Celebrity Deaths 2026: Catherine O’Hara, Eric Dane & More Fallen Stars

After a reorganization of the company eventually landed Davis in the role of president, his tenure saw Columbia embrace the age of rock ‘n roll after he went to the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 where he saw Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix perform.

“I couldn’t believe it. It was a cultural revolution, a social revolution and clearly a musical revolution,” he recalled to Rolling Stone in 2017. “I knew I was in the midst of something unique and profoundly deep.”

Joplin, in particular, he remembered as “mesmerizing,” immediately signing her to Columbia.

And Davis, knowing rock wasn’t going anywhere, planned accordingly.

As he explained, “I prepared to unveil the music in mid-’68 with a campaign that said, ‘This is the new revolutionary sound that will be heard around the world.’”

In addition to Joplin, while at Columbia Davis signed the likes of Carlos Santana, Sly Stone, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd, Earth, Wind and Fire and Aerosmith, effectively turning the company into one of the most successful rock labels in the world.

At the height of his career, however, Davis was falsely accused of billing Columbia for personal items such as a trip to Jamaica, a house in Beverly Hills and his son’s bar mitzvah. Though the investigation proved Davis innocent, CBS fired him before the process had been complete.

“The idea that there was wrongdoing is unfair,” Davis told Rolling Stone in 2008. “I never did charge my son’s bar mitzvah – it was phony, the guy went to jail, and I was exculpated!”

After his firing, Davis became president of the music division of Columbia Pictures, where he was given a 20 percent stake in the company and changed its name to Arista. There, he signed and worked with musical acts such as the Grateful Dead, Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Annie Lennox.

“I do get great pleasure in finding those great talents and showing how long a career can last,” he told Harvard Law Today in 2014. “It doesn’t have to be ephemeral in any way.”

And while Davis—who shared four kids with ex wives Helen Cohen and Janet Adelberg—had become known for changing the American music landscape for decades, when he was 80 years old he shared a new piece of himself with the world: He came out as bisexual in his 2013 autobiography The Soundtrack of My Life.

As for why Davis decided to come out after decades in the spotlight, he was quick to downplay it was any sort of brave act.

 “I don’t feel it’s a matter of pride, it’s a matter of people learning more about life and not having stereotypical, rigid ideas,” he told The Guardian in his 2014 interview. “I certainly knew the subject was misunderstood, that whether you were straight or gay, if you found somebody who was truly bisexual that you’d stereotype them. If it helps reduce the misunderstanding and the stereotypical attitudes about it, then great.”

He added, “But I don’t view it as an achievement. It is what it is.”

As for the many legendary artists he worked with over the years—which also included Barry Manilow and Aretha Franklin—Davis was eternally proud of the deep connections he built.

“I’m privileged that my relationship with artists goes over many years,” he told The Guardian. “When I founded Arista in 1975, I established relationships with writers and publishers and so began this odyssey.”

And even then, the allure of finding the perfect song for an artist never lost its appeal.

“It’s pure creativity, going through hundreds of songs and meeting with the artist as you distil them,” he said. “It works beautifully.”