Kelly Clarkson defends herself against Clive Davis and his stories.- Page 3

Posted: 2/20/13 at 1:35pm

Clive Davis is indeed an egomaniac, a control freak and a jerk- but he is also, by far, the most successful music executive ever. In the 60's he headed up Columbia records and was as responsible as anyone for the boom in folk and rock music- among his Columbia signings were Janis Joplin, Pink Floyd, Laura Nyro, Santana, Chicago, Earth Wing & Fire, Aerosmith- He could have retired when he left Columbia and still be thought of as a legend.

But after getting dumped by Columbia he took over a fourth-string label called Bell, fired everyone there except a singer named Barry Manilow (who had been hitless till then) and renamed it Arista- He specialized for a while in rejuvenating old careers, giving Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Dionne Warwick and the Grateful Dead huge second careers. He did break new artists there too, making Arista a HUGE Country powerhouse and giving L A Reid, Babyface and Sean Combs their big breaks- and driving Arista to the biggest label in the USA. Oh and did I mention Whitney?

Clive started J Records in 2000 then sold it to become head of BMG and (after a merger) Sony/BMG the biggest record company in the world. A few superstars I missed: Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Alicia Keys, Pink, Jennifer Hudson, Bruce Springsteen, Notorious B I G...

Yes, he's a conceited jerk but honestly, I can see why.





Updated On: 2/20/13 at 01:35 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 1:37pm

Why can't entertainment executives be sweet and deferential?

[DAME]

Posted: 2/20/13 at 7:52pm

Because they have to be rich and greedy.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/22/13 at 4:33pm

Howard Stern is siding with Kelly:

In an unexpected burst of shock jock compassion, Howard Stern sided with Kelly Clarkson this week on his show while discussing the spat that emerged between the singer and Clive Davis over Davis' description of her abilities and work ethic in his new memoir. The music

mogul wrote that Clarkson was a "s----y" singer prone to histrionic fits of "sobbing," in his new book, "The Soundtrack of My Life."

"I always find it sickening when management guys like to set the record straight about how f---ing creative and what geniuses they are," griped Stern. "And, like, this guy's trying to diminish what she does? Doesn't he have enough in life? Can't he sort of tell his story without f---ing degrading her and putting her down?" He added that Clarkson "has an amazing voice, and the girl has worked hard to get to where she is," before saying, "I don't understand Clive Davis' motivation for knocking this chick down."

[artscallion]

Posted: 2/22/13 at 4:46pm

A lovely sentiment, though a tad on the ironic side.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 2/22/13 at 4:47pm

It's like rain on your wedding day
It's a free ride when you've already paid
It's the good advice that you just didn't take
Who would've thought... it figures

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 2/22/13 at 5:15pm

Wait, now they're saying he called her a shi-ty singer?

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 2/22/13 at 7:51pm

Why were the comments about Whitney's apparent lesbianism deleted? I guess the implication that somebody may have been gay is just too heinous and slanderous to be allowed.

Edit - never mind, I've just realized they were (and still are) in the other Clive Davis memoir thread. My bad.

Updated On: 2/22/13 at 07:51 PM

[OperaBwayLover]

Posted: 2/22/13 at 7:57pm

I remember she addressed several of the points mentioned here back in an interview for Readers Digest when My December came out. Back then she didn't name names, she just said she had to "fight the label over plenty of (her) songs that became hits."
Kudos to her for sticking up for herself.