Clive Davis passed away on June 22nd at the age of 94. For decades, he was involved in shaping the sound of American radio across multiple genres more than perhaps any single executive in the history of the business. His fingerprints are on records that defined formats, launched careers, and moved audiences across generations. When the news broke, I reached out to a handful of radio folks and asked them to share memories and what Davis meant to our industry.
First Thoughts That Came to Mind
I first asked what their immediate reactions were when they heard of Davis’s passing.
André Yancey, Brand Manager at 94.7 The Block in New York City, didn’t hesitate to talk about the music Clive Davis helped bring to life. “My brain moves fast, but the go-to was Whitney Houston’s ‘Saving All My Love for You,'” he said. “The legendary opening track from her debut album. From there I ran through his contributions to the American Songbook — Janis Joplin, Rod Stewart, and Barry Manilow all the way to TLC and Alicia Keys.”
Jim Ryan, radio consultant/GOAT, took a different first step. “I thought first of my dear friend Richard Palmese, who worked for Clive for many years,” he said. “My second thought was to call John Foxx at WCBS-FM and talk about honoring Clive on air. He was not only a fabric of the music industry but also the City of New York.” Ryan also shared his personal photos from Davis’s 90th birthday party, which you can see as the header for this column.
Skip Dillard, Format VP of Rhythmic AC and Throwbacks, went straight to Earth, Wind & Fire. With the group’s HBO documentary fresh in mind, he recalled that Davis signed them and gave them room to find their sound. “It feels like Clive both directly and indirectly gave us decades of artists,” Dillard said.
A Body of Work That Crossed Every Line
Clive Davis built his legacy across formats, and the executives who I spoke with made that clear. Erik Bradley, Brand Manager at Audacy, pointed to two artists from the LaFace partnership whose impact never faded. “Usher and Outkast — classic talents with classic smashes that still are relevant today,” he said.
Yancey drilled deeper into the J Records era. “Jamie Foxx, Mario, Monica, Alicia, Busta Rhymes, and Eric Sermon — we lean on Whitney, Alicia, and TLC,” he said. “But we also have to remember the amount of sampling that happens in Hip Hop, which contains nods to classics.”
He rattled off the connections: Rod Stewart’s “If You Think I’m Sexy” sampled by The Lox. Barry Manilow’s “I Write the Songs” referenced directly by Jermaine Dupri in “Money Ain’t a Thing.” “The music Davis championed crossed all socioeconomic, racial, and creedal lines,” Yancey said. “Just as music is supposed to.”
Dillard expanded the view further. Davis helped Aretha Franklin re-energize her career. He supported the LaFace Records collaboration that produced Toni Braxton. His distribution deal with Diddy built the foundation for Bad Boy Records and Biggie. “He was both directly and indirectly responsible for so much music across multiple formats,” Dillard said.
The Second Act Was His Specialty
Few skills defined Davis more than his ability to engineer a comeback. Ryan pointed to Rod Stewart. “Clive brought Rod Stewart’s career back to life with the Great American Songbook albums,” he said. “I was programming WLTW, and Rod did a show for us at MSG thanks to Clive.”
Yancey cited Santana’s Supernatural as the gold standard. “The particular single that remains a mainstay on our Throwback rotation is ‘Maria Maria,'” he said. “It’s proving to be timeless — and it functions as a dual throwback because DJ Khaled sampled it to construct ‘Wild Thoughts.'” Yancey added that the album accomplished what great music does: it crossed conventional audience boundaries.
Bradley went to Whitney. “I remember the ‘My Love Is Your Love’ era,” he said. “And after her passing, Kygo’s re-working of her ‘Higher Love’ vocals. That was a fun moment and a great memory.”
Dillard highlighted Luther Vandross’s “Dance with My Father” as a late-career breakthrough that rewrote the rules. “Luther always felt pop radio denied him love because he was boxed in at Urban,” he said. “But ‘Dance’ wound up breaking through due to its message, which Clive sought out in songs. AC and even pop radio joined the party.”
What Radio Can Learn From Clive Davis
The executives were direct about the lessons Clive Davis left behind for the industry.
Ryan put it plainly. “Clive was a detail freak. We’ve lost that in radio. I absolutely hate the ‘close counts’ mentality radio has gone to with the cost cuts.” He called for more attention to the small things — not as a business strategy, but as a tribute.
Yancey framed it as a balance between data and instinct. “Chase emotion as much as you chase data,” he said. “Some forms of magic present themselves subtly.” He pointed to “I Will Always Love You,” “Unbreak My Heart,” and “Mandy” as proof that the emotional core of a record outlasts every metric.
Dillard connected the philosophy directly to the craft of programming. “Always seek that special sound in everything we do — from imaging to writing, to content, to the flow of the music,” he said. “Clive wouldn’t greenlight anything he didn’t have full faith in.”
Final Thoughts
Ryan closed with a challenge. “Clive wanted chart-topping hits, but he also wanted careers,” he said. “The best thing we could do in radio is champion the careers of our talent. Grow that night jock into a spectacular morning host. Take that one-market morning host to syndication.”
Yancey echoed it with a broader call to purpose. “We often use the word ‘hit’ within the industry and lose sight of the gravity of what that actually means — the difference between a moment and a movement,” he said. “We can be vessels to understand, direct, and help heal our audience. Just like the music.”
Dillard noted that the Clive Davis Music Business School at NYU, the Grammy Museum, and the Living Legends Foundation will carry his legacy forward. He extended an invitation to Barrett Media readers to attend the Living Legends Foundation Annual Awards Gala in Atlanta on October 2nd, where tributes to Davis are planned. Information and tickets are available at LivingLegendsFoundation.com.
The music Clive Davis helped put into the world was never just content. It was connective tissue. Radio’s job now is to keep that connection alive.
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Bethany Kent is a Music Radio Editor for Barrett Media. She spent nearly 20 years bringing radio to life on stages, across the airwaves, and through unforgettable listener experiences. Her career spans local markets including Providence, Philadelphia, and New York City, most recently serving as National Director of Music Initiatives for Audacy. From producing major live events like HOT 97’s Summer Jam to leading strategic national marketing initiatives, she has built a career at the intersection of music, media, and culture. She can be reached at bethany@barrettmedia.com.
