Legendary record man Clive Davis has died at 94. Here’s why people are talking about him.

Clive Davis passed away yesterday (June 22) at 94. Why are there so many stories about him today? Let’s go through his life and career.

Davis was the first celebrity record executive. He was a suit who sought to be as famous as the artists he signed to his labels. While other important record men worked largely in the background (Mo Oistin at Warner, Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic, Jac Holzman at Elektra), Davis had a massive public persona.

He was ambitious from the start. After getting bored working routine legal work, he joined Columbia Records in 1960. When he did such a good job renegotiating Bob Dylan’s contract, he started getting promotions. By 1967, he was president of the label.

Davis had an eye and ear for talent. He travelled out to San Francisco to see the Monterey Pop Festival. Impressed by what he saw, Davis signed Janis Joplin with Big Brother in the Holding Company. Over the next few years, he’d sign Santana, Chicago, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bruce Springsteen, turning Columbia into a rock-focused label. Market share doubled in three years. He also worked with Simon & Garfunkel, Sly & the Family Stone, and Barbra Streisand.

David had the title of “the man with the golden ears.” It was said that when he heard a song, he could predict how many copies it would sell.

He was controversial. Davis was fired from Columbia when he was accused of tax evasion and misusing company funds, some of which allegedly went to payola schemes. He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion and was fined $10,000.

He founded Arista Records. After being booted from Columbia, he took a job consulting with Columbia Pictures with an eye to reorganizing the studio’s music division. The result was Arista Records in November 1974. When Bell Records went south the following year, he signed many of the artists who were let go.

Arista flourished through the 1970s, thanks to acts like Barry Manilow, the Bay City Rollers, and Melissa Manchester. Punk poet Patti Smith was signed in 1975 and the Grateful Dead came on board in 1976, followed by Eric Carmen, Air Supply, Lou Reed, Alan Parsons Project, Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin.

Davis turned Arista into an AM pop radio powerhouse. While most of the record world had turned to FM and rock, Davis loved pop music hits. With other labels’ eyes elsewhere, Davis’ acts dominated Top 40. He understood the power of MTV, too, and worked it to his advantage. He was also re-energize the careers of older artists with new hits (Santana, Aretha Franklin, and the inexplicable Grateful Dead Top 40 hit, “Touch of Grey”).

He discovered Whitney Houston. Dionne Warwick tipped him off to her niece, a 19-year-old gospel singer. Davis managed her on a granular level, helping her sell at least 220 million records over the rest of her life.

Davis was always expanding his reach. He co-founded Bad Boy Records with Diddy. Bad Boy became the home of not just Puffy but The Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Faith Evans, and many others.

He was a micromanager–except in one case. If you were a Davis priority, you could count on him being in every aspect of your career. But when the Milli Vanilli fraud was exposed, Davis claimed that he knew nothing about the deception. He was shocked. Shocked!

He stayed ambitious. In August 2000, when he was forced out of Arista by BMG, he was allowed to take 10 artists from Arista: Five established artists and five new ones. By 2008, he was the Chief Creative Officer at Sony.

He founded J Records, which brought Alice Keys to everyone’s attention. Success followed with acts like Maroon 5, Luther Vandross, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson, and Leona Lewis.

By 2008, he was the Chief Creative Officer at Sony.

He revelled in his celebrity. Davis loved the glamour of the music biz. His annual Grammy Awards (est. 1976) party was a big deal. He came out as bisexual in 2013 at the age of 80 in his autobiography (his second book about himself). While he had many admirers in the music industry, he had just as many detractors.

Davis was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy about five years ago. His death seems to be related to respiratory problems.