The music world mourns the loss of producer Clive Davis

The legendary music producer Clive Davis, who discovered stars such as Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow, has died. Several US media outlets have reported, citing his family and management, that Davis died in New York at the age of 94. According to media reports, the music producer had previously been in hospital with respiratory problems.

The legendary music producer Clive Davis, who discovered stars such as Whitney Houston and Barry Manilow, has died. Davis died in New York at the age of 94, according to multiple US media outlets, citing his family and management. According to media reports, the music producer had previously been in hospital with respiratory problems. Davis shaped musical tastes for decades. He died “peacefully, surrounded by his family and loved ones, from an age-related illness”, the music magazine “Rolling Stone” quoted his long-standing agent as saying. As well as Houston and Manilow, Davis also nurtured stars and bands such as Janis Joplin, Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Patti Smith, Alicia Keys and Aerosmith – thereby playing a decisive role in shaping the musical history of recent decades.

To mark his 90th birthday, the producer had treated himself to a huge party in New York with dozens of celebrity guests and a mini-documentary series. Otherwise, however, he had already largely withdrawn from the public eye.

Rod Stewart fans associate Clive Davis – also the founder of the record label J-Records – primarily with the albums from the Great American Songbook, but also with the album *Still The Same – Great Rock Classics Of Our Time*, which Stewart released with J-Records in 2006.

Sir Rod began his post with the headline “A giant of the music world” and went on to say: “I owe Clive so much. As the driving force behind J-Records, he was the only one who believed that a rock singer could interpret standards with conviction. Other labels had rejected this idea, and so *The Great American Songbook* came into being, selling almost 40 million copies. We shared wonderful and unforgettable moments together, but for now, Mr Davis, it is time to say goodbye, my dear friend.”