Clive Davis

If Kelly Clarkson hates you, you must be a fake nasty dude.

He a manipulating Jew cracka and he make me perform like I he house help and I...

blub blub blub blubbity blub blub....

(sound of bubble bath)

All about the bottom line. Treated all his acts like cattle. Look at what he did the night Whitney died.

[quote] Look at what he did the night Whitney died.

"I thought it was complete insanity".

Payola king—quickly forgotten

?? What did he do when Whitney died?

Jesus Christ R6. Learn what he did when Whitney was alive!! Yes he discovered and mentored her and made her a star. This is not a short story. It's a tragic one. What he did when she died and continues to do to this day is rape her corpse. He didn't destroy her, but he never helped her. He denies her problems to this day. I hate Clive closet case Davis. He denied Whitney her few chances at happiness and lied to the world. For MONEY. Vultures. Clive is a particular kind of vulture. A liar. Kelly Clarkson can tell you how much he lies and how vindictive he can be. Kelly is nice to everyone. But Clive done her wrong and she didn't say the half of it. Go see Whitney's hologram tour. NO. Why? Because we KNOW her. You can't replicate her for a few million more you ancient silk sock fag. I HATE Clive Davis. YUCK. Cissy and Pat and all those fucking bible thumping heathen crackheads pimping out Whitney her whole life. She took them first class everywhere and made them rich - till the day she died. By that time she was worth more dead than alive. Clive found a way. Our girl. The best there ever was - deserved so much better. HELP. She'd be the first to forgive Clive though. Love the Lord.

He's a mean and creepy creepy creepy little man.

No he isn't. And his daughter is a great music professor at NYU.

I hate that ugly troll. He should have done more to help Whitney. He made lots of money off of her. He knew she was doing drugs he could have got her in a good rehab. Then she dies in that hotel. And he continues that party in his honor. Piece of garbage.

Didn't he claim to discover his attraction to men in his 60s? My first instinct is to call bullshit but bisexuality is a whole different kettle of fish so I don't know. I have seen quite a few stories where bisexuals 'discover' an attraction to the same sex well into adulthood: 30s, 40s, etc.

Seems like he was your typical two-faced... you know.

He paid conservative media, primarily, to attack Madonna mercilessly and stain her reputation. This came out in some book. He went after Mariah, for a bit, but Motolla protected her for the most part. Warner Bros didn't protect Madonna until she proved her staying power. I know he briefly paid for bad press for Janet but in the end, didn't see her as much of a thread especially internationally.

^^^ threat

I'm looking forward to his death. He's a horrible person.

Source for that gossip, R13? I don't think he really cared about those artists.

Whitney LOVED Janet. Obviously Janet was not a threat to Whitney Houston. But Whitney loved Janet's music. And most of those other girls too. Brandi, Monica, MJ Blige, Missy Elliot. Lauryn Hill. Whitney sang their praises all the time. With Madonna and Mariah she was a little more polite. They were real competition. But not if you listened. Whitney and Mariah came out all right in the end, but even mid stage crack addict Whitney was more at ease and beautiful and in better voice than whispering Mariah. No shade on the great Mariah Carey. She just never was the new Whitney Houston. She worshipped her though. Ah. Great days for good singers. Whitney was so confident before she lost it all. It was a very long fall. I hate Clive Davis.

Thanks for sharing that, R17. I've always enjoyed that song.

Clive chose a lot of bad songs for Whitney, but that "My Love is Your Love" album was one of her best.

Clive definitely saw Madonna as the only threat to Whitney. He did pay for bad press for Madonna knowing WBR was a shit record company (ask Prince they drove him insane). It wasn't a book about Clive but an article a few years back. He even apologized to Madonna and she said that was just how the business was but he had the press rake Madonna over the coals.

Clive put Taylor Dayne out of business. She had a succession of big hits and then decided that she wanted to write her own songs for a new, upcoming album. Clive was against it but he let her anyway. The first single released from the album was the remake of a Barry White song, "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" which stalled at #20 and the next single didn't manage to scrap into the Top 40. Clive was not at all thrilled or happy with her and released her from the Arista label. Her day in the sun was over. Don't mess with Clive!

Whitney pretty much sourced her own songs for My Love is Your Love. Yeah her voice was less pristine, by quite a lot. But that started on The Preacher's Wife. Her lungs were a bit heavy and she had a more nasal but still very resonant sound that would plague her for the next 15 years. MLIYL is a fantastic album - her voice is deep in the pocket of these songs and she knew what she wanted. She wanted to grow up and be modern. Her voice still had full power and glorious ringing notes but she mixed it with soul and sex and pain and hip hop jams. It's a great album R18.

You might enjoy this interview that Houston gave at the time. She very much knew what she wanted AND what she was doing in 1998. The Album is stellar. My Love is Your Love and I Learned From The Best, It's not Right But it's OK. And the Mariah duet for the cherry on top. Heartbreak Hotel.

Whitney wasn't done giving gorgeous stellar vocals by 1998 - she did soaring duet with Enrique Iglesias in 2000 and another classic (cracky) big ballad with Try it on My Own. I'm a fan. Ha. I find something to love in every era of her voice - but I try not to be as nutty as Judy Garland fans who think she could sing when she no longer could. Whitney got to that point. But she didn't have to die or keep working. Maybe she did. Singers want to sing. Drug addicts are delusional by nature. She thought she would be great again one day. But she had nothing left to prove and didn't need Clive Davis pushing her. When she performed on Dancing With The Stars - my mother cried. I'm not lying. The great Whitney Houston singing I Just Wanna Dance With Somebody (badly) while joker dancers got the camera shots?? My darling girl. Don't.

Enjoy this interview R18. She's in great form and it's a good interview. Whitney was nobody's fool. Clive Davis tried to make her someone she eventually decided not to be. Rebellion in various forms robbed her of her voice and destroyed her image. Maybe she did what she wanted to do? She had chances to get better. Who else with only 7 albums and 2 soundtracks set so many records, won so many awards and lives so deeply in our heart? There's no other Whitney Houston. She's the gold standard to this day. Clive Davis played his part.

"He didn't destroy her, but he never helped her. "

What could he have done to "help" her? Make her stop taking drugs? Nobody could have done that.

I’ll always remember the clip everybody was playing of the last sighting of Whitney. It was her in the hotel and she comes across Clive who is doing an interview - she treated him like The Godfather. Almost like a scared child in front of him - telling Bobbi K “come say hi to Unkce(?) Clive”. A theatrical show of tribute mixed with childlike guilt or fear. That always stood out for me as a sign that Clive was a shady power player - and Whitney felt guilt for slipping back into her druggie ways around him.

One of my favorite imperfect Houston performances. She finessed the fuck out of it. She's sitting down and sick but she finds her way to sing it, cracked notes and all. The girl had the confidence of her great gift.

I could only take her voice in some songs. Voice was good but not my cup of tea. I'm not impressed with most power singers. It is like chewing the scenery with acting. It's too much.

Whitney had shit songs for the most part. Celine had a better voice but I actually hate Celine's voice. She oversings everything.

Whitney Houston is something more than a power singer R25. She had probably the most beautiful voice of any woman to ever sing popular music. Her voice was flawless and her ability was just as great. She sang very powerfully, a bit too much of the time. But you don't understand singing if you can't hear the supreme quality of her tone, resonance, clarity, range, agility and control. The dark velvet low tones, the flawless clarity and pitch as she traversed registers - her chest voice belt that is unmatched anywhere in any kind of singing. It may sound bombastic to you, but she is as gifted as Leontyne Price and there is no one more gifted than she. Whitney had tricks and trills, landing back mid chest voice from a gorgeous operatic head voice that thrilled the world. She is the greatest singer of pop music of all time. Power singers are a dime a dozen. Whitney Houston was one in a billion.

R27 MARY but I don't think MARY is strong enough for that psychotic drivel.

Lots and lots of people did not like her voice. She wasn't all that. She didn't always connect to her lyrics and could sound a bit cool in her vocals. She emoted ok but not great.

That said, many found her lacking and uninspiring.

Clive Davis actually chose some really crummy songs for her. I mean I keep hearing on the radio "I Wanna Dance With Someone", which is a nice song, but hardly the kind of song to be the representative of Whitney's career. Yes, she sounds like she's having fun, and it's peppy, but hardly a great song. They don't even play "The Greatest Love of All" or "I Will Always Love You" that much on the radio set list these days, which at least had a better overall showy vocals for her.

"Somebody" not "Someone", that is

^ You grotesque ancient FAG, don't call me out or call me Mary. Some of us know what and who we're talking about. Now take your pills and pudding and try not to shit the bed R28.

I never heard gay men call anyone Mary before coming on Datalounge? It's a sure sign that you're over 75 years old. I don't even know what it means. Don't call this man that again though, queerpop. R28.

My statements about Whitney Houston's voice ain't hyperbole or a minority opinion. There are thousands of vocal scholars and music critics who have been more effusive. Look up effusive before you hook up your CPAP gramps. Get some rest.

R31 What nut hospital did you escape from, MARY!

She wasn't all that so shut the fuck up.

Greatest Love of All is my least favorite song of Houston's. But it was one of HER favorites R29. They don't play it on radio because it's so long. But she sang it magnificently, a thousand times. That song shows off her voice in so much quality - but it is not her most difficult song to sing. Maybe it appeals to you because it sounds like something Streisand would sing? It's formulaic and a bit ponderous. A white girl song. But not when Whitney hits those soulful runs and trills and the final magnificent crescendo. If you wait for it, it's a thrill. She loved this song. Her heart was pure.

Whitters wasn't somebody I liked. I never got the worship of her voice. Yea, it's good. So what? She was just there.

But Clive is an evil man. He fucked her up and I believe the stories about what he did to her rivals and even people on his label.

Her trills? Bwhahahahahhaa you are a MARY. That poster called it.

But this discussion is about CLIVE. Not a "look how Whitney can trill and trove and trog all her songs. Get a grip.

Describe in technical terms what a trill is R35. As opposed to a riff, melisma or run. They are different. Give examples. Do it. You can't. Why call someone mary when you're a hateful ancient FAG? I can smell you from here. Rotten white hole.

R36, you sound like the hardcore Whitney Fan from the "Velvet Rope" forums ages ago. She was a passionate fan, but very quick to get in skirmishes with the other members.

r36, I think she's fantastic too but might I suggest you start a thread dedicated to Whitney, this one is about Clive Davis.

You sound like someone posting from two different devices R37? I don't get into skirmishes. I know what I know. Janet Jackson ain't worth arguing about - WFT?

We are talking about the greatest recorded singer of all time when you say W H I T N E Y. I don't skirmish. I'll beat you dead. Stop posting from two devices. I see your good cop bad cop routine all over this site. I ain't a she. If you require expertise in BIG DICK or vocal training - make me an offer. Otherwise. Goodnite. Gramps #2.

Ignore the pig.

All the fucking Whitney stan drama queens in here need to cut the shit about blaming anyone else for her situation. Davis is a creep, and from our late, great gossip threads, he did a fuck of a lot worse than what people are posting here. A lot of it is industry standard. Not saying it's right, but in reference to the OP's Question, it doesn't taint his industry rep.

However, Chaka Khan-of all people, has said in more than one interview [paraphrased] you couldn't tell Whitney shit long before Bobby came along, and if Chaka thinks you're fucked up, it's bad. If Robyn Crawford had to walk away, Clive sure as hell couldn't have done shit. That whole family was & is Shabazz level toxic.

Chaka Khan did all of Bobby and Whitney's blow. She cooked it up the slow way with baking soda and a hot water bath. Whitney didn't take shit from Bobby? Who said she did. But he got her hooked on crack. Whitney only did powder before she met Brown. They are very different things. Bobby would send Whitney down the corner of Crack came from the devils ass, and Chaka would know because she no one cooks it better.

Bobby got off on sending Whitney down the corner to buy crack, sometimes in a limo. Often in a cab. They would take a complete 8 ball and put in a cigar. That was Bobby's pimp trash way. Whitney came to love it too and we watched her elegance fade. Cocaine lines don't destroy voices or there wouldn't be a singer born after 1940 who could sing. But smoking crack destroys your vocals chords, lungs, voice and what others call "morals."

Whitney was victim to many people and substances and she liked Chaka. But Chaka Khan was the Judy Garland of friends. She stole, she fucked your friends, she robbed you and if you kept her high she was a good cook of the crack. We don't need that woodwork now. Clive Davis paid Chaka Khan a sizable sum within 48 hours of Whitney dying because she was on every show. She told a very funny and true to like story about her and Whitney and Bobby doing crack in some hotel room. So true to like that the moderator cut to commercial. Clive paid her to shut up.

So miss me with the Whitney was the artichect of her own downfall R40. Clive Davis and Cissy Houston and Bobby Brown pushed Robyn out of Whitney's life. And that was the beginning of the end. Yes Houston partied with her brothers and Robyn and other celebrities too. Recreationally. With blow. But Crack and non stop CRACK and 20 years on smoking CRACK is what ruined her voice, her career and her reputation. No one but Bobby, his family and hanger ons, dealers and low life. She lost touch with who she was and Clive lost control. When she came back to Clive Davis - he put her on a world tour that humiliated her, sent her into relapse and put the final nail in her lilac coffin. Clive Davis was only interested in making money off Whitney and the past prestige of their association. She did a big hit, hit her head and mercifully drowned in a scalding tub. After one last messed up performance of Jesus Loves Me. She died about 10 years too late. Bobby Brown got her hooked on CRACK in 1992. By 1996 she was an everyday user with half her voice gone. Think what you like R41. There is a lot more to the story. Her life didn't have to end that way. Her career, yes. But not her life.

I’m surprised Clive didn’t get me too’ed. I mean wasn’t there stories about him from the 70s about harassing men.

Haha. *True to life. Though it works either way. Chaka Khan is every junkie's friend. There to party with and fuck - and there to tell stories about you the moment you're dead. Long as there's cash or a plane ticket involved. She was paid $50,000 to shut up, by Clive. Right away after she told that story about doing crack with Whitney and Bobby in the hotel room and the fight that they had. It was funny, but not too classy like. Crackheads are like that. She settled to cheap with Clive and too fast. But it gave her a good run and paid off a debt. Khan is a good crack cook though. It's a bit of an art and the cook always gets the first taste. That's Chaka's favorite saying. I mean rock. Whitney thought she was really fucking dumb, but they had some laughs. On crack.

Whitney's real friends were long gone or kept away by then. That's familiar to most addicts. She'd call them on the phone and ask them to pray with her sometimes. Those are the ones who didn't go running to the press. RIP Whitney Houston.

He's well-known in some circles for hiring male escorts.

Huge closet case.

Davis destroyed the Swedish pop group Ace of Base. They were huge in the 90s and had already made a name for themselves in Europe when he decided to bring them to the US and sign them. Ace of Base gave Max Martin and every Swedish producer you hear of now their start. It all goes back to Denniz Pop’s studio.

Anyway, Davis began throwing his weight around and demanded certain songs be scrapped or which singer would sing what. Malin and Jenny Berggren were the lead singers. He didn’t even know Malin’s name. He referred to her as the blonde one. Malin wanted out of the business after a fan broke into her family’s home with a knife and try to slit her sister’s throat demanding to know where she was. Davis demanded a song be sung by Malin, who was already having psychological issues, against the band’s wishes. It wasn’t even a song they wrote. That incident not only destroyed the group, it led to Malin leaving the group and changing her name and no one has seen her since.

Their 1998 hit single “Life is a Flower” had to be rewritten at the request of Davis because he believe that Americans wouldn’t get the line, “I whistled down the wind”. That same year “Oklahoma” opened in the US and everyone loved it and got the line. It was yet another moment where boneheaded Davis was screwing up the group.

He paints a picture of himself being the mastermind of their band in his book when he had nothing to do with it. Their main label in Europe was Mega, they wrote all their own songs and were already established.

Clive has screwed more people than you can imagine.

R43, Clive is pretty irrelevant now which is why he wrote a book. His meal tickets expired and he lost his two labels. He’s over the hill and doesn’t understand the business today.

From Wikipedia:

“ After Davis was fired from CBS Records for allegedly using company funds to bankroll his son's bar mitzvah...”

Whitney sucks or sucked. This crazed loon fan is hilarious in its hyperbole and stupidity. This thing thinks it knows so much but all it knows is how to hype up Whitney in terms rendering it an complete moron.

She's over hyped.

I liked when Whitney dissed Paula Abdul "saying she singing off key all over that album"...

I sat behind Clive in Business Class from Rome to NYC. Man that dude has some major scalp issues. He was with his young boy friday. Gwyneth was also on the flight. It was a star studded occasion!

Clive was known for his often obsessive control over his artists.

The one exception was Milli Vanilli, where he had no idea it was a big fraud.

Her version of "I Will Always Love You" is one of the worst songs of all time; ear-splitting, like nails on a blackboard.

She can't emote very well. It ruins whatever voice she had.

Clive is a monster. A vile monster.

R50 Very funny. I sat across the aisle flying back from Milan once. He was with his "younger" boyfriend who is a real estate agent for Sotheby's in nyc (big queen).

Patti Smith loves him.

Patti Smith also loved Robert Mapplethorpe. She's crazy.

Whitney was always gracious with other female singers. Here’s a clip with Brandy singing ‘Impossible’ from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s ‘Cinderella’. I wish she done more like this.

^ Link of Whitney recording with Brandy.

Clive owes Whitney for his status. He has very high name recognition as far as music executives go.

Clive Davis treated Kelly Clarkson like s**t. While other performers have rolled over with his brutus management style, Kelly rebelled. He had wanted to control her album content and informed her that she could not write songs. She told him to go the hell and broke ranks with him. He tried the "Madonna" media crap and Kelly fought back by going public. I think he hit a buzz saw and backed away. Subsequently, she has had numerous top selling albums and her career has jettisoned.

All drug addicts destroy themselves, they don't get to blame people for "getting them hooked", that's such bullshit.

Oh and crack IS cocaine and cocaine is cocaine, and they both take you down, it's not like coke addicts don't hit the same brick wall.

[quote]Kelly rebelled. He had wanted to control her album content and informed her that she could not write songs. She told him to go the hell and broke ranks with him.

To be fair. The album she released was terrible and bombed big time. Her trajectory up to that point was well on the way to A-list pop star but that album ended it. She's never had a really big hit since.

Whitney is my favorite female singer after Aretha. (She is still the Queen of Soul). Given that, I don't care what Clive did or didn't do if only we could have saved Whitney's life. Just save her life and I don't care if she ever sang another note. What happened with her daughter's death was/is criminal.

[quote] She's never had a really big hit since.

No, she had a few big hits since then but no big albums.

R62- I disagree with your statement. Here is what Kelly said in response to the revisionist history that Clive Davis said in his book that her album was a failure "He also goes on to say My December wasn't successful because I co-penned the album and it didn't have 'pop hits.' Well, first let me say, I've co-penned many of my 'pop hits.' Secondly, My December went platinum (It sold 20,000 less than All I Ever Wanted which followed My December.) Hardly a huge failure. Never Again, the ONLY single they released in the US from that record was a Top 10 hit. I am very proud of that and I have my fans to thank. But, again, what's most interesting about his story is what he leaves out: He doesn't mention how he stood up in front of his company at a convention and belittled me and my music and completely sabotaged the entire project. It never had a chance to reach its full potential. My December was an album I needed to make for myself for many reasons and the fact that I was so completely disregarded and disrespected was so disheartening, there really aren't words to explain..."

"Anyway, I love my job. I love my music. I love my fans. I love my label and all of my professional relationships… now. And I am grateful for Clive for teaching me to know the difference."

The point is, Clive was right that the craft of songwriting should be respected and songwriters should never disregarded. Kelly Clarkson is no P!nk

R39, R40, Thanks for posting. Whitney at her best IMHO. Love both songs and Houston does them justice.

R27 don't worry, anyone with any musical talent or appreciation understand what you wrote. One might not "like" Whitney's voice (hard to believe) or songs (more believable).....but only a tone deaf, talentless dullard would try to refute your post.

Re: Clive, Whitney loved him and considered him a father figure/mentor.

He couldn't have saved her. If you watch the Whitney documentary, her own bodyguard sent a detailed letter about the fact that she was at risk of death due to drugs etc. and sent it to her entire FAMILY and they fired him. It was her FAMILY not Clive that couldn't get her off drugs and didn't want to.

[Quote] she is as gifted as Leontyne Price

Apparently Price and Houston are related. A while ago, there was a DL thread about it

[quote] But smoking crack destroys your vocals chords, lungs, voice

The doctors said Whitney's cigarettes were even more damaging to her voice than the crack.

Enough with the Whitney trolling. She was a mess. had a good voice but often execrable material. Let's hear more about who was fucked over by Clive (and nopt Kelly Clarkson, her troll keeps telling us what a doll she is,.....boring).

Whitney recorded songs that were mediocre pop, like I Wanna Dance With Somebody and I'm Your Baby Tonight. Her catalog has quite a bit of dreck in it. She had quite a few clunkers. Of course, they all do, don't they? Even Madonna and Elvis have some crap songs.

Didn’t Clive fuck Phyllis Hyman over, too?

[quote]The doctors said Whitney's cigarettes were even more damaging to her voice than the crack.

And Whitney smoked Newports, which are the strongest most toxic cigs you can smoke. A lot of smokers won't touch them.

[quote]Whitney recorded songs that were mediocre pop, like I Wanna Dance With Somebody

If you think that song is "Mediocre" I'd love to hear what you consider an example of "good" pop.