ILLUSTRATION BY Mark SummersDavis is working
on an upcoming
album of Whitney
Houston songs.Who are your heroes?
FDR. He overcame person-
al handicaps and adversity to
become one of the great lead-
ers of all time. I would also
say Jackie Robinson. I was a
huge Brooklyn Dodgers fan
growing up — I used to live six
blocks from Ebbets Field. Not
only was [Robinson] a greatWhat’s the best advice
you ever received?
Because I loved to read, my
mother always told me never
to live in an ivory tower and
that it’s vital to get out
there and mix with peo-
ple. She always would say,
“You’re not gonna get com-
mon sense from books,
you’re gonna get common
sense from life and peo-
ple.” And she’s right.
You came out as
bisexual in your
memoir six years
ago. How do you
look back at that
moment?
I don’t look upon
it as the sig-
nal event in my
life, but there
was no way I
was going to
do an autobi-
ography and
not include the
fact that only in
middle age, after
two failed marriag-
es, would I look be-
yond gender for a
relationship. I em-
braced bisexuality,
which is the most mis-
understood term in sexu-
al identity.
I never felt it was un-
derstood by much of the
straight or gay community.
You had to be either gay or
straight — there was no in
between. I just opened
myself up to the person
rather than to the gender.
I’ve read how, as some in the
younger generation try to
find their sexual identity, it
doesn’t make any difference
which gender it is until they
locate the person. I relate
to that. DAVID BROWNEacle,” “Tucson Train.” I had
nothing to do with it creative-
ly. But I do love all of Spring-
steen. From being there at
his signing to seeing him on
Broadway, I’ve seen him over
a lifetime.
When did you last speak
with Aretha?
She and I became great
friends. We would get togeth-
er for dinner and talk about
life. She never admitted she
was terminally ill. We talked
until a few weeks before she
passed. She wanted every lit-
tle detail of when I went to
Saint-Tropez or St. Barts. She
was always ready to over-
come her fear of flying.
Which artist do you most
regret not signing?
I was at dinner in 2004 with
Bruce Springsteen, John Mel-
lencamp, Jackson Browne,
and Don Henley. I looked at
Mellencamp and said, “It’s
so ironic that you’re sitting
next to Bruce, because I al-
ways picked you as the art-
ist I most regretted not hav-
ing signed. You were too
close to Bruce at the time.”
And he said, “You were right.
My biggest influence at the
time was Bruce, and there’s
no question I was not ready
to emerge as John Cougar to
become the creative person I
was. So I’m grateful to you.”
What was your most
self-indulgent purchase?
I rented a yacht for a num-
ber of years. The first time
was probably about 20 years
ago, for two weeks to parts of
Capri and the French Riviera.
It was a wonderful thrill, but
it cost between $150,000 and
$200,000 a week. My hands
were shaking as I was signing
the contract because it was
clearly an indulgence.ballplayer, but he emerged
as a role model to become
the first black [major league]
ballplayer.
Of all the artists you
worked with who are no
longer with us, who do you
miss the most?
Whitney. We had a very
close relationship profession-
ally from the time I found
her in 1983. I would say the
story of Whitney Houston
has clearly not been told yet.
She’s had two documenta-
ries, and I think each of them
failed to show the other side
of Whitney, the side of her
talent, her heart, why she
was loved by so many. Her
battle with drugs must be
told, and how it premature-
ly caused her death. By no
means whitewash it. But do
not ignore the music and her
natural talent, how she be-
came the greatest singer of
her generation.
Among the artists you’ve
signed, whose records do
you listen to the most?
The artist I probably play
the most is Springsteen. And
that includes the brand-new
album — “There Goes My Mir-The legendary music exec on FDR,
bisexuality, Whitney, and ArethaClive Davis
98 | Rolling Stone | September 2019