Music legend Clive Davis recounts an extraordinary five-decade career in the music business, while also telling a remarkable personal story of encounters with some of the greatest musical artists of our time, including Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, the Grateful Dead, Patti Smith, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Alicia Keys.
Orphaned in his teens, Davis earned a full scholarship to New York University and another to Harvard Law School. He served as General Counsel of Columbia Records and, in a totally unexpected stroke of fate, became head of the company overnight. More surprisingly, he learned he had “ears,” a rare ability to spot special talent and hit records. Those ears contributed to the success of three companies—Columbia, Arista, and J—where Davis discovered and developed more unique artists than anyone in the history of the music industry.
What began on the grass at the Monterey Pop Festival with the signing of Janis Joplin has evolved into a lifelong passion and calling, spanning genres, including rock, pop, R&B, country, jazz fusion, and hip-hop. His is the imprimatur that has helped shape contemporary music and, over the years, our popular culture.
The Soundtrack of My Life is an essential book for anyone interested in the story of popular music, the fascinating ups and downs of the music business, the alchemy of hits, and the dramatic life of a brilliant leader...and listener. It is a riveting read from beginning to end.
- 586 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
The Soundtrack of My Life
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Information
Print ISBN
9781476714790
Subtopic
Business BiographiesTable of contents
- Cover
- Introduction: Welcome to the Party
- Chapter 1: Straight Out of Brooklyn
- Chapter 2: Recovering from Shattering Losses
- Chapter 3: A Harvard Man
- Chapter 4: A New Life Back in New York
- Chapter 5: The Offer That Changed My Life
- Chapter 6: Running Columbia Records
- Chapter 7: Making A&R Moves
- Chapter 8: Monterey Pop
- Chapter 9: Columbia Gets Hot
- Chapter 10: Pearl
- Chapter 11: Simon and Garfunkel
- Chapter 12: Dylan
- Chapter 13: What Kind of Career Do I Want?
- Chapter 14: From Santana to Springsteen
- Chapter 15: Talent Raids and Finding the Company’s Soul
- Chapter 16: The End of One Fantasy
- Chapter 17: Searching for a New Beginning
- Chapter 18: Arista Means Excellence
- Chapter 19: Manilow Mania
- Chapter 20: Building a New Label
- Chapter 21: Patti Smith and Lou Reed
- Chapter 22: Ready to Rock
- Chapter 23: The Grateful Dead
- Chapter 24: Gil Scott-Heron and Ghostbusters
- Chapter 25: Broadway, Soundtracks, and Comedy
- Chapter 26: Dionne Warwick
- Chapter 27: The Queen of Soul
- Chapter 28: New Wave, Heavy Metal, and Eurythmics
- Chapter 29: Whitney
- Chapter 30: Beyond the House That Barry Built
- Chapter 31: Arista Pop Explodes . . . into Milli Vanilli
- Chapter 32: Arista Nashville and New Country Music
- Chapter 33: LaFace Rules!
- Chapter 34: Bad Boy
- Chapter 35: Sarah McLachlan, Ace of Base, and the Freewheeling Nineties
- Chapter 36: Supernatural Santana
- Chapter 37: Instant Major
- Chapter 38: Alicia
- Chapter 39: The J Records Years
- Chapter 40: Rod Stewart and the Great American Songbook
- Chapter 41: Rock at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century
- Chapter 42: American Idol and Kelly Clarkson
- Chapter 43: More on the Idol Franchise
- Chapter 44: Accepting Change and Moving Forward
- Photographs
- Acknowledgments
- About Clive Davis
- Index
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access The Soundtrack of My Life by Clive Davis,Anthony DeCurtis in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.