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| 2 Masters of the Business That Is Recorded Music | 2 Masters of the Business That Is Recorded Music |
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| Who put the bomp, Barry Mann asked in his 1961 single, in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp? Mr. Mann wanted to shake that person’s hand. | Who put the bomp, Barry Mann asked in his 1961 single, in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp? Mr. Mann wanted to shake that person’s hand. |
| For much of the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, a pretty good answer to that existential question was Clive Davis. As the head of Columbia Records and then Arista, the label he founded, Mr. Davis had a knack for introducing, like some Catskills matchmaker, good singers to good material. The results tended to be explosive, as if he were dropping packages of Mentos into two-liter bottles of Diet Coke. | For much of the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and ’00s, a pretty good answer to that existential question was Clive Davis. As the head of Columbia Records and then Arista, the label he founded, Mr. Davis had a knack for introducing, like some Catskills matchmaker, good singers to good material. The results tended to be explosive, as if he were dropping packages of Mentos into two-liter bottles of Diet Coke. |
| Singers sometimes hated him for it. They didn’t just want hits. They wanted to be artists. They wanted, like Bob Dylan and Patti Smith, to write their own stuff. Mr. Davis’s entertaining if overfilled new memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” is packed with moments when he had to look a singer in the eye and deliver a withering observation like, “If you were Irving Berlin, we would know it by now!” | Singers sometimes hated him for it. They didn’t just want hits. They wanted to be artists. They wanted, like Bob Dylan and Patti Smith, to write their own stuff. Mr. Davis’s entertaining if overfilled new memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” is packed with moments when he had to look a singer in the eye and deliver a withering observation like, “If you were Irving Berlin, we would know it by now!” |
| That line was directed at Barry Manilow, one of Mr. Davis’s discoveries. Mr. Davis handpicked many of the songs that became Mr. Manilow’s defining hits. Mr. Manilow was apoplectic when Mr. Davis talked him into recording a song, one he didn’t write, that was actually called “I Write the Songs.” Chutzpah! It was, of course, to borrow a phrase that Mr. Davis likes to employ, a roaring success. | That line was directed at Barry Manilow, one of Mr. Davis’s discoveries. Mr. Davis handpicked many of the songs that became Mr. Manilow’s defining hits. Mr. Manilow was apoplectic when Mr. Davis talked him into recording a song, one he didn’t write, that was actually called “I Write the Songs.” Chutzpah! It was, of course, to borrow a phrase that Mr. Davis likes to employ, a roaring success. |
| “The Soundtrack of My Life” is one of two new memoirs by important late-20th-century music industry executives in bookstores right now. The other is “Hitmaker,” by Tommy Mottola, the longtime Sony Music Entertainment head and the former Mr. Mariah Carey. Like Mr. Davis, Mr. Mottola was lucky enough to make his mark in the music business before MP3s came along and, like a meteor, killed all the dinosaurs. | “The Soundtrack of My Life” is one of two new memoirs by important late-20th-century music industry executives in bookstores right now. The other is “Hitmaker,” by Tommy Mottola, the longtime Sony Music Entertainment head and the former Mr. Mariah Carey. Like Mr. Davis, Mr. Mottola was lucky enough to make his mark in the music business before MP3s came along and, like a meteor, killed all the dinosaurs. |
| Each of these books is, as Barack Obama once put it about Hillary Rodham Clinton, likable enough. They read like business narratives, savvy old C.E.O.’s giving dictation, more than music industry tell-alls. The anecdotes in them are mostly buffed to a high sheen. (If you want cocaine, red eyeballs, trashed hotel rooms and clamorous sex, the book to acquire is “Howling at the Moon,” by the former CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff. It’s the “Goodfellas” of rock mogul memoirs.) | Each of these books is, as Barack Obama once put it about Hillary Rodham Clinton, likable enough. They read like business narratives, savvy old C.E.O.’s giving dictation, more than music industry tell-alls. The anecdotes in them are mostly buffed to a high sheen. (If you want cocaine, red eyeballs, trashed hotel rooms and clamorous sex, the book to acquire is “Howling at the Moon,” by the former CBS Records president Walter Yetnikoff. It’s the “Goodfellas” of rock mogul memoirs.) |
| Mr. Mottola’s book is short, tight and conversational. Mr. Davis’s, because he’s had a longer and broader career, has more of the wide-angle sweep of American music in it. It’s easily the grainier and more sustaining of the two. Mr. Davis’s book also contains a big talk-show reveal that doesn’t seem, in 2013, so big at all: yep, he’s bisexual. | Mr. Mottola’s book is short, tight and conversational. Mr. Davis’s, because he’s had a longer and broader career, has more of the wide-angle sweep of American music in it. It’s easily the grainier and more sustaining of the two. Mr. Davis’s book also contains a big talk-show reveal that doesn’t seem, in 2013, so big at all: yep, he’s bisexual. |
| The question that lingers over both of these memoirs is this: Does it matter if singers write their own material? For the most part, Billie Holiday, Sinatra, Elvis, Streisand and Joplin did not. Mr. Davis and Mr. Mottola encouraged their nonsongwriting talent to think like entertainers, not like critics. | |
| We can all agree about what Noël Coward called the extraordinary power of cheap music. But perhaps too many of the performers discussed at length in these books don’t seem like particularly complicated characters; they’re people whose work you may have a hard time caring a great deal about. | We can all agree about what Noël Coward called the extraordinary power of cheap music. But perhaps too many of the performers discussed at length in these books don’t seem like particularly complicated characters; they’re people whose work you may have a hard time caring a great deal about. |
| In Mr. Davis’s book, this means Mr. Manilow, Dionne Warwick and Kenny G. (He never worked on “Who Put the Bomp.”) About the Australian band Air Supply Mr. Davis delivers this fine nugget: the original lyrics to its hit “All Out of Love” went, “I’m all out of love/I want to arrest you.” In Mr. Mottola’s book these performers include Ms. Carey, as well as Celine Dion and Ricky Martin. | In Mr. Davis’s book, this means Mr. Manilow, Dionne Warwick and Kenny G. (He never worked on “Who Put the Bomp.”) About the Australian band Air Supply Mr. Davis delivers this fine nugget: the original lyrics to its hit “All Out of Love” went, “I’m all out of love/I want to arrest you.” In Mr. Mottola’s book these performers include Ms. Carey, as well as Celine Dion and Ricky Martin. |
| The roadsides of each book are littered with singers who didn’t take Mr. Davis’s or Mr. Mottola’s advice. They insisted on recording their own, lesser, material and saw their careers deflate, at least in pop terms: Melissa Manchester, Taylor Dayne, Toni Braxton, Curtis Stigers. | The roadsides of each book are littered with singers who didn’t take Mr. Davis’s or Mr. Mottola’s advice. They insisted on recording their own, lesser, material and saw their careers deflate, at least in pop terms: Melissa Manchester, Taylor Dayne, Toni Braxton, Curtis Stigers. |
| Mr. Davis, now 80, grew up in Brooklyn. He went to Harvard Law School and fell into the music business in 1960 after doing legal work for Columbia Records. At the time, he wasn’t even a music fan. | Mr. Davis, now 80, grew up in Brooklyn. He went to Harvard Law School and fell into the music business in 1960 after doing legal work for Columbia Records. At the time, he wasn’t even a music fan. |
| He was charismatic and ambitious, though, and he quickly rose to become president of Columbia. His coming of age occurred at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967, where he spied and later signed the young Joplin. She wanted to seal the deal by having sex. Mr. Davis declined. He writes here, “You don’t learn how to deal with a proposition like that in school.” | He was charismatic and ambitious, though, and he quickly rose to become president of Columbia. His coming of age occurred at the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967, where he spied and later signed the young Joplin. She wanted to seal the deal by having sex. Mr. Davis declined. He writes here, “You don’t learn how to deal with a proposition like that in school.” |
| “The Soundtrack of My Life” is studded with pretty good moments. Mr. Davis told the young Bruce Springsteen that he should move around more onstage. When Mr. Davis invited Lou Reed along on a beach trip, Mr. Reed commented, “Clive, if I ever get a tan, my career would be over.” | “The Soundtrack of My Life” is studded with pretty good moments. Mr. Davis told the young Bruce Springsteen that he should move around more onstage. When Mr. Davis invited Lou Reed along on a beach trip, Mr. Reed commented, “Clive, if I ever get a tan, my career would be over.” |
| He compares Whitney Houston’s cigarette smoking to “leaving a priceless Stradivarius out in the sun.” About the band Ace of Base, he says, “You can’t schedule a charisma implant.” | He compares Whitney Houston’s cigarette smoking to “leaving a priceless Stradivarius out in the sun.” About the band Ace of Base, he says, “You can’t schedule a charisma implant.” |
| Mr. Davis made his mistakes. The Milli Vanilli debacle happened under his watch. When he had the chance to sign either the young Dwight Twilley or the young Tom Petty, he chose Mr. Twilley. He didn’t throttle Kenny G for performing a “duet” with Louis Armstrong on “What a Wonderful World.” | Mr. Davis made his mistakes. The Milli Vanilli debacle happened under his watch. When he had the chance to sign either the young Dwight Twilley or the young Tom Petty, he chose Mr. Twilley. He didn’t throttle Kenny G for performing a “duet” with Louis Armstrong on “What a Wonderful World.” |
| But he is equanimous about almost everyone and everything. Mr. Davis had a particularly close working relationship with Houston, and he tried to restrain her worst impulses. About Houston’s husband at the time, Bobby Brown, he writes, “I don’t believe Bobby caused Whitney’s problems, but the two of them brought out the worst in each other.” | But he is equanimous about almost everyone and everything. Mr. Davis had a particularly close working relationship with Houston, and he tried to restrain her worst impulses. About Houston’s husband at the time, Bobby Brown, he writes, “I don’t believe Bobby caused Whitney’s problems, but the two of them brought out the worst in each other.” |
| Almost the only person who wrinkles his sense of ease is Kelly Clarkson, who never admitted he was right about “Since U Been Gone,” a song she didn’t want to record. | Almost the only person who wrinkles his sense of ease is Kelly Clarkson, who never admitted he was right about “Since U Been Gone,” a song she didn’t want to record. |
| Mr. Mottola, 63, was born in the Bronx. He performed and cut some singles under the name T. D. Valentine before making his mark as the manager of Hall and Oates, John Mellencamp and Carly Simon. | Mr. Mottola, 63, was born in the Bronx. He performed and cut some singles under the name T. D. Valentine before making his mark as the manager of Hall and Oates, John Mellencamp and Carly Simon. |
| His career at CBS Records and Sony was largely marked by his tempestuous marriage to Ms. Carey, who was more than two decades his junior, and by his breaking out the so-called Latin Explosion performers Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Mr. Martin. | His career at CBS Records and Sony was largely marked by his tempestuous marriage to Ms. Carey, who was more than two decades his junior, and by his breaking out the so-called Latin Explosion performers Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Mr. Martin. |
| He admits that it was “absolutely wrong and inappropriate” for him to get involved with Ms. Carey. He can’t help getting some writerly revenge. “By the way,” he says, less than chivalrously, “it was Mariah who asked me to marry her.” | He admits that it was “absolutely wrong and inappropriate” for him to get involved with Ms. Carey. He can’t help getting some writerly revenge. “By the way,” he says, less than chivalrously, “it was Mariah who asked me to marry her.” |
| In “Hitmaker” he recounts his battles with George Michael and Michael Jackson, who both saw their careers sliding. He’s a keen observer of boardroom intrigue. He notes: “When someone gets whacked, it’s always easy to point the finger at the guy who’s closest. Especially when his last name ends in a vowel.” | In “Hitmaker” he recounts his battles with George Michael and Michael Jackson, who both saw their careers sliding. He’s a keen observer of boardroom intrigue. He notes: “When someone gets whacked, it’s always easy to point the finger at the guy who’s closest. Especially when his last name ends in a vowel.” |
| Mr. Mottola’s upbeat but essentially lightweight book is marred by canned testimonials, planted throughout, from the famous people he’s come to know. These make “Hitmaker” feel like an infomercial. | Mr. Mottola’s upbeat but essentially lightweight book is marred by canned testimonials, planted throughout, from the famous people he’s come to know. These make “Hitmaker” feel like an infomercial. |
| Each of these talented men senses that he’s led a charmed life. Both seem to agree with something that Mr. Davis says, about the day he was first summoned by Simon and Garfunkel to listen to tracks from “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” their final studio record: “I felt privileged to be in the room.” | Each of these talented men senses that he’s led a charmed life. Both seem to agree with something that Mr. Davis says, about the day he was first summoned by Simon and Garfunkel to listen to tracks from “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” their final studio record: “I felt privileged to be in the room.” |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: February 20, 2013 | |
An earlier version of this review referred incorrectly to Billie Holiday’s music career. Although she was known for performing songs by others, she did write some of her own material. |