadable hagiography. “I did this and then I did that and aren’t I great!” Well, the true greats don’t have to tell us they are.”. When I started at CBS 1978 I got his book and read it many times, best book ever. Then when the new one came I threw it away…but his 6 hours product presentations were outstanding with him sitting like a king on a podium and firing questions to local radio promoters why certain singles weren´t doing well…what a man.

Anders Hjelmtorp

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Clive Davis deserves all of the accolades he received in the many obituaries. He did a terrific job with every artist in his purview and was a true gentleman.

I regularly saw Clive at industry events and concerts. He was always warm, gracious, and kind.

Your bitter, vicious post about Clive Davis is an insult to this wonderful man and his lasting legacy. Clive was deeply loved by his artists and many people in the industry.

Clive deserved much better from you.

Judith Arden

New York City

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You are a small pathetic man.  Clive was a giant.

Glenn Whitehead

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I was Executive Vice President for a LONG year.  Always said, Clive is the greatest music man that ever was and the worst music businessman.

Bill Berger

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You nailed it! Perfectly.

If we ever connect real time, I will share a few antidotes.

Stay well and hug your loved ones.

All the best,

Jim Caparro

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What you said about Clive may indeed be all true, but I do think it did not have to be printed right after his death. It would probably have been more effective a few weeks later. Not sure what the rush was.

Regards,

Bill Migicovsky

Montreal

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Sad to see the passing of Clive Davis.  He was always very nice to me and offered me marketing jobs at Arista twice.  I thought I was too rock-album-oriented and too methodical for Clive.  I just didn’t think he would have the patience for a guy like me.  I didn’t think I would do well in his system.  It did get me a couple of nice raises at Sony Music, though, and I was always appreciative of his interest.  In my early days at Leber-Krebs Management, I worked on marketing Beatlemania while we were still in development at the Colonial Theater in Boston. Steve Leber and I pitched CBS-TV on a prime-time musical special, and they bought it.  I ran into Clive at Michael’s restaurant in NYC as I was leaving just before we opened the show at the Winter Garden Theater, and he asked how it was going.  I told him that ticket sales were doing great and about the TV commitment.  By the time I walked back to the office, Clive was on the phone to Steve Leber and had bought the soundtrack album.  I always thought it was funny, trying to think of who would buy that soundtrack when they could buy a Beatles greatest hits album.

All the best,

Dan Beck

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Wow talk about scathing..but the reality is you speak the truth. I can go back to a couple of things I saw in front of me. There was the story how Clive discovered Whitney Houston but if you were in New York City during that time  you knew that wasn’t true.. many knew about Cissy  Huston‘s daughter and although Clive took all the credit it was Gerry Griffith that first heard her singing at Sweetwater and brought her up to Clive… many knew what the real story was, but that was the deal. But the thing that really got my head spinning was at Arif Mardin’s memorial in NYC. It was a beautiful night when so many greats in the music world came out for this memorial.. Norah Jones sang, Bette Midler, Eddie Brigatti  from the Rascals.. and other luminaries that spoke and were humble and recognized the greatness of Arif and the true genius that he was and the effect that he had on so many great artists. And then who was the last to speak? Clive….. and he definitely made it so it was all about him in some very bizarre way… I was sitting there in the audience, just dumbfounded how the whole script could just be flipped in a second from this guy. But that was the way he was and that was how he was sold and that’s how he sold himself and in that case, it was very successful.
There is no doubt about it, though that Clive was one of a kind… no matter what you thought of them that was the impression that he is leaving. The guys that made the big differences like Mo Oustin and Ahmet will never come around again.. and for sure you won’t see another Clive Davis again..

Peace,Jason Miles

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I will never, ever forget the night Clive launched Whitney to all the executives he’d flown in from his distributors around the world …he’d hired a theatre in New York and there were about a 150 of us present, rather lost in such a large venue…Clive proceeded to harangue us from an empty stage about how this was going to be the biggest thing ever blah, blah…then plays the album through, with track by track commentary..from beginning to end…then gave us another half hour lecture on how she should be marketed and launched etc, then proceeded to play the album, in its entirety all over again… by this stage, 2 and a half hours in, most of us jet lagged exces would have paid money just to leave…but it was Clive, so we fought back the tiredness and tuffed it out…

Egotistical, self important twat was my take out of Clive and I never saw or heard anything since that would change that view.

Regards
Victor Stent
New Zealand.

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Totally fair to prefer classic rock to pop Bob but I Wanna Dance With Somebody will still loved and remembered for as long as anything from the classic rock era. And I was just reading The New Cue’s interview yesterday with Danny McNamara of Embrace (UK indie rock band from the 90s):

“What was the first record you loved?
Barry Manilow. I was about 8 and I wanted a ghettoblaster and my mum got me a tape deck with a radio on it. She bought Barry Manilow for herself but that was the one I used to play all the time. The first time I ever fell in love, I was eight years old, it was this girl at school called Sharon Pownall. I’d take my ghettoblaster to the end of her street and sit watching her house to see if she came out and play Barry Manilow. I Made It Through The Rain was a really big song for me as an eight-year-old, which is kind of ironic cos you haven’t really been through the wringer as an eight-year-old but it really feels like that when you first fall in love.”

Yours,

Joe Taylor

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I have no skin in the game here, but I’m guessing that many of your subscribers will be reflecting on the passing of someone they knew, worked with, were friends with… Perhaps you could have given these people a minute to settle before sharing your thoughts? Perhaps you could have toned down the language just a bit? Be kind – someone just died.

Cheers

Andy Fordyce

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That was a very mean spirited article even by your snarky standards.

When it comes to ‘tooting your horn’ nobody does it better than you Bob.

I didn’t know Clive Davis but he was IN the music business..Bob you’re on the sidelines lobbing meaningless drivel.

Best Wishes

Thomas Black

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Oof! Interesting and insightful as ever Bob. Bet you get some blow-back on this one!
Stay well… Pete Flatt

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..brilliant..you are a prolific writer.

Barbara Zats

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Songs written by committee are a rupture in the creative process. By design, a committee encourages groupthink and discourages self-expression. Imagine Dylan by committee. I’m no expert, but it smells like stabilization of profit is the culprit. Someone wanted a more dependable revenue stream, and the committee got the call. The committee produces vanilla music that sells enough and the investors won’t have to take chances on unknown acts that don’t fit the current standard. I hope some small label can sign a great act and break the mold. Something like Sun and Elvis.

Regards,

James Riley

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He gave us Laura Nyro.  Took all her songs, had hits with other Columbia artists at the time.  But it worked to where he could justify her making her own classic albums despite them not being a hit.

Annie Roboff

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I didn’t know Clive but he was approachable. I remember seeing him frequently in Toronto checking out bands. When asked, by a group of us, how he found time to come to Toronto he said — actually, New York is closer to Toronto than Chicago. I’ve always remembered that quick answer.

Michael Burke

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‘ I never knew the man, or cared either way, but right or wrong, your remarks are pretty cold-blooded Bob.

Like Trump saying “I’m glad he’s dead”.

Whoo boy

Dave Dalzell

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Bullseye.

Warm regards

Mark Burger

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Wow, Bob, tell us how you really feel!

A little jealous, maybe?

Thanks,

Ernie Canadeo

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This missive should be printed everywhere, for all to see. I’m glad that you wrote this…

As a record man, he couldn’t shine Ahmet’s shoes.

He also helped to ruin Rod Stewart’s musical path by putting out all of those schlock records.

Kevin Kiley

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Wow, Bob. You sh*tting on Clive was not on my bingo card. Oooof.
—Todd Campbell

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In 1980/81 when I was not involved with Gregg or The Allman Brothers Band they signed with Arista under Clive’s aegis and had two albums and a mid-chart single which they absolutely hated and broke up for the second time. Earlier on Capricorn with first Atlantic distribution and then WEA, I got to be around Phil Walden, Ahmet and Jerry, Mo and Joe. Now those were some fun times and I learned a lot about the music business.

Willie Perkins

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Amen, Bob. I’ve been seeing the tributes all afternoon, thinking to myself exactly what you’ve written here! Not only that, but I experienced it firsthand.

Back in the mid-90s, I made an album that Pete Townshend funded. (It never came out, but by coincidence, it’s finally coming out later this year.) Once we had some tracks done, Pete helped shop them. One of the lunches was with Clive.

My memory is that I was drunk and arrogant. But in retrospect, I just didn’t buy what Clive was selling. I was talking about my vision for the album and my career, and about what kind of artist I wanted to be, while Clive was focused on the sort of lowest common denominator chum I despised. Boy, did I piss him off when I pushed back. It was all very “don’t you know who I am, kid?” That’s why your comment about him being of a pre-Beatles mindset really struck a chord. It really did feel like Clive was all about the “How Much is That Doggy in the Window?” way of doing things.

But my abiding memory, and the first thing that popped into my head when I heard the news of his death, was how creepy Clive was. Like, Puffy level creepy. I was in my mid-20s at the time, so it was part of the terrain, but man was it gross.

And now he’s gone. Sure, he was an ancient white man, but it’s 2026. I’m shocked I’m not seeing more of what you wrote and what I remember. Or maybe it’s coming. I sure hope so.

Anyway, thanks for writing what I’ve been waiting all day for someone to write. No matter what blowback you get, there are plenty of us out here in the business that every bit of it rings true for.

Jeff Slate

NYC

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Jesus, dude.  It’s like you have a personal vendetta against this guy.   Even if everything you are saying is true, why is it an issue that he wasn’t the biggest or the greatest?  Clive is worth some recognition, and you have some pretty obvious animosity towards him.  Sure, you’re a journalist, but, then again, who are you?

No one will remember, just like you say no one will remember Clive.

Chris Friday

Warehouse Manager – Phish

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Please Mr.Lefsetz mute session would have been preferred at this time .

Danielle Lise Desrochers

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What an amazingly eloquent history lesson. Pay heed boys and girls.

Harold Love

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Pretty brutal even for you, Bob.

Lou Maresca

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Spot on ! Clive was wayyyy overrated !

Can you say “shooting fish in a barrel”!

Doug Pomerantz

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I generally enjoy your writing, but this one is really out of bounds. There’s really no need for this right after the guy died. The adage “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” really applies here.

Be better.

Ed Hannan

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this prodigious musical guru. Perhaps he was during his era.

One omission in your narrative was the public feud between Clive Davis and Kelly Clarkson that he detailed in his memoir. She fought to keep the rock edge of ‘Since U Been Gone,’ while Davis wanted it watered down. Fortunately, she prevailed, and the result was one of the most iconic and influential pop (rock) songs of the 2000s.

Arash Shirazi

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Wow.
Clap clap!

Galen Hudson

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There was not enough love in the world for Clive Davis. The boy from Brooklyn was always trying to convince us he was worthy. Only someone extremely insecure would need to promote himself to this degree.

Pretty harsh for a dude who had to make it in the world despite the trauma of losing parents at young age. Of course he’s messed up and had to fight for himself.  He had no one else!

Best,
Brian Winston
Massachusetts

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Getting older, thinking about legacy… then I remember that for 5 years (1978-1982), guess who the biggest movie star in the world was? Betcha never guessed Burt Reynolds.

Fame is fleeting and though they might last a little longer, even the rich and famous will fade into obscurity…

Already obscure,
Drew Arnott

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appreciate your telling it like you know and mean it…
and not bowing to the obligatory praise the dead.

Hong Son

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The guy just died for crying out loud.  I’m sure his family and friends don’t appreciate your timing let alone unkind words. You could’ve waited a respectful time and then said what you wanted to. Bad form, Bob. Bad form. Unnecessarily nasty.

Ken Green

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And in contrast with Clive Davis is Chris Blackwell..

Let’s wish the boss a happy birthday – 89 years young – a man who transformed the landscape of contemporary music in ways that people can only dream of or dare to imagine in 2026.

Lee Ginty

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A well deserved take on Clive’s hustle.  The tell will be the funeral/memorial.  It won’t be well attended or if it is, it will be people of his ilk, those who share the same preoccupation with mindless self promotion.

John Brodey

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Coulda just said ‘rest in peace Clive’

Denise Lutz

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For cultural impact I say Seymour Stein was the goat of A&R executives.

Steve Tipp

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As a true music executive, Clive was absolutely not in the league of Ahmet, Mo Ostin, Seymour Stein, Bruce Lundvall, Leonard Chess, Sam Phillips, Jac Holzman, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, Jerry Wexler, Chris Blackwell, Creed Taylor…

He signed Janis, BS&T, Chicago (CTA), Laura Nyro, et al post-Monterey bring Columbia Records to huge young audiences.  A business decision.

I always felt he was a master self-promoter who understood hits for the music marketplace rather than really understanding music on any seriously level.

And your last statement is so accurate – the great Arista releases by Patti Smith, Lou Reed, a couple by The Kinks, and a few others proved the exceptions to the rule.

Thanks for the truth, Bob!

Best,

Danny Kapilian

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I completely agree with your take on Clive Davis.

I will say, though there are exceptions that he signed as “fresh” talent especially within niche rock communities that are still revered, even though he did derail their career with his hit seeking mentality.  Jeff Healey, for example.

The first Jeff Healey Band album See the Light, had the big crossover ballad hit, no doubt heavily pushed by Davis, Angel Eyes, but the rest of the album was pure, blues rock authenticity with wicked vicious electric guitar playing, like Stevie Ray Vaughan with more distortion and aggression. In the era of Stevie Ray Vaughan, I think Jeff Healey was Clive’s attempt to get in on some of that action. And like you stated instead of leaving well enough alone, once most us in the rock and blues rock guitar community discovered Jeff was more than that ballad, and he was BLIND, playing and wailing on guitar the way he did, Jeff was getting some serious traction. But like you stated, Clive doesn’t want to leave well enough alone and thought he knew better. So of course, instead of realizing he’s got a career artist for the label, he starts meddling on the second album, demanding a slicker more polished sound. His second release Hell to Pay, it’s still a great album with Jeff’s stellar cover of While My Guitar Gently Weeps with George Harrison and Jeff Lynn adding backing vocals, and Jeff doing a Mark Knopfler penned song(I Think I Love You Too Much), with Mark, providing guitar and backing vocals, having modest success, sonically the album lacked the fire of the first album thanks to the slicker production sound. Predictably sales were less than the first album.

There was one more proper studio album, Feel This, and then what for all intents and purposes feels like a contract fulfillment album of covers called Cover to Cover, and I think Jeff was done with Arista. He still maintained a small career until his death, play more traditional, blues, and jazz, as jazz trumpet was actually his first love and opened up his own jazz club in Toronto, but in my opinion, Clive completely wasted the potential of what Jeff could do for the label in terms of credibility.  Like you stated, he thought in short-term hits versus long-term legacies. Ironic that he was doing it in the hopes of establishing his own long-term legacy.

Michael Moniz

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And Clive, to paraphrase Tom Petty (RIP) “didn’t  hear a single on our friend Eric Carmen’s, “Boats  Against the Current” Album that you’ve touted as a favorite. At the EC50 tribute show we did last November,  Eric sang his song vocal (courtesy of Sony.)

 

A 13 year old concert pianist prodigy,! Mikey Klein, recorded Eric’s exquisite piano part in advance in 2 takes! Live it was fretless bass (me!) along with first album drummer, Don Krueger, and the Lakewood Project  Orchestra – high school kids who learn classical music by ear first, then notation under the tutelage of Dr. Elizabeth Hankins.

Goes to show how Clive completely “missed the Boat” on this wonderful piece of music. I’m already seeing “Boats” garnering a lower level but similar degree of late term respect that Pet Sounds has.

In the other hand, Clive was a one of a kind. Got to meet him 2x. He knew a pop hit when he heard it as you said.

We’re losing the historic music business and artists. Sadly, I don’t see many new pioneers-just labels sliding AI clauses into their new artist agreements. Glad to see Irving leading “ The Rising” against it.

Stephen Knill

(Note: Note: “Boats Against the Current” was a song suite submitted with a specific running order beginning with “Run Away” and ending with “Boats Against the Current.” Eric Carmen told me that Clive insisted on reversing the running order on the ultimately released album.)

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I have a Clive story.

It’s around 1991 or 92 I think, give or take.

When I was coming up in NYC as young drummer, I was given the opportunity to play in a band that was being courted by Arista.

I jumped at the chance.  The music was good, the players were good, and I understood the implications of Clive’s power.

So, I started rehearsing and playing shows with them and then the keyboard player told the band that Clive wanted to see us live.

But, Clive didn’t want to come to a club, he wanted us to put together a private showcase for him.

So, we played for Clive in the keyboard player’s brownstone, in the living room.

It was an audience of three, Clive, Tom Corson (his head of Marketing –I think) …. and Mitchell Cohen (who i think was Clive’s Head of A&R at the time).

I guess we did OK because the band got signed (I’ll happily tell you privately who the band was but I’d rather not put it this public forum).

Now, it’s well-known, as you pointed out, that Clive liked to tinker with his acts creatively. I would go so far as to say he would micro-manage.

But, that was the price you’d pay for stardom.  And as distasteful creatively as his ideas often were, if you wanted “the push,” you’d take Clive’s advice.

In fact, more than that, if you wanted the push, you’d be smart to tell Clive that his ideas were genius and implement them, even if you hated them.

Because the truth is that often, artists don’t get more than one legitimate shot in this game.

And in 1992, as a musician, having Clive put the power of Arista behind you could change your life.

I always figured that if you were going to sign with a label like Arista, the whole point would be to let Clive mold you.

Right? Because if you sign with Clive, and you do everything he says, there’s a decent shot he’s going to get you a pretty good shot at pop stardom.

This is one of the big reasons I joined that band.

A few months later the keyboard player and singer went to meet with Clive to talk about the first record.

And they came back from the meeting and told us (the rest of the band) that Clive had a lot of ideas but that they didn’t really like many of them.

In fact they told us—like it was a good thing—that they told Clive they weren’t going to do most of things he asked.

My heart sank when I heard this.  Because I knew that was the end of the band’s chance of anything happening at Arista.

So, not long after that, I quit the band. Literally, a few weeks later,  I told them I didn’t want to make the record.

I believed the record would never come out, and I didn’t want to go through all of that work and not have the album released.

I was probably a bit too impulsive back in my twenties, because making another record at that level would have probably been a good thing for me…. that was probably short-sighted.

But, as it turns out, the record was not ever released.

So, the moral of the story was; with Clive, if you wanted to be successful (at  a possible creative cost….yes, admittedly)…..you’d have to do what he said or you’re out.

Thanks for being honest, Bob

Regards,

Mark Feldman

Boston (formerly of NYC)

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“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” That quote was spoken by newspaper editor Maxwell Scott in the 1962 western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. It referred to the power of myth-making and that a culturally significant story is sometimes preferable to the factual truth.

It’s hard to argue with what you’ve written except to say it could have been told in a kinder way. But that’s OK, I remain a fan of the no holds barred Lefsetz method.

As we watch the media espouse the legend, and although all acts signed to a label must be done with a president’s pen, it is important to note that Bruce Springsteen was brought to the label by John Hammond and little known fact, Aerosmith was discovered by a Columbia A&R man (who I remember being there for less than a year) named Ray Colcord who talked the label into signing them. Yes, Clive signed The Dead but I don’t think that would have happened without Michael Klenfner’s introduction and counterculture credibility. And for all the hits, only us who were there can name the many misses.

But having said all that, I must tell you, I worked for seven presidents during my time at Columbia. And the two smartest ones were Clive Davis and Don Ienner (who is a Clive Davis protege). Both had a 24/7 work ethic and both had a sixth sense and vision about the possibilities for their artists.

Clive had the most amazing memory and he took an all-hands approach like I’ve never seen before. Here is a story which indebted me to him for life.

In 1972 I was in my second year as local album promotion man for Los Angeles and surrounding areas. I worked all formats but of course my favorite was FM rock radio. A new band was formed called West, Bruce, and Laing and being a guitar guy I totally fell in love with Leslie West weaving his guitar licks alongside Jack Bruce’s bass lines with Corky Laing providing the big drum engine which drove the whole thing. I turned LA upside down for these guys in anticipation of their November debut at the Hollywood Palladium. Heavy airplay on all four FM rock radio stations and unique promotions on each was only topped by the over-the-top party I threw after the show. I blew the budget on a food sculpturist who created a whole New York scene replete with the Brooklyn Bridge’s iconic suspension cables created with string cheese! Keith Moon was there as he was a friend of Leslie’s. The entire event was the talk of the town for weeks.

Bud Prager was the manager, and I don’t know what was up with him the week of the show but all he did was complain about the supposed lack of effort I’d showed for his band. He kept hammering me every day with stupid sh*t like “Why don’t I hear their record on the radio?” He even complained about the party and made me have breakfast with him the on the Saturday after to dress me down and pontificate on how to throw a party.

I wasn’t one who expected thank-yous but I’d literally worked myself sick for West, Bruce, and Laing and just couldn’t take the abuse. On Monday morning I poured my heart out to regional promotion man Chuck Thagard. Somehow word got back to Clive.

Clive Davis was a very busy man working with top level artists, managers, promoters, etc. I didn’t even think he knew who I was, but apparently he knew WHO EVERYBODY WORKING FOR HIM was. He called Bud and MADE BUD PRAGER APOLOGIZE TO ME. Bud called and reported what Clive had told him. “Bud, I don’t know what you think, but Paul Rappaport is one of our new up-and-coming superstars of promotion. Near as I can tell LA has exploded with West, Bruce, and Laing excitement. I want you to call Paul and apologize for your behavior.”

And, he did. I remember thinking when Bud called, with Clive’s backing I can really blow this guy a new a**hole or I can take the high road and be a class act. How do I want to be known in this business? I chose the latter, thanked Bud for the call, was sorry for any misunderstanding he’d had, and reassured him how much I loved his act and how I would continue working 110% on their behalf. Thank you Clive Davis.

For all his downsides (and way too long speeches, haha), the man did reinvent himself three times over. I don’t know many who could even rise from the ashes like he did after being completely humiliated by CBS, much less do it again two more times. That is an unprecedented feat and takes some powerful courage.

Even at the height of his fame, he was always approachable with thoughtful words of wisdom after listening to a new artist’s tape I’d send now and then.

So, yeah, print the legend. He deserves it.

Paul Rappaport

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Just when I thought your missive on Grillo’s was going to be the best thing I read this week, Clive Davis dies. And you deliver a positively dill-lightful read.

Terence Reilly

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I knew you would be rough on Clive but this was brutal.  Please print the letters.   My bet, 90% of the writers will be fighting back for Clive.  Me too.

Lizzz Kritzer

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Wowee!

You might have to hire someone to start your car!!!

Mike Bone