Singers Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow and Stevie Wonder were among the mourners at the funeral of late American record executive and producer Clive Davis.
Davis’s death at the age of 94 was announced last week, with the New Yorker best known as the former president of Columbia Records, which launched the careers of artists across a variety of genres including those of Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys.
His funeral took place at New York City’s Central Synagogue in Manhattan on Monday, and also saw artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and Ja Rule in attendance.
According to reports from The Associated Press, the funeral began with a mournful saxophone solo by American musician Kenny G, with Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl saying Davis would have been thrilled by the turnout.
She said: “Clive would have loved this.”
AP reported that Warwick told a story about how Davis urged her to work with Manilow in the late 1970s, which she initially resisted, but eventually the suggestion brought about the album Dionne, which went platinum and earned two Grammy Awards.
Manilow reportedly recalled Davis urging him to record Brandy, a song written by Scott English and Richard Kerr.
The singer turned it into a love song and played it for Davis before they renamed it Mandy, and it went to number one in the US.
Manilow said: “He believed in me from the very beginning.”
Other attendees also included former US house speaker Nancy Pelosi, actor Adrien Brody, and US broadcasters Hoda Kotb and Gayle King.
Davis’s family announced his death just weeks after the record producer was reportedly taken to hospital with an upper respiratory issue and discharged a few days later.
He was also diagnosed in 2021 with the neurological condition Bell’s palsy.
He left Columbia Records in 1973 and started his own label, Arista Records, kicking off the first few months with Mandy.
Davis signed Houston when she was a teenager and made her one of the top-selling artists in pop history, with hits such as I Wanna Dance With Somebody, How Will I Know, and her cover of I Will Always Love You.
They remained close friends up until her death in 2012.
Davis was portrayed by The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci in the 2022 musical biopic, Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
He went on to work with a number of veteran artists and groups including Aretha Franklin, The Kinks and Eurythmics, and in 2000 was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
His family announced the news in a post on his Instagram account last week and paid a heartfelt tribute, describing Davis as a “music legend whose vision, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives”.
