BREAKING NEWSLegendary Music Producer Clive Davis Dead at 94
Legendary music producer Clive Davis, known for collaborating with Whitney Houston and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, death was confirmed by his family on June 22.
June 22 2026, Updated 12:53 p.m. ET
Legendary music producer Clive Davis, known as the powerhouse behind the careers of stars like Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin, has died at 94.
Davis died on Monday, June 22, in his Manhattan, New York, home, his family confirmed to a news outlet.
Clive Davis Died 'Peacefully From Age-Related' Illness
Clive Davis was hospitalized on May 29 after suffering an 'upper respiratory infection,' according to TMZ.
His longtime rep Aliza Rabinoff said in a statement with Rolling Stone that Davis "passed away peacefully from age-related illness … surrounded by his family and loved ones."
The music mogul was recently hospitalized on May 29, with a source telling TMZ that he was suffering from "an upper respiratory infection and out of an abundance of caution, he was admitted to the hospital." He was later discharged on June 4.
Davis was reportedly "in good spirits and happy to be recuperating at home," a spokesperson told People at the time.
Clive Davis Revealed Bell's Palsy Diagnosis in 2021
Clive Davis' Grammy party is a highly-exclusive event, known as the 'golden ticket' of music industry functions.
Davis, who is famous for his Grammy parties, revealed in February 2021 that he was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy.
Bell's Palsy is an unexplained, temporary facial weakness or paralysis, according to Johns Hopkins University. The cause of the disorder is unknown and can affect anyone at any age.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Clive Davis Attended NYU and Harvard on Scholarship
Clive Davis rose to Columbia Records president within seven years of working at the company.
Davis is a native born New Yorker who earned a scholarship to attend NYU and later Harvard Law School.
"I was your basic, garden-variety, ambitious, upwardly mobile, hard-working Jewish boy from Brooklyn," he wrote in his autobiography, per Vanity Fair.
In 1960, Davis was hired as assistant counsel at Columbia Records, where he was appointed president of the label within seven years of joining the company.
Clive Davis Worked With Sean 'Diddy' Combs
Clive Davis helped Sean 'Diddy' Combs launch Bad Boy Records in 1994.
Though he signed megastars like Neil Diamond and Bruce Springsteen during his reign, he was fired for allegedly misappropriating $94,000 from the label, which he has denied.
By 1974, he started Arista Records, which kicked off the careers of Barry Manilow, Alan Jackson and Patti Smith.
"When I started Arista, I was no longer heading the number one label in the industry. It was a brand-new company, starting from scratch. I was hungry to be a major label. I needed multi-platinum, and the only way to get to be multi-platinum is with hit songs," he told People in 2022. "I didn't have to wait long because the first record on Arista was 'Mandy.' I gave it to Barry Manilow. It went to number one."
He later helped to form LaFace Records in 1989, which signed artists like TLC, Pink and Toni Braxton. In 1994, he also helped a relatively unknown Sean "Diddy" Combs to form Bad Boy Records, which would become one of the most successful hip-hop labels of the decade.
