Clive Davis has died at age 94. Clive was the head of Arista Records for many years. Arista had absorbed Bell Records where Barry Manilow, Tony Orlando & Dawn and I had been signed, so we three became the foundation upon which Clive built his new company.
I struggled with Clive’s vision for my career sometimes. He struggled to understand me sometimes. I’d had great success and withering disappointments with him but, in the end, I was grateful that he believed in my talent in an unwavering way for so long.
Here is the last photo we recently took together. He’d said, “Call me whenever you’re performing in town. I’ll come.” I swear I was just about to call him. Rest easy now, Clive, and thank you.
~ Melissa Manchester
The Arista Years
In 1980, Melissa became the first recording artist in Academy Awards history to have two nominated movie themes in a single year – “Through the Eyes of Love” from Ice Castles and “I’ll Never Say Goodbye” from The Promise – and to perform them both on the Oscar telecast.
During her years at Arista Records under Clive Davis, she recorded some of her most defining work, including the GRAMMY®-nominated “Don’t Cry Out Loud” and the GRAMMY® Award-winning “You Should Hear How She Talks About You.”