Legendary music mogul Clive Davis dead at 94

Clive Davis, the music executive who guided the careers of Whitney Houston, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kelly Clarkson and many others, has died at 94. His family confirmed to the New York Times that he died Monday at his Manhattan home; a cause of death was not revealed.

He had been hospitalized in New York City on May 29 with what was described as an upper respiratory infection and was expected to be released within 24 hours, an insider said. Davis rose quickly in the industry after breaking in during the early 1960s and was appointed president of Columbia Records at 35 in 1967.

After attending the Monterey Pop Festival that year he signed Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company to Columbia. He founded Arista Records in 1974, led it until 2000 and then started J Records; under that newly founded label he personally selected and pitched the 1974 song "Mandy" to Barry Manilow, which became the label’s first hit.

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