“The Soundtrack of My Life” Review from The Cleveland Sound
Book Review via The Cleveland Sound: “When it comes to trend-setting in music Sony’s Clive Davis has few rivals”. Take a moment to read.
Arista Records Man Clive Davis Writes Memoir
By Pete Roche
The Cleveland Sound
When it comes to trend-setting in music, Sony Music chief creative officer Clive Davis has few rivals.
As head of Columbia Records in the early ‘70s and his own Arista label in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Davis introduced the world to Carlos Santana, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, and Alicia Keys. He was implemental in resurrecting the flagging or stalled careers of such singers as Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin—effectively doubling their shelf lives—and his acumen, savvy, and innovation forever changed how the industry records, markets, and distributes music. After fifty years in the game Davis is beloved by artists on and off his labels, admired by his peers, and is as familiar to listeners as most musicians. His accomplishments earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2000 as a non-performer.
Only Ahmet Ertegun (Atlantic) and David Geffen (DGC) boast similar musical Midas touches. Davis himself admits such in his terrific new autobiography, The Soundtrack of My Life (Simon & Schuster, 586 pages), a whopper of a tome that takes readers on a chronological (more or less) journey through Clive’s remarkable career of crafting hits that matter and developing artists for the long-term. A few tidbits about the man’s personal life are thrown in, but they almost seem like perfunctory afterthoughts compared with the exhaustive accounting of Davis’ work from the late ‘60s to mid-‘00s.
Click here to see the review >>
http://www.theclevelandsound.com/?p=15940
By Pete Roche
The Cleveland SoundWhen it comes to trend-setting in music, Sony Music chief creative officer Clive Davis has few rivals.
As head of Columbia Records in the early ‘70s and his own Arista label in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Davis introduced the world to Carlos Santana, Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, and Alicia Keys. He was implemental in resurrecting the flagging or stalled careers of such singers as Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin—effectively doubling their shelf lives—and his acumen, savvy, and innovation forever changed how the industry records, markets, and distributes music. After fifty years in the game Davis is beloved by artists on and off his labels, admired by his peers, and is as familiar to listeners as most musicians. His accomplishments earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2000 as a non-performer.
Only Ahmet Ertegun (Atlantic) and David Geffen (DGC) boast similar musical Midas touches. Davis himself admits such in his terrific new autobiography, The Soundtrack of My Life (Simon & Schuster, 586 pages), a whopper of a tome that takes readers on a chronological (more or less) journey through Clive’s remarkable career of crafting hits that matter and developing artists for the long-term. A few tidbits about the man’s personal life are thrown in, but they almost seem like perfunctory afterthoughts compared with the exhaustive accounting of Davis’ work from the late ‘60s to mid-‘00s.
Click here to see the review >>
http://www.theclevelandsound.com/?p=15940