The Soundtrack of My Life by Clive Davis

The bisexuality angle that made news Feb.

Indeed, you could have a pretty soused solo drinking game taking a swig every time the mogul traces an artist’s commercial downfall to not following his advice, which usually involves giving up purist singer-songwriter delusions and taking outside material. Alternate titles for the tome could include They Did It My Way or I Told You Not to Write Your Own Songs, Dammit! And there are a lot more in that latter category. But he’s prouder, it seems, of the more pliable pop singers who needed to be told what to do. He’s proud of his early boosterism for such self-contained rock legends as Janis, Bob and Bruce. Not so much as in “-sexual” - though, yes, Katie Couric, there is that revelation, introduced in the last eight pages of this 600-page doorstop, since he apparently felt that saving it for the actual index would be too extreme - but the real underlying theme of The Soundtrack of My Life is the Sony Music chief creative officer’s bifurcated approach toward the hundreds of artists he’s worked with in his 52 years in the music business.

His wealth of experience offers valuable insight into the evolution of the music business over the past half-century and into the future.-From publisher description.In his exhaustively detailed new memoir, we come to learn that Clive Davis, 80, is bi. In this fully illustrated, personal account, Davis tells all, from becoming an orphan in high school and getting through college and law school on scholarships, to being falsely accused of embezzlement and starting up his own record company, J Records. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and hosted the world's highest profile parties. Davis' career has spanned more than forty years, and he has discovered, signed, or worked with a staggering array of artists: Whitney Houston, Janis Joplin, Simon and Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, Lou Reed, Dionne Warwick, Carlos Santana, The Grateful Dead, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, and Aretha Franklin, to name a few. In this star-studded autobiography, Clive Davis shares a personal, candid look into his remarkable life and the last fifty years of popular music as only a true insider can.

The Soundtrack of My Life by Clive Davis