Clive Davis was remembered at a star-studded funeral service at Central Synagogue in New York City a week after his death on June 22, with Jennifer Hudson performing and Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, and Dionne Warwick among the speakers.
The stage at Central Synagogue in New York City filled up fast—because when music legend Clive Davis was being honored, nobody wanted to miss the moment.
Davis died last week on Monday, June 22, at his home in New York City. A week later, a star-studded funeral service marked his life and legacy at Central Synagogue, where Jennifer Hudson performed during the service.
Among the guests who spoke were Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, and Dionne Warwick. Their words framed Davis not just as a towering figure in the music industry, but as someone whose influence reached far beyond contracts and titles.
Springsteen delivered a vivid memory from the early days of his career. He recalled auditioning for Davis in 1972 before a deal with Columbia Records could be finalized. In his speech. Springsteen described tentatively strumming his guitar. saying he played songs that would later land on his first album.
“[W]hen I finished, Clive, smiling, simply said, ‘Welcome to Columbia Records.’
And in those few words, he changed my life forever. Forever,” Springsteen continued.
He added that, despite everything that followed over the next 50 years, “nothing ever changed,” emphasizing that Davis showed a “warmth,” “kindness,” and “respect” to a “22-year-old nobody.”
Springsteen also spoke about the way Davis guided listeners toward powerful music, then turned personal and warm as he described Davis’s devotion not just to music, but to the people who made it.
“He guided the listening public towards so much powerful and inspiring music. And he not only loved music, Clive actually loved the people who made the music, no matter how much of a pain in the ass they were,” he laughed.
Springsteen concluded by saying that Davis loved those people “deeply and permanently,” and he insisted he never felt anything but love coming from him.
After the funeral, a compiled slideshow listed the celebrities and music figures who stepped out to honor Davis.
Clive Davis funeral Central Synagogue Jennifer Hudson Bruce Springsteen Alicia Keys Barry Manilow Dionne Warwick Columbia Records