As Grammys loom, Clive Davis says: ‘Music has never been more vital.’ Here’s why

“I know Donald.”

The statement from music mogul Clive Davis was an attention-commanding moment, even knowing his proclivity to punctuate whatever point he’s making with references to the galaxy of pop music stars he’s on a first-name basis with, “be it an Aretha, be it a Whitney, be it an Adele, be it a Britney.”

Davis was talking Wednesday at his temporary West Coast headquarters at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in the midst of preparations for his annual pre-Grammy Awards gala on Saturday night.

He was responding to a question about whether, given his background as a quintessential New Yorker — born 84 years ago in Brooklyn — and high-profile businessman himself, Davis has a sense yet of how Donald Trump and his quickly forming cabinet are likely to view, and treat, the nation’s artists and creative community.

“I know Donald,” he said. “I know personally that he would want to foster a creative community, to foster the influence of arts and the growth of the arts,” Davis said in deliberately chosen words.

“I hope that political expediency does not override this and that the lawmakers stand up and protect the arts, which are a fundamental part of our lives, and a fundamental part of the influence that America has had throughout the world,” he said.

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It was part of a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the music business in 2017, what he has in store at Saturday’s pre-Grammy bash, Sunday’s Grammy ceremony and a forthcoming documentary on his life based on his 2013 bestselling autobiography, “Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of My Life.”

But the topic of the dramatic change in political atmosphere was the one subject that stopped him cold. Only after a long, measured pause, his head resting on his left hand as he carefully chose his words, did he elaborate.

“I certainly believe that the artistic community does have a responsibility and a right to speak out,” he said, “not just to protect their profession, but to protect the foundation of what makes the United States as a country so unique in history and what should be the future as well.”

Davis considers it vital to support “our great artists in every area of music and drama and spoken word and film and ballet and elsewhere, that we keep the arts strong,” he said. “I’m terrified that there will be any lack of appreciation as to the impact of art and music and our artists, and how they flourish and grow.… I hope that the rumors of cutting back [federal] funding of the creative artistic community are untrue.”

Davis’ own contributions to nurturing the arts and pop music are legion and are at the heart of the documentary on his career that will open the Tribeca Film Festival on April 19.

Starting with his tenure at Columbia Records in the 1960s, first as a corporate lawyer, then as head of the label, Davis signed, produced or significantly guided the careers of Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Aretha Franklin, the Grateful Dead, Barry Manilow, Alicia Keys, Santana, Aerosmith, Jennifer Hudson and countless others, including probably his most celebrated discovery, Whitney Houston.

He was quick to underscore that “I have had absolutely no control over the film” by director Chris Perkel but said he saw the final cut this week in a private screening and “was very, very moved.”

The film premiere will be accompanied by an all-star concert featuring many of the acts with whom he was worked closely, among them Franklin, Hudson and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Now chief creative officer for Sony Music Entertainment, Davis remains active in the role he’s relished for more than half a century: identifying young musicians and helping them establish careers in the record business.

Among his current projects: working with producer and songwriter Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds on a new album from veteran pop singer Johnny Mathis, producing another work for Jennifer Hudson and selecting material en route to recording an album with one of his latest finds, “The Voice” contestant Avery Wilson.

The music business has changed dramatically during his long tenure as head of Columbia, then the first label he started from scratch, Arista, then J Records and in the last decade-plus under the Sony corporate umbrella.

Sea changes in technology antiquated traditional ways of doing business through most of the 20th century and fundamentally transformed the way music lovers acquire their favorite artists’ latest creations — leaving many players by the wayside as conventional methods of earning money from the sale of recordings disappeared. Yet Davis argues that “music has never been more vital than it is today.

“Of course, we have to keep pace with changes in technology,” he said. That’s another area where Davis, like many in the music industry, are looking for signals of how a new administrationwill come down on issues such as intellectual property rights of musicians and laws addressing compensation to artists and record labels in the era of music streaming.

Foremost on his mind, however, is Saturday’s pre-Grammy bash, typically the hottest ticket in town because of the parade of performances by stars established and new as well as the luminaries who attend.

This year’s roster is set to include Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Ringo Starr, Metallica, Pharrell Williams, John Legend, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Michael Keaton, Jane Fonda, Nile Rogers, Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears, Neil Young, Brian Grazer, Larry King, Andrea Day and Wiz Khalifa.

He typically holds the names of the evening’s performers close to the vest but chose to let one out early.

Davis said last September was his first opportunity to catch a performance by Chance the Rapper. “Obviously I had known of his records, but in seeing him live, I’ll tell you one performer who will be on the stage Saturday night: Chance the Rapper…. I was knocked out.”

randy.lewis@latimes.com

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