Music mogul Clive Davis got what his son called “a statesman’s send off” today at Central Synagogue in Manhattan.
Security was tight outside. Inside, around 500 people gathered with invitation only to say goodbye to a man who changed so many lives for the better and influenced generations of music stars and fans.
Barry Manilow, Davis’s first signed act at Arista Records in 1974, called their relationship “music of friendship.”
Bruce Springsteen said Clive “was born to run…everything!”
Dionne Warwick praised his ability to see she still had a career back in 1979.
Alicia Keys noted that Davis first heard her audition at 16. Her whole life was affected when he released her first album, “Songs in A Minor.” She said when she signed with Clive, he promised to treat her “like Joni Mitchell.” That sealed the deal.
Kenny G opened the funeral playing his “Songbird,” a massive hit on Arista Records.
Jennifer Hudson and a gospel choir brought down the with a medley of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” She got a standing ovation, something not usually seen in temple.
Two of Davis’s lawyer sons — Fred and Doug — spoke movingly of their dad. They observed that their relationships only grew stronger as adults. Son Mitch Davis eulogized Clive on Facebook and Instagram (See below). A letter was read aloud from Paul Simon, who’s on tour, recalling their decades old friendship. Central Synagogue overflowed with familiar faces and friends, starting with Sony Music chief Rob Stringer, who told the crowd Davis would always be remembered at the company where he was chief executive officer even in his later days.
Spotted among the guests in the temple, spies say, were Art Garfunkel, sitting right behind Springsteen and manager Jon Landau; the Kinks’ Dave Davies, plus Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty, Diane Warren, Valerie Simpson, Paul Shaffer, Usher, Brenda Vaccaro, Nikki Haskell, Denise Rich, CAA music chief Rob Light, Monte Lipman of Republic Records, Broadway stars Shoshanna Bean and Adrienne Warren, Dave Massey of Arista, famed publicist Susan Blond, and Nancy and Paul Pelosi, who loved Clive and made the trip from Washington.
Whitney Houston’s family was represented by sister-in-law Pat, who runs her estate. Netflix chief Stevie Wonder was in the house, as was Gayle King. So were producer Mark Ronson and his mom, Ann Dexter Jones.
UPDATED: Netflix chief Ted Sarandos attended with wife Nicole Avant. Her father, Clarence, was a great friend of Clive for decades.
What a show of respect and love for the man who gave us “the soundtrack of our lives.”
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