Clive Davis helped launch or shape the careers of these music stars, across genres and decades

Clive Davis helped launch or shape the careers of these music stars, across genres and decades recounts how the executive’s long relationships influenced artists across eras. Davis, who died at age 94, became president of Columbia Records at 35 and then identified new acts at California’s Monterey Pop festival, including Big Brother & The Holding Company with Janis Joplin. The article says he persuaded Joplin to release an abridged version of “Piece of My Heart” to secure radio play and pushed her toward a solo path; after her 1970 death, recordings tied to her album Pearl surfaced later, including “Me and Bobby McGee.” Davis first signed Carlos Santana to Columbia in 1968 and later helped drive the 1999 Supernatural comeback, which included collaborations with Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Rob Thomas, and won eight Grammys. It also describes how he signed a young Bruce Springsteen in 1972 and encouraged revisions after his debut lacked singles, and how Springsteen later credited that guidance for changing his life. The piece then begins a section on Whitney Houston.