Two years later, he provided invaluable career advice to Bruce Springsteen, who had recently signed to Columbia for the princely sum of $25,000.
Watching the musician perform an early showcase, Davis noted that he rarely stepped away from the microphone, and offered a suggestion.
“I said, ‘Don’t do it if it’s not natural for you, but I know that the potential of the songs would lend itself to more physical movement on your part,'” Davis later recalled to People magazine.
A couple of weeks later, he went back to watch Springsteen at a club in Greenwhich.
“I was flabbergasted,” he said. “He jumped on every table… He was a whirling dervish.
“It was not just the movement, it was the spirit of it. It was electrifying.”
Afterwards, Davis went to speak to Springsteen backstage.
“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?'”
Despite the success, he was ousted from Columbia when the company accused him of using company funds to pay for personal expenses, including his son’s bar mitzvah.
Davis was charged with six counts of tax evasion. He pleaded guilty on one count and was otherwise exonerated.
Within months, Davis had set up his own label, Arista. He immediately achieved commercial success by signing Barry Manilow; and critical acclaim for releasing Patti Smith’s influential debut album, Horses.