The Clive Davis pre-Grammy party is here, it’s back in New York where it began. The invitation is off the hook, of course. It’s a black satin box with raised gold lettering. On the cover is the Empire State Building. Inside, it’s gold and mirrored with color photos of the famous people who’ve attended in Los Angeles for the last several years. The invite is hand-delivered, and it’s one of the best days of the year when the messenger buzzes and announces: “Clive Davis.”
And who’s coming? Every important person in music in New York, that’s who. Jay Z is being honored by Clive and NARAS, which means Neil Portnow will conduct that part of what is the best bar mitzvah in 50 states. And if Jay Z is coming, can Beyonce be far behind?
But I do expect to see Jennifer Hudson, Dionne Warwick, Alicia Keys, Fleetwood Mac (they’re being honored the night before at MusiCares), maybe Elton John and David Furnish, maybe Ed Sheeran, tons of media people from New York who don’t get to the west coast. The Broadway crowd should filter in around 11pm, which as we know from previous years, is the “early” part of the evening!
Clive keeps the performers a secret right until the last minute, so we’ll wait and see who is locked up. But imagine the pool of A list talent in New York who could show up– Sting, Paul McCartney, Carly Simon, Valerie Simpson… the names boggle the mind.
So hang on. Grammy Week already looks like it’s going to be crazy great with events for the Billboard 100, for the great Tom Corson taking over at Warner Bros., for the Otis Redding Foundation at the Apollo, for the MusiCares night with Fleetwood Mac, and the Grammys themselves at Madison Square Garden. Monday January 29th no one will be at their desks in the record biz in NY– they’ll all be sleeping off the weekend!
