This week, it’s a special Rules Free Radio episode with Steve Caplan, as we honor the late Clive Davis! He wasn’t a musician or songwriter, but he was one of the most influential people in the music industry. He was the president of Columbia Records during the glory days in popular music: 1967-1973. And he had a major role in making those years so fertile. At Columbia and later on with his own label, Arista, he signed and guided the careers of all kinds of artists we all know and love. From Janis Joplin to Sly Stone to Miles Davis to his discovery of Whitney Houston, Clive Davis’s influence is incalculable.
We’ll hear plenty of artists and songs we all know and love, including Blood, Sweat & Tears (featuring the late David Clayton Thomas), Chicago, Laura Nyro, Electric Flag, Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Gil Scott-Heron, The Kinks, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Janis Joplin with Big Brother and The Holding Company, The Chambers Brothers, Sly & The Family Stone, and others. We’ll revisit songs you may not have heard in a long time and hopefully make some discoveries as well.
Bruce Springsteen – For You
The Chambers Brothers – time has come today
Janis Joplin & Big Brother and The Holding Company – Piece of My Heart
Electric Flag – Killing Floor
Johnny Winter – Leland Mississippi Blues
Chicago – 25 or 6 to 4
Blood, Sweat &Tears – Smiling Phases
Janis Joplin & Big Brother and The Holding Company – Ball and Chain (Live at the Monterey Pop Festival – June 1967)
Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
Billy Joel – New York State Of Mind
Gil Scott-Heron – New York City
Earth Wind & Fire – Keep Your Head To The Sky
Laura Nyro – Stoned Soul Picnic
Aretha Franklin with Annie Lennox – Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves
Aretha Franklin – Freeway Of Love
Sly & The Family Stone – Dance To The Music
The Kinks – Life On The Road
The Grateful Dead – Touch Of Grey
Aerosmith – No Surprize
The Grateful Dead – Passenger
Santana – Smooth
Anthony Braxton – Opus 23C (A)
Gil Scott-Heron – The Liberation Song (Red, Black, and Green)
Weather Report – Orange Lady
Miles Davis – Shhh-Peaceful
Herbie Hancock – Chameleon