In his new memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” famed record producer and music industry executive Clive Davis comes out as bisexual.
Davis, 80, who is twice divorced, reveals that he first had sex with a man in the 1970s, that he hadn’t been repressed or confused during his marriages and that sex with a man “provided welcome relief.”
Photo: Dan Hallman, Invision/AP
He also writes that he started dating a man from 1990 to 2004, which he says was a “tough adjustment” for his son Mitchell. He says after “one trying year,” he and his son worked things out. Davis is the father of three children.
In an interview Monday with Cynthia McFadden on ABC’s Nightline, Davis expounds on his orientation:
Never Miss a Beat
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Davis: It’s not as I write that the heavens opened up, but I realized in my case the most important thing — I’m relationship-oriented, and I would open up my perspective, my life, my emotion, to have a relationship with a man as well as a woman. And, so when it comes to the pure subject of sex, when our marriage was over, I did through a period of having sex with two different women, and with a male. So for me, this very maligned, misunderstood subject of bisexuality came up.
McFadden: It’s been said that people are either gay, straight, or lying.
Davis: Correct I’m not lying, and it exists. For over fifty years, I never had sex with a male. It wasn’t repressed, I had very good sexual relationships with women … I never felt shame (when I started having sex with men), no, I never felt shame. I felt puzzled. The subject of bisexuality really needs much more discussion because the answer is it’s a status that does exist.
Watch:
Davis is currently the chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment. From 1967 to 1973, he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975 through 2000, and from 2002 until April 2008, was the Chairman and CEO of the RCA Music Group.
He currently plays a part in the careers of Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis and Jennifer Hudson. Davis is credited with bringing Whitney Houston to prominence.
He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer.
He writes that he’s been in a “strong monogamous relationship” with a man for the last seven years.
