The music executive signed Springsteen to Columbia Records when he was 22 years old
Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to Clive Davis, the legendary music executive who helped shape Springsteen’s career and died on Monday at the age of 94.
“Over here on E Street, we mourn the death of the great record man and close friend Clive Davis,” Springsteen posted on social media. “At 22 years old, he changed my life when he signed me to Columbia Records.”
He added: “He treated me with the same respect and kindness as a 22-year-old nobody as he did after all my success. A great man. All our prayers and love.”
Davis, who auditioned Springsteen in 1972 — seven years after he became the head of Columbia Records, told People in a 2022 interview that “when he auditioned for me, he just stood and played the guitar and sang his songs.” But while he thought Springsteen initially lacked moves onstage, he knew the talent was there. “I listened, blown away by his imagery and poetry. He’s gone on with [Bob] Dylan and Patti [Smith] to be our poet laureates.”
Later, he said he suggested to Springsteen, “’would you consider [moving]? Something to consider.'”
The Boss took note, and when Davis saw him perform at a Greenwhich Village club called The Bottom Line, he had transformed his stage presence. “I was flabbergasted,” Davis said. “He jumped on every table at the Bottom Line! He became a Bruce Springsteen that I had never, ever seen before. He was a whirling dervish. It was not just the movement, it was the spirit of it. It was electrifying. It’s one of those cases where an artist becomes even better and bigger than the reason that you signed them for. I’ve got to tell you, it’s a vivid memory.”
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Backstage after the set, they met up. “I got to the dressing room. I remember opening the door and him looking up saying, ‘Clive, did I move around enough for you tonight?'” Clive told the outlet.
The pair remained close long after Davis’ departure from Columbia in 1973. In 2022, Springsteen performed at Davis’ 90th birthday party, where he performed a rendition of “Blinded by the Light,” a song Davis said he persuaded Springsteen to write.