Starmaker’s stellar legacy
A belated goodbye to my neighbor and longtime friend, Clive Davis.
Barely days before he left, we hugged one another. It was our favored Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar dinner spot. Me, table for two against the left wall — his round table with friends alongside. Clive walked over to kiss me. Who knew it was the last I’d see him.
I recall our chat. The music genius who manufactured Whitney, Aretha, Alicia, Springsteen, Joplin and Simon and Garfunkel. I asked will a Bing Crosby- or Frank Sinatra-type song ever come again?
“Decades change music. Currently, hip-hop dominates. Also country and pop.
“Who believed this could happen to me? At 18, I lost my parents in one year. With $4,000 to my name and help from others, I got an NYU scholarship. Three years of law got me into a law firm that represented Columbia Records. I became chief counsel. That’s how I got into music.
“I’ve been chief creative officer of Sony. My Grammys are on their shelves. NYU established a museum in my honor. Two floors. My whole life story, from signing Whitney to her passing. I not only signed her, but brought her 18 songs for each album. Our ears were in sync with each other.
“I missed out on Meat Loaf, who seemed unlikely. Even others did not see him as an enduring artist. Also, John Mellencamp.”
Clive’s recent birthday party drew Earth, Wind & Fire, Busta Rhymes, Lin-Manuel Miranda — plus another 600. And his favorite song? Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”
And if he could, what would he say to his mom?
“I done good.”
Going nuclear over all the lies
Facts? There are none. Mullahs won’t allow inspectors. Both our parties create wild propaganda. Facts? What facts? It’s reality gone amok. Iran, even with July Fourth firecrackers up their assets, could allow inspections tomorrow. But won’t. The idea’s as dead as Robin Hood’s tree.
Plan A went poop. It’s now Plan B. Bribe the villains. The situation changes hourly — faster than 56-year-old Lopez changes bras. Can peace be bought when dealing with terrorists? We who have lived in that part of the world know how they operate. Mrs. Biden tells more truth.
Tehran survives — momentarily.
Falls-back trip
Skip the Hamptons, shove the Rockaways, stay away from Rikers. Discover new summer spots. Like New York’s Finger Lakes. Like Taughannock Falls State Park. Like 215-foot waterfalls carved 10,000 years ago when Jill Biden was a brunette. There’s a wine up there called “Gewürz.” Comes with Kleenex.
Big shoes to fill
Cameron Diaz has large feet and often has shoes custom-made . . . Nicolas Cage: “I’ve used fear to work for me” . . . Mike Tyson: “Fear is fine. It can cook for you or it can burn your house down’’ . . . James Gandolfini: “I’m basically a 260-pound Woody Allen” . . . Engelbert Humperdinck won’t wear green clothes or ride in green cars. Thinks the color’s unlucky.
If crime doesn’t pay, how come so many want to be lawyers?
Mostly in New York, kids, mostly in New York.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
