Clive Davis helped build the Grammy Museum. Its president says 'his legacy is not going to be replicated'

Walk into the Grammy Museum successful downtown L.A., and you’ll spot Clive Davis’ bequest everywhere.

The museum’s intimate show abstraction is named for the precocious grounds executive, and his visage greets guests astatine the beforehand door. (Davis was the archetypal million-dollar donor to the nascent Recording Academy archive and accumulation space.) His sprawling roster of acts — Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Earth, Wind & Fire — defined an full creation signifier and concern exemplary arsenic preserved successful the Grammy Museum. Davis’ pre-Grammy gala was the astir coveted invitation successful euphony each awards season.

Davis’ decease astatine 94 is “devastating,” said Michael Sticka, main enforcement and president of the Grammy Museum. “Clive was ever a northbound prima of euphony and endowment and artistry. We’re each fortunate to person his bequest to look up to.”

Davis’ decease marks the extremity of possibly the astir important and enduring vocation successful the grounds industry. Sticka spoke to The Times astir Davis’ singular longevity, originative imaginativeness and however a vocation similar his volition apt ne'er beryllium imaginable again.

Clive was a elephantine of the grounds business. How did his vocation signifier the modern grounds industry?

His vocation was iconic. He truly had a unsocial quality to not conscionable bring an creator to their fullest imaginable artistically, but commercially. From Monterey Pop and Janis Joplin to Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys, I don’t deliberation anybody had that receptor successful them the mode that helium did.

With Clive, what you got was not conscionable proceeding commercialized viability, but an knowing of what was going connected successful the zeitgeist. That’s what propelled his vocation and bequest beyond astir grounds executives.

His name’s connected the gathering astatine Grammy Museum’s theater. What did helium mean to the instauration — not conscionable for fundraising but arsenic a surviving transportation to euphony history?

He didn’t conscionable donate to the museum. He donated his time, his humanities cognition of music, his firsthand perspective. He ever kept tabs connected what was happening successful music. I ever accidental the Clive Davis Theater is the toughest summons successful municipality for its intimacy and the level of programming we do. But helium did an yearly programme astatine the depository wherever radical could travel perceive stories straight from him. Once helium decided helium was in, helium was each in.

His gala was the spot to beryllium each Grammy play too.

I don’t deliberation anybody could stitchery a roomful of luminaries similar that from entertainment, tech and authorities successful the mode that Clive did. We were fortunate to beryllium a portion of that. Even with the stature helium had, helium was inactive a carnal beingness there, helium was approachable. He was ever looked astatine arsenic this surviving legend, but his bequest was continuously being built.

That’s existent implicit the arc of his career, which saw him pb Columbia, Arista, J Records and more. He had a batch of resurrections arsenic good arsenic successes.

He had this quality to resurrect. Look astatine Santana and “Supernatural,” helium was a shaper connected that medium that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame conscionable past year. So galore of america would conscionable springiness up, but helium conscionable had this resoluteness to continue, and convey God helium did.

The grounds manufacture is truthful antithetic present than erstwhile helium began his career. Artists find audiences connected societal media alternatively than being discovered by statement executives. Is a vocation similar his — a celebrated enforcement driven by their ain sensation and idiosyncratic savvy — adjacent imaginable today?

That’s true, artists interruption connected societal media earlier they’re adjacent connected grounds executives’ radars now. I don’t cognize if we’ll spot that benignant of vocation arc again. Clive had a uncommon operation of gravitas and being recognized truthful publicly. The antheral and his bequest are not going to beryllium replicated.

Beyond the sanction connected the theater, however bash you anticipation the Grammy Museum volition grant him with its programming successful clip to come?

I don’t cognize yet. We weren’t truly prepared for this. We’re gonna person to beryllium down and deliberation however to wage tribute to specified a legacy. I deliberation that the interaction the Clive Davis Theater has, bringing successful 120 artists a twelvemonth — I couldn’t deliberation of a much apropos sanction connected the door.