Three years ago, legendary music mogul Clive Davis gave notable record producer Mark Ronson a project:
Take all the videos from Davis’s decades of hits and make them into a mega mix movie.
A long version was shown at Davis’s 90th birthday party in April 2022. It was met with applause, but it was also too long.
This past summer, Clive showed a shorter, tighter version at the Bedford Playhouse in Westchester. It was a huge success. Then he went west to Palm Springs and Los Angeles, where invited audiences got a sneak peek.
On Tuesday night, Clive brought “Do You Remember?” to The Iris Cantor Theatre and Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. The room was packed. Mark Ronson came and brought his famous mom, Ann Dexter Jones. A spirited one-hour Q&A moderated by author/music critic Anthony DeCurtis followed.
The audience went wild. I’ve seen “Do You Remember?” and it’s really a hit. I only hope Clive lets a streamer or cable channel show it soon. Ronson’s “visual mixtape” features remixed video clips that are like a Five Star Jukebox. The hits just keep coming from: Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, Biggie Smalls, Janis Joplin, Barry Manilow, Billy Joel, Carlos Santana, Earth Wind & Fire, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Rod Stewart, Dionne Warwick, Maroon 5, The Kinks, Blood Sweat & Tears, The Grateful Dead, and many more.
Whew!
Next up for Clive: he’s catching Patti Smith at the Beacon Theater this weekend. Back in 1975 Clive signed Patti to his new Arista Records and a star was born, so this makes for a unique moment. Next week he’s hosting a screening of “Song Sung Blue,” with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. He’s also planning his 2026 Grammy party-dinner-concert for January 31st.
Mark Ronson has a novel out, and just produced Miley Cyrus’s theme song for the new “Avatar” movie.
Not bad!
