That’s What Friends Are For: Clive Davis Soundtrack Features Barry, Whitney, Dionne, Aretha, More
This past April, New York’s Radio City Music Hall hosted a prestigious premiere. The film was Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives, and the screening was accompanied by an all-star concert featuring Barry Manilow, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, and others celebrating the life of the music legend. Beginning on October 3, Apple Music will exclusively stream the Chris Perkel-directed documentary, and today, September 27, Legacy Recordings has digitally released an exclusive 34-track deluxe soundtrack on Apple Music boasting four previously unreleased performances. (A standard 20-track digital soundtrack will be available on Friday, September 29, while there is no news currently of a physical release.)
In 1967, onetime label lawyer Clive Davis succeeded industry giant Goddard Lieberson as the President of Columbia Records, shepherding Columbia’s full immersion into the new sound of rock with signings including Janis Joplin, Santana, Chicago, and Bruce Springsteen. When Davis was ousted from Columbia, he rebounded by founding Arista Records and developing the careers of Barry Manilow, Melissa Manchester, Patti Smith, Whitney Houston, and countless others, while spearheading “second acts” for Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, and Carly Simon. Having presided over Arista until 2000, Davis then formed the J Records label and oversaw RCA. Today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement award serves as chief creative officer of Sony Music Entertainment.
Though Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives is sanctioned by, and features the full participation of, its subject, it’s nonetheless a candid, revealing, and altogether fascinating look into the life and career of an influential music titan, controversies and all. (The trailer can be viewed here.) Its accompanying soundtrack features songs from all of the above-named artists as well as Simon & Garfunkel, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Billy Joel, Eric Carmen, The Kinks, The Alan Parsons Project, Grateful Dead, Alan Jackson, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Luther Vandross, and others – all of whom had fruitful associations with Davis over the course of his remarkable career. The Deluxe Edition, streaming today, presents four previously unheard tracks: Davis’ recitation of Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics for “Blinded by the Light” (from a Columbia Records promotional video); a mix of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” blended with the original demo; Natalie Cole’s 2000 performance of “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” from Davis’ 2000 Grammy Awards party; and Aretha Franklin’s “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” from Arista’s 25th birthday bash in 2002.
The abridged 20-track version will be available at other digital retailers, including Amazon, on Friday. You can peruse the track listings of both editions below!
Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Deluxe Edition (Arista/Legacy, 2017) (Apple Music)
Disc 1
- Piece of My Heart – Big Brother & The Holding Company
- Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
- 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
- Spinning Wheel – Blood, Sweat & Tears
- Blinded By the Light – Bruce Springsteen
- Piano Man – Billy Joel
- If You Don’t Know Me By Now – Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
- Mandy – Barry Manilow
- All By Myself – Eric Carmen
- Don’t Cry Out Loud – Melissa Manchester
- September – Earth, Wind & Fire
- Because the Night – Patti Smith Group
- Come Dancing – The Kinks
- Eye In the Sky – The Alan Parsons Project
- Greatest Love of All – Whitney Houston
- Freeway of Love – Aretha Franklin
- That’s What Friends Are For – Dionne Warwick & Friends (feat. Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
Disc 2
- Coming Around Again – Carly Simon
- Songbird – Kenny G
- Tell It to My Heart – Taylor Dayne
- Touch of Grey (Single Version) – Grateful Dead
- Don’t Rock the Jukebox – Alan Jackson
- Boot Scootin’ Boogie – Brooks & Dunn
- The Sign – Ace of Base
- Why – Annie Lennox
- Smooth – Santana feat. Rob Thomas
- Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
- Fallin’ – Alicia Keys
- Dance with My Father (Radio Version) – Luther Vandross
- The Way You Look Tonight – Rod Stewart
- Clive Davis recites lyrics to Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded By the Light” (audio from Columbia Records promo video, 1973)
- I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me) (Original Merrill & Rubicam Demo / Single Version Excerpts) – Whitney Houston
- This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) (from Clive Davis’ 2000 Grammy Party) – Whitney Houston & Natalie Cole
- I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me) (from Arista Records 25th Anniversary Party, 2002) – Aretha Franklin
Clive Davis: The Soundtrack of Our Lives – Standard Edition (Arista/Legacy, 2017) (Amazon U.S.)
- Piece of My Heart – Big Brother & The Holding Company
- Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
- 25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago
- Blinded By the Light – Bruce Springsteen
- Mandy – Barry Manilow
- All By Myself – Eric Carmen
- Don’t Cry Out Loud – Melissa Manchester
- September – Earth, Wind & Fire
- Because the Night – Patti Smith Group
- Come Dancing – The Kinks
- Greatest Love of All – Whitney Houston
- Freeway of Love – Aretha Franklin
- That’s What Friends Are For – Dionne Warwick & Friends (feat. Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder)
- Coming Around Again – Carly Simon
- Songbird – Kenny G
- Touch of Grey (Single Version) – Grateful Dead
- Why – Annie Lennox
- Smooth – Santana feat. Rob Thomas
- Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson
- Fallin’ – Alicia Keys
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6 thoughts on “That’s What Friends Are For: Clive Davis Soundtrack Features Barry, Whitney, Dionne, Aretha, More”
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Looks like a great compilation (and I’m excited to see the movie), but how can it be “disc 1” and “disc 2” if there is no physical release? That doesn’t make any sense.
Force of habit on the part of the compilers, most likely; we notice quite often that digital releases are formatted in the style of CDs…which, of course, always turns out to be handy if and when those titles receive physical releases. Will keep our fingers crossed on this one, as well!
Pass.
I wouldn’t expect any rarities on a collection like this one, but, still, who is this for? The artists I like on this collection: Billy, Bruce, the Dead, Kinks, S&G, Janis, early Chicago, are all represented by familiar songs I already have (Several times over, in some cases). A few others I like (Harold Melvin, Patti Smith), but not nearly enough to want to buy this.
The rest is mostly MOR stuff, with some dance pop and modern (pop) country thrown in, none of which holds any interest to me (Why so much Whitney Houston? Blech!).
People interested in the songs I’m not interested in from this set probably aren’t into the more rock & roll stuff I like. So, again, who is this for?
No CD. No Sale!
It’s a pretty uninspiring collection of tracks that I can not believe that many people would want. That being said, no physical, no sale.
Bleeh, this looks like a vanity project for Clive. At any rate nothing on there that isn’t out there 1000 times already. At least with things like the Rhino “Q’ box, it has some rare stuff to make it worth buying. Pass.