Hitting high notes of Clive Davis’ success
For those who recognize the name from his annual pre-Grammy parties or the face as that old dude who used to pick songs for the three “American Idol” finalists, “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives” will likely be an eye-opening, not to mention ear-opening, experience.
While the documentary adheres to a predictable music industry tribute template, Davis’ career trajectory is anything but, starting as a 1956 Harvard law school grad with no musical aspirations who would head Columbia Records, giving the staid label serious rock cred by signing the likes of Janis Joplin’s Big Brother & the Holding Company and Blood, Sweat & Tears.
By the ’70s, Davis’ hitmaking reputation was solidified with a roster including Bruce Springsteen; Santana; Earth, Wind & Fire; Aerosmith; and Chicago.
Despite that success, he was forced out of the company in 1973 during an embezzlement scandal (for which he was subsequently exonerated) but would more than get his revenge by founding Arista Records, developing a lineup that included Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester, Aretha Franklin and the artist who remained closest to his heart, Whitney Houston.
Their father-daughter relationship, serving as the emotional touchstone of the film, resulted in Davis being in denial about Houston’s drug addiction until 2001.
Even so, the tirelessly dedicated Davis could never quite comprehend that level of self-destruction.
Although Chris Perkel’s two-hour documentary can feel like an extended “Behind the Music” episode while shedding scant light on the private life of the twice-married father of four who revealed his bisexuality in his 2013 autobiography, it’s admittedly tough to condense half a century of such remarkable musical diversity.
As noted by music exec L.A. Reid, whose influential LaFace label with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds was financed by Davis, “Kenny G to the Notorious B.I.G. — that’s a distance!”
At age 85, the Man with the Golden Ear doesn’t appear to be heading for a finish line anytime soon.