{"id":270983,"date":"2026-01-30T00:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/270983\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:04:08","slug":"clive-davis-talks-bruce-springsteens-anti-ice-song-pre-grammy-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/270983\/","title":{"rendered":"Clive Davis Talks Bruce Springsteen’s Anti-ICE Song, Pre-Grammy Gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFor an incredible 51 years, the hottest ticket in the music industry has been Clive Davis\u2019 Pre-Grammy Gala<\/a>, staged in partnership with the Recording Academy, that takes place the night before the Grammys. From Beyonce to Barbra, from Jane Fonda to Jay-Z to Nancy Pelosi, the show has a completely unique guest list and roster of performers that reflect both the past year and the past several decades of popular music.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile a common refrain during this year\u2019s Grammy Week has been a sense of relief that it\u2019s not taking place against the backdrop of Los Angeles wildfires (like last year) or a pandemic, it is taking place against an existential crisis in the country in the form of the Trump Administration\u2019s multiple aggressive moves against democracy and the rule of law, which have come to a tragic climax in Minneapolis, which has seen violence between thugs masquerading as Federal law-enforcement officers and demonstrators, as well as many innocent people. ICE has murdered two non-violent demonstrators and incarcerated, beaten and brutalized countless thousands of others \u2014 which inspired Bruce Springsteen<\/a> to release a blistering song against the administration called \u201cStreets of Minneapolis.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tIn 1972, Davis, of course, signed Springsteen to his first record deal with Columbia Records in associated with the legendary A&R executive John Hammond, so he has a unique perspective on the man and his talent. That was one of several topics Variety asked Davis about in our traditional Thursday-before-Grammys-at-the-Beverly-Hilton interview.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Davis, a young 93 years old, demurred, as usual, from revealing what will take place at the gala on Saturday, we did hear the \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d anthem \u201cGolden\u201d blasting from the Hilton\u2019s ballroom, where rehearsals were taking place, and he allowed that a moment paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne was possible.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat can we look forward to this weekend? What are the things\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0willing to say\u00a0that\u2019ll\u00a0happen?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt will be an illustrious audience \u2014 as illustrious, as celebrated as ever before.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0so gratifying after all these years to see the demand hold up as vigorously as it has. As far as artists\u2019 performances, I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0and\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0go into individual revelations, but the group of artists performing, both new and perhaps legacy, is\u00a0very special.\u00a0So I\u2019m really proud of where it stands, both from the point of view of music, artistry, and audience.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0going to be a great night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYou introduced Sharon Osbourne at the Billboard Power 100 celebration yesterday and presented her with the inaugural Clive Davis<\/a> Visionary Award there. When did you first meet her?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0remember where we first met, but we know each other, and I have great admiration.<\/p>\n

\n\tBetween the award and the already-announced tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the Grammys, could\u00a0we\u00a0possibly expect\u00a0something along those lines on Saturday?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t(Smiling) It\u2019s\u00a0within the realm of possibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOkay, big question. Have you heard the new Bruce Springsteen song?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYou know, I\u00a0haven\u2019t yet, but I have read about it. Going back to when I signed him, when I was head of Columbia, I did have the belief that he would\u00a0emerge\u00a0along with Bob Dylan as the poet laureates of this country. So that the fact that\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0written this song certainly fits his emergence as one of the two poet laureates of America.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the early days, did you see the potential for him to be as politically outspoken as\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0become? Because he\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0really do that at first.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tMy prominent feeling when I first signed him was not that he would turn into a political figure, but that I somehow had to distinguish him from Dylan, and that I could not help\u00a0contribute\u00a0to your colleagues [journalists] calling him the next Bob Dylan, or another Bob Dylan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSo\u00a0I remember vividly scheduling a nationwide call of the Columbia personnel \u2014 sales, marketing, press \u2014 and I read the lyrics of each song on the album, [focusing on] the symbolism and the writing. It was so different from Dylan, so unique to Bruce, and so special that it would avoid comparisons because he was such a definitive, unique poet as he is.\u00a0So\u00a0I would say that was my primary goal, to make sure that the focus is on him as the next Poet Laureate of America in his own right.<\/p>\n

\n\tI also, may I hasten to add, feel\u00a0great pride\u00a0when I hear Bruce talk about when he sent me the album and asked what I thought. And\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0always very touchy if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0going back to an artist to write more, because certain artists can be very defensive or resentful. So I never know.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut I remember calling him and saying,\u00a0Look, I love your music.\u00a0I know why I signed you along with John Hammond. But putting my professional ears to what I\u00a0have to\u00a0do to break\u00a0you [commercially],\u00a0I need one or two more radio songs. Because without radio songs, how will the public know that you have an album or material out?\u00a0So\u00a0would you consider doing,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0say, two more songs with an eye for them to be particularly commercial radio songs? And he, with great maturity, did not get defensive. He said,\u00a0Look, I like the radio \u2014 and in those days, radio was it. And when he tells the story, he adds that he went to the beach, went to a particular park, and sat\u00a0there\u00a0and wrote two\u00a0additional\u00a0songs, \u201cWhich I\u00a0never would\u00a0have written if you did not ask me to go back.\u201d And they were \u201cSpirit in the Night\u201d and \u201cBlinded by the Light.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDid you ask him in the way that you just described? In the 90th birthday feature <\/a>on you that we published where we spoke with your executives about your career, one of them said a common practice was \u201cthe polite pass,\u201d where\u00a0you take into account that these are people\u2019s dreams that you\u2019re working with and you can\u2019t stomp on them.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn my position,\u00a0I could\u00a0be doing\u00a0that to manipulate or to [obscure] the hard news.\u00a0So\u00a0I was conscious, if I had\u00a0not-good news. But I would not\u00a0stomp on\u00a0the recipient\u2019s feelings.\u00a0So\u00a0I think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a combination of both \u2014 of delivering the truth and not obscuring it or coming off like a phoneme.\u00a0But on the other hand, not doing it in a way to add to the stress of what was taking place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOn a slightly similar note, how do you lead a staff through challenging times like\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0in now?<\/p>\n

\n\tLook, I remember [the early 2000s] when the prevailing public mood was that people should get music for free. It would be incredibly stressful\u00a0to\u00a0what the future music would be if there\u00a0would be\u00a0resentment over paying for music. And it threatened the health and future of both music companies and artists. I thought of the students in my school that\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0endowed at New York University \u2014 \u201cAm I picking a career that could be prosperous? Or am I going into a dying industry?\u201d\u00a0So\u00a0 I was very much aware of that.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut\u00a0I did believe\u00a0in the power of music. I did believe in the role that music plays in people\u2019s lives. And I kept that belief so that my outlook when asked \u201cAre we safe?\u201d or \u201cAre we healthy?\u201d was to say yes.\u00a0You\u2019re\u00a0in the pursuit of a profession of an art form\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0needed permanently \u2014 music is needed permanently. And\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0happy I\u00a0did, because\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0healthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tJust going back to the political climate for a moment, are there any plans to address it or ICE in the show on Saturday?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, I have no plan for a specific political stance\u00a0to be taken. I\u2019m\u00a0happy that some of the best music and albums of this year will be represented Saturday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd a lot of the time at these events, people say things onstage that you\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0plan for.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s\u00a0for sure!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOK, now\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0get to the\u00a0easy questions. This year\u2019s honorees, Monte and Avery Lipman of Republic Records. How long have you known them?<\/p>\n

\n\tI know Monte better than I know Avery, so I\u2019m in touch with him more \u2014 we\u2019re social friends as well. So when I hear him reminisce that his career began in 1986, and where did it begin? Working for Arista, and he often says how much he learned from me. So I\u2019m both gratified and proud of this incredibly talented executive. You hear people say, \u201cWell, they\u2019re on a hot streak.\u201d You don\u2019t have a hot streak if you never cool off, and they never cool off. And so when he reminisces about his career development and learning, he\u2019s always very kind to include me as a material part of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWho are some new artists in the past year that have impressed you?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOlivia Dean has impressed me. \u201cOrdinary\u201d by Alex Warren has impressed me. In the R&B and hip-hop field, the Clipse have impressed me.\u00a0On [less-new artists], I\u2019m also very impressed with the magnitude of Taylor Swift\u2019s success, and Kendrick Lamar\u2019s album.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre you still listening to the top 20 every single week?<\/p>\n

\n\tI do. First of all, I enjoy it. Secondly, I like feeling informed, so that when I meet the new artists or we spend time together, they\u2019re not talking to yesterday\u2019s maven, so to speak. Just a few months ago Alicia [Keys] called and said she\u2019d like to come to my home for the weekend in Miami. So we spent the entire weekend together, she brought her two boys with her. But it\u2019s not just reminiscence \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s to be able to appraise with her where music is today and where it\u2019s going and how it\u2019s changing and how complex career direction is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI find Alicia brilliant. I find her well-informed and the perfect combination of what successful, influential, influencing artists should be.<\/p>\n

\n\tHave you heard the new songs from either Harry Styles or Bruno Mars?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI have not yet, but I will. I\u2019m so impressed by how many tickets Harry can sell for Madison Square Garden, I mean, my jaw dropped. It\u2019s a phenomenon.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd I like Bruno \u2014 who will not be there Saturday night. But if I had my way, he\u2019d be there, which I don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHe might be saving it for next year when he\u2019s up for all the awards he\u2019s likely to be up for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLet\u2019s hope so!<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there anything you\u2019d like to say or talk about that I haven\u2019t asked?<\/p>\n

\n\tYes I do. The party is in its 51st year, and it\u2019s more in-demand and vibrant than ever \u2014 the notes I get from people looking forward to it make me feel great, and it\u2019s so good to hear everybody so looking forward to coming to the night of music that we share.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For an incredible 51 years, the hottest ticket in the music industry has been Clive Davis\u2019 Pre-Grammy Gala,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[21748,113894,93,61,60,278],"class_list":{"0":"post-270983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-bruce-springsteen","9":"tag-clive-davis","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}