The USC Thornton School of Music presents

AN EVENING WITH CLIVE DAVIS

Featuring an Exclusive West Coast screening of the 2026 Clive Davis Pre-GRAMMY Gala

One of history’s most influential music executives, Clive Davis is a five-time Grammy Award winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee whose career has helped shape the sound of popular music through his work with iconic artists including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Santana, and Bruce Springsteen. For more than fifty years, he has hosted the annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala, the legendary invitation-only gathering on the eve of the Grammy Awards. The Gala brings together the most influential artists, executives, and creative leaders in music, film, television, sports, and culture to celebrate the year’s achievements and honor industry visionaries through the Recording Academy’s Grammy Salute to Industry Icons award.

In this special event, the USC Thornton School of Music will present an exclusive 90-minute screening of performances and moments from the 2026 Pre-Grammy Gala—the first time the footage has been screened on the West Coast—including memorable performances by Olivia Dean, HUNTR/X, and Sombr.

Following the screening, Clive Davis will join USC Thornton Dean Jason King for a 30-minute conversation, offering rare insight into the gala’s legacy and his decades shaping the modern music industry.

ABOUT CLIVE DAVIS

As the record industry's most innovative and influential executive, Clive Davis has had a profound effect on the world of music spanning over 50 years. He has earned four Grammys in his role as Album Producer and, in addition, he has received the Grammy Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and, in 2010, The Recording Academy named the Grammy Museum theatre in his honor.

Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Davis graduated from New York University and Harvard Law School. He first worked at Columbia Records, where he was named President in 1967. In 1974, Mr. Davis founded Arista Records, and expanded the company to include Arista Nashville in 1988. He continued his exploration of different musical genres with the formation of LaFace Records in 1989. In 2000, Mr. Davis formed J Records, which quickly emerged as a dominant force in the industry. In 2008, Mr. Davis was appointed Chief Creative Officer for Sony Music Entertainment, a position which expanded the number of artists for whom he was creatively responsible.

Mr. Davis has impacted the worlds of Pop, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country and Hip-Hop, and has played a key role in the careers of countless artists across those genres including: Janis Joplin, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago, Santana, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Earth, Wind & Fire, Simon & Garfunkel, Sly & The Family Stone, Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Gamble and Huff, Patti Smith, Sarah McLachlan, Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox, The Kinks, The Grateful Dead, Dionne Warwick, Carly Simon, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Toni Braxton, Notorious B.I.G., Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Luther Vandross, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson and he launched the first six American Idol award winners to multi-platinum success.

As a humanitarian, Davis has made tireless efforts in the battle against AIDS, spearheading donations of millions of dollars for AIDS research. In 2002, the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music was created at his undergraduate alma mater, New York University.

His autobiography, The Soundtrack Of My Life, published in 2013, has become the largest-selling book involving music in history and a New York Times bestseller. The Ridley Scott firm-produced and Chris Perkel directed the award-winning and highly praised documentary film on his life: Clive Davis: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, which Apple TV, Apple Music and iTunes launched worldwide in 2017 and debuted at No. 1 on iTunes, stayed at #1 for five consecutive weeks and is now available on Netflix.

In November 2022, Davis was also one of seven honorees of the National Portrait Gallery's Portrait of a Nation awards, and his portrait was painted by David Hockney. In April 2024, Davis and his illustrious music career were celebrated at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops 41st Birthday Gala, The Soundtrack of Our Lives: A Tribute to the Legendary Clive Davis.

In June of 2025, Davis’ legacy as one of the record industry’s first and most impactful advocates for Black artists was celebrated with his inclusion in the Apollo Theater’s prestigious Walk of Fame in Harlem, New York. Citing Davis' 60-year history of championing Black music and signing Black artists – starting with the iconic duo of Gamble and Huff in 1971 – the Apollo simultaneously awarded him its Legacy Award.