Clive Davis — the man with the golden ear credited with discovering Whitney Houston and working with everyone from Aretha Franklin to Bruce Springsteen and Kelly Clarkson — reveals for the first time his bisexuality in his new memoir, The Soundtrack of My Life.
Davis, who has been married and divorced twice, has never before publically addressed his sexuality. In a candid five-page section toward the end of the book, due in stores today, he writes that he first had a sexual encounter with a man during “the era of Studio 54.” “On this night, after imbibing enough alcohol, I was open to responding to his sexual overtures,” writes Davis, who says he had only been with women before. Being with a man, he writes, provided “welcome relief.”
After a period of “soul searching and self-analysis,” Davis separated from his second wife in 1985, and says that he went on to have simultaneous relationships with two women and a man. In 1990, he entered into a “monogamous relationship” with a male doctor, who is not named in the book. Although that relationship ended in 2004, Davis says he has been in a subsequent relationship with another man ever since. Davis writes that his coming out deeply affected his ties with one of his sons, Mitchell: After what Davis calls “one very trying year,” father and son worked out their differences, Davis says.
The 80-year-old also devotes an entire chapter to Whitney, recounting their earliest collaborations to his attempts to intervene in her troubled life and the shock he felt at learning of her death. Davis even reprints a letter he sent to the singer after her “skeletal” appearance at Michael Jackson’s 30th anniversary concert.
“You must think not only of yourself but you most think of those you love you,” Davis wrote. “Our anguish, our fear, our pain is just too much to bear. You must get help for yourself and for your close extended family.”
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Davis discusses his sexuality and his memoir today with Katie Couric, a clip of which can be seen below:
Photo: Christopher Peterson/Wikipedia
Jackhoffsky
Almost.
Or actually, at his age… Close Enough.
The point is… FINALLY.
Cam
Things have changed if we are finally reaching the point where even people in the glass closet, people 80 years old etc… are coming out.
Good for Clive, took a while, but nice to have you out of the closet.
Now maybe if you could do something about all of those publicists demanding that their clients stay closeted.
Alan down in Florida
As a kid growing up in Brooklyn in the ’60s Clive Davis was my absolute hero. It was because of him I pursued a career in the music business. Had he been out then maybe I would have seen that it was OK to be the gay man I was struggling not to be and I might have come out sooner than my mid-30s. Nonetheless he still remains my hero for the music he has midwifed for 5 decades.
Brian
All men are capable of bisexual behavior.
Chad Hunt
bisexual … I think what Queerty meant was he “buys” & expects people to be “sexual”. I think that should be the new Gay -For-Pay term BUYSEXUAL.
beaubourg
Agree with you Chad Hunt. what an hypocrit..!!!
WayDifferent
He’s been accused of much worse by people he ditched from the label. He’s been in a relationship with a man for 7 years. He’s gay. Big deal. Gay men, however, should stop being patronized by this “bisexual” term which is meant to be a step above them in some way or another.
EllynRuth
So sad to see such ignorant thinking on this thread. This is the LGBT community and there should be respect for every identity represented within that name on this website. People wonder why it takes so long for bisexual people to come out and your comments are perfect examples of why it is so difficult. The man just came out as bisexual and Way Different decides that no, he’s gay. How dare you?! Who are you to determine someone else’s identity for them? Davis explained that he is attracted to more than one gender so just leave it at that. I think it’s great that he’s being open about being bi and about being monogamous and that the two are able to co-exist.
Sweet Boy
Bisexual is a term from the last century…now the term is OMNISEXUAL….he will f*ck anything that moves
Cam
@EllynRuth:
Oh yes, you are right, the reason that people don’t come out is because the poor trod upon bisexuals are afraid that people might say they are gay. How awful, that is surely the only reason that an 80 year old man like Davis didn’t come out.
Nothing to do with the fact that it used to be illegal, that people can still be fired, etc… no it’s because they will all fall upon their fainting couches if somebody calls them gay.
The point you seem to have missed is that he hasn’t been with a woman since 1990. That is 23 years of being exclusive to men. You may want to take your histrionics someplace else.
FunMe
The gay 90s are actually happening now. Who knew!
So what’s up with everyone wanting to be gay now? Oh wait, “bisexual” … yeah, thats the ticket.
First, I do think this Davis guy is gay. Sure he was married, but weren’t many of his generation married because that was a way to hide their gayness? And he’s been with men since the Studio 54 1970s. Yeah, “bi” … LOL
Meanwhile, I wonder if other Sony executives are gay, too. NOTHING surprises me anymore. 😉
WayDifferent
@EllynRuth: “Da man” was called out as being a homosexual pedophile about 30 years ago by someone that was ditched from the label. How’s that for “ignorance”? If he’s “bisexual”, I’m straight.
EllynRuth
@Cam: No, Cam, you didn’t get my point. It’s that even when you do come out as bisexual people constantly refute it so some people don’t even bother. There are countless bi people who “pass” as gay and lesbian just so they don’t have to deal with your kind of ignorance. So what if Davis hasn’t been with a woman since 1990, that doesn’t prove anything about his sexual orientation, it just means he’s been in monogamous relationships with men. Being bi doesn’t mean you have to have sex with more than one gender all the time, it’s about attraction.