Martha Stewart penned a poignant tribute for her late friend and “mentor” Clive Davis following his death at age 94.
“My lovely friend, mentor and neighbor, the indominitable [SIC], indefatigable, amazing, talented, intuitive, Mister Clive Davis passed away today,” Stewart, 84, wrote via Instagram on Monday, June 22. “I will miss him so very, very much. Not only did he provide us with some of the best performers and their music for more than half a century, he was the kindest, most thoughtful and caring human being.”
She went on, “Over the years I attended many of his super duper Grammy parties, his birthday celebrations, his dinners honoring his artists and friends but I also got to honor him for the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai. We will miss you Clive!!!!!”
Stewart was one of many to pay tribute to Davis following Monday’s announcement that he died at his home in Manhattan. His death came several weeks after his spokesperson told TMZ in May that Davis had “an upper respiratory infection and out of an abundance of caution, he was admitted to the hospital.”
The music executive played a crucial role in guiding the careers of legends such as Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith and Aretha Franklin, among many others, throughout his 66-year music career. Davis won five Grammys and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
He is survived by four adult children: he shared Fred Davis, 66, and Lauren Davis, 64, with his first wife Helen Cohen, and welcomed Mitch Davis, 56, and Doug Davis, 52, with second wife Janet Adelberg.
“To his family, Clive was Dad and Granddaddy, the steady presence at the center of our lives, the source of wisdom, strength, encouragement, and unconditional love,” the Davis family said in a joint statement on Monday. “No matter how extraordinary his professional accomplishments, he never lost sight of what mattered most: the people he loved.”
Their statement concluded, “Through every chapter of his remarkable life, family remained Clive’s greatest pride and deepest joy. Today, we celebrate not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness. We will miss him greatly, cherish him always, and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.”
Barry Manilow and Clive Davis in April 2022. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Many of the artists who Davis mentored also shared memorial messages in his honor on Monday.
“Over here on E Street, we mourn the death of the great record man and close friend Clive Davis,” Springsteen wrote via Instagram. “At 22 years old, he changed my life when he signed me to Columbia Records. He treated me with the same respect and kindness as a 22-year-old nobody as he did after all my success. A great man. All our prayers and love.”
Manilow, 83, added, “My heart is heavy with the loss of my friend Clive Davis. For 50 years, we worked together, created together, argued together and celebrated together. Yes, some would say it was business. But to Clive, it never was. It was family. And I was honored to be part of his.”
