There’s nothing quite like a Clive Davis party.
For more than four decades, the music industry titan has thrown a lavish pre-Grammys gala that rivals the show itself with freewheeling speeches, inspired performances and a star-studded red carpet. But, like most other things this past year, the event was forced to go virtual due to COVID-19, although Davis was up to the challenge.
“This pre-Grammys gala has become such a hot ticket that it’s so difficult to even remotely put up with the demand to attend,” Davis tells USA TODAY. “So we were faced with the real conundrum of, ‘What do we do now in the pandemic? How do we have the party?’ ”
The solution: A two-part virtual event benefiting MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charitable wing. The first edition was held in late January, which featured appearances from entertainment royalty including Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight and Alicia Keys, as well videos of some of Davis’ all-time favorite performances.
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Clive Davis, 89, will host the second part of his annual Grammys gala on Saturday. (Photo: Fadil Berisha)
Part II was scheduled to be held prior to the Grammys ceremony March 14, but was postponed when Davis, 89, was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a mostly temporary ailment that causes weakness in facial muscles. (He assures us that he is “totally fine and all is well” now.)
The invite-only event will now be held virtually on Saturday, and feature interviews with Elton John, Paul Simon, Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, John Mellencamp, Carlos Santana, Dionne Warwick, and Slash, among others. Oprah Winfrey will also be on hand to pay tribute to music icon Tina Turner, a 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and subject of HBO documentary “Tina.”
“When I saw the ‘Tina’ documentary and I saw what an incredible fan Oprah was, I approached her (about appearing at the gala) and it was great,” Davis says. “Although she’s the guest and I’m the interviewer – what’s wrong with this picture?”
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Perhaps the most exciting name on the Part II lineup is Joni Mitchell, 77, who suffered a brain aneurysm in 2015.
Joni Mitchell pictured in 2019. (Photo: Bruce Glikas, WireImage)
“She’ll be doing her first live conversation since her aneurysm,” Davis says. “She and I have become good friends in the last several years. The fact that she felt comfortable to come on has really been wonderful. I conversed with her for about 40 minutes, but for the actual run of Part II, we had to edit it down to 10 or 12 or 13 minutes, which was difficult to do because her insight and perspective is so special.”
Over the course of his nearly six-decade career, Davis has become known as the “Man with the Golden Ears,” having helped launch the careers of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Aerosmith and Barry Manilow.
“I have no secret” to spotting talent, Davis says. “I do it from the gut. I never knew I had ears at all – it was totally by accident. I’ve never studied music, I don’t read music, it was a totally natural thing.”
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Music mogul Clive Davis, left, and singer Whitney Houston arrive at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2007. (Photo: Vince Bucci, Vince Bucci, Getty Images)
He has “fingers crossed” his annual gala will return in person next year. In the meantime, he’s hard at work producing a big-screen biopic of Houston, who died in 2012 at age 48 and frequented his pre-Grammys parties.
“It was her favorite night of the year – she loved that evening,” Davis says. “My memories of the great performances she gave there, I’ll never forget.”
The movie, titled “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” is targeting a late 2022 release. It comes on the heels of two documentaries about the singer’s life: 2017’s “Whitney: Can I Be Me” and 2018’s “Whitney.”
“The goal of the biopic is to come up with a very realistic, very honest story,” Davis says. “As well as capturing her losing battle with addiction, capturing her vocal genius and influence on music and contemporary musicians. Capturing not only pitfalls, but also the professional musical triumphs that she succeeded in accomplishing. To present the full story of Whitney Houston impeccably and (ensure) that it will be realistic in every respect.”
"The End of the F***ing World" star Naomi Ackie is set to portray Whitney Houston on the big screen. (Photo: Daniel Boczarski, Getty Images for Disney)
British actress Naomi Ackie (“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) is set to portray Houston in the film, which is written by Anthony McCarten (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) and directed by Stella Meghie (“The Photograph”).
Watching Ackie’s audition tape, “we were very impressed that Whitney’s persona was being captured,” Davis says. “The (singing) voice, of course, will be Whitney’s. When it came to Whitney, we just didn’t think anyone could capture her vocal genius so it will be the Whitney voice in the film.”
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