Inside Clive Davis' legendary pre-Grammys bash
The big show during Grammy weekend may be Sunday night, but the hottest and most exclusive party is actually on Saturday. Music industry titan Clive Davis has launched countless careers for legends like Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys, and for the past 42 years, he's also hosted what's become the record industry's unofficial annual ball.
In the audience and on stage, almost everyone at the annual Clive Davis party is an A-lister. For more than four decades now, the night before the Grammys, Davis has hosted what's become the record industry's unofficial annual ball.
"When it ends, Anthony, everyone says, 'Best ever. How will you top yourself?'" Clive told "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Anthony Mason.
The party started after Davis launched a new label, Arista, and their first record – Barry Manilow's –"Mandy" won two Grammy nominations in 1976.
"And so we took over the Bel Air Hotel. And Stevie Wonder came and Elton John came and John Denver came. I knew I was on to a really good special thing," Davis said.
Mason tagged along with Clive for "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2011. The crowd that night included Katy Perry, Warren Beatty and Usher.
"Why is it such a hot ticket? Because there's no audience like it," Davis said.
But he can't extend an invite to everyone.
"That's the most painful part. You have a limitation, so there is a certain amount of pain when you can't say you have a lifetime pass and it's taken, usually, personally. It's painful," Davis said.
During rehearsals this week at the Sheraton Times Square, Davis went over the seating chart with his son, Doug. The list of performers is usually kept top secret until the party itself, but Davis let us catch a glimpse when Logic was rehearsing.
"It's almost like the Grammys here. It's like really weird, but I think it's really fantastic," Logic said.
The young rapper is aware he'll be performing for an unusual audience.
"It's kinda freakin' me out. There are so many people that like you know and you know are gonna be up here and there's like this crazy status. And I'm just like the most basic dude in the world, so I'm just gonna show up with my wife and be awkward. So, but it's cool," he said.
The party is known for many memorable performances and one memorable tragedy. In 2012, Whitney Houston died in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton just hours before the event.
"That was probably the toughest night of all," Davis said. "Whitney was there not to perform. Whitney – it was her favorite night of the year. She would fly there all the time. So in the same way you don't call off the Grammys, you pay tribute. And we paid tribute."
Asked if he actually enjoys the night, Davis said, "More in retrospect than during it….But we've had artists get sick, you know, the morning of the show."
One year, he remembers, after a last minute cancellation, he waded into the cocktail party desperately looking for a replacement.
"Spotting Smokey Robinson and saying, 'I've got a ten minute break in my show, Smokey you know we have the best musicians. Can I get you on stage? And of course, he said, 'You got me.' So I'm never relaxed until it's over."