Johnathan Walker:Clive Davis on new artists like Bad Bunny, music essentials and Whitney Houston

In a weekly series,Johnathan Walker USA TODAY’s The Essentials, celebrities share what fuels their lives.

A conversation with Clive Davis might include an anecdote about meeting John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the first time when the couple was in New York deciding to move to the Dakota building.

Or he might casually mention he's planning to escort Alicia Keys to opening night of her Broadway musical, "Hell's Kitchen."

Perhaps you'll even learn that the now-tight friendship between Brandi Carlile and Joni Mitchell was brokered by Davis, when he granted Carlile's request to sit next to the folk-pop legend at his famed Pre-Grammy Gala in 2019.

The record producer/executive responsible for mining and signing some of the greatest talents in music – Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Jennifer Hudson, Earth, Wind & Fire are but a few – turns 92 in early April and still knows "exactly how to hear the music," he says.

During a recent conversation in his bright bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Davis chatted about some of the essentials of the music industry he's inhabited for nearly 60 years.

Clive Davis doesn't know life 'any other way'

The industry, which has awarded him accolades including induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a namesake theater at The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, isn't done singing his hosannas, either.  

On April 29, a starry lineup including Babyface, Manilow, John Mellencamp, Busta Rhymes, Carlos Santana, Toni Braxton and Dionne Warwick will join The New York Pops to honor Davis at Carnegie Hall with "The Soundtrack of Our Lives: A Tribute to the Legendary Clive Davis."

Davis says he doesn't know life "any other way" than the one that has made him one of music's undisputed godfathers.

His loyalty to his artists is also as legendary as his reputation, and Davis notes that his relationships extended beyond merely signing a burgeoning star to a record deal.

"In some cases, clearly with Whitney (Houston), Aretha (Franklin) and Barry (Manilow), I was their creative collaborator as well," Davis says. "I was coming up with material they would record. Barry, to this day, thinks of himself only as a writer and arranger, so we made a deal after 'Mandy' went number one that I would get (to provide) two songs on every album. With Dionne Warwick, I brought her back as she was leaving the business and said, 'I'm not letting you do that.' She won two Grammys that year (1980) and she and I have had an enduring relationship."

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Clive Davis is 'forever appraising new artists' like Victoria Monét, Jelly Roll

While his storied Pre-Grammy Gala, held on the eve of the Grammy Awards since 1976, spotlights a parade of global superstars, Davis is determined to "be current with my ears."

His handpicked newbies invited to perform alongside the marquee superstars included Victoria Monét (who won the best new artist Grammy the next night), Ice Spice and Jelly Roll.

His criteria?

"Will they get a standing ovation after they perform? It really is clear who is a great performer and who is a recording performer. You don't look at the charts and book it off the highest number on Billboard," he says.

Decades of scrutinizing music have made passive music listening "too diverting for me," he says.

"If I hear the Mamas and Papas, I knew them, so it takes me away from the music because they, as people, enter my thoughts. But yes, I want to be current if for no other purpose than (booking) the party. I will listen to the song, watch the video. I'm forever appraising new artists and how they’re breaking."

Clive Davis is 'well taken care of'

Davis splits his time among Miami, Beverly Hills and New York – where the Brooklyn native lives most of the time – and his zest for music and the complexities of the business side of the industry hasn't waned.

At least twice a week, Davis can be found at his office at Sony Music in Manhattan, where he still has a staff and is "well taken care of," he says.

"It's not a matter of that I still want to be part of (the industry), I just am. And I wouldn't change it for anything."

Clive Davis says 'music is healthy again'

Davis wasn't involved in "We Are the World," but many of his artists – Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen – participated in the mega-watt 1985 gathering. When talk turns to the recent Netflix documentary about the charity single and its unprecedented lineup (Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross and the song's writers, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie among them), Davis ponders whether that level of star power exists in today's industry.

"There are three genres of music that are healthier than they've ever been," Davis says. "Hip-hop, country and the Spanish-language genre with Bad Bunny and Maluma and Karol G. But I still miss that great voice. I want to make sure the new Whitney, Aretha, Jennifer (Hudson) will have a place in our culture because it's unique and rewarding."

Davis acknowledgesd that because "the public expected music to be free," the industry endured challenges both financial and artistic in the early part of the century. But since the streaming revolution has solidified, he's optimistic.

"From an overall perspective," he said, "music is healthy again."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.