CLIVE DAVIS

You've got to seize the opportunity if it is presented to you.

The subject of bisexuality really needs much more discussion. It's a status that does exist.

I had no idea what awaited me when I took a job with CBS Records, and it was a total surprise to find I had a gift and an ear for music.

I play no instruments.

There's no way that music could ever go down the tubes. I can't imagine a civilization without music. When you realize today that music is such a part of people's lives. And will always be, really.

It's not for me to determine what a country artist has in common with a hip-hop artist. You go for those with long-lasting careers. And that's what I've had as my target all my life.

The adage that you're either gay or straight or you're lying, well, that's not true. Bisexuality does exist.

My introduction of Whitney was that if there's going to be one performer for the next generation who combined the beauty and lyric phrasing of a Lena Horne with those Gospel fiery roots of an Aretha Franklin, it would be Whitney Houston.

My years with Aretha Franklin have been very special, as were the years making records with Dionne Warwick. Other highlights include working with Janis Joplin, who was the first artist I ever signed, as well as Patti Smith and Alicia Keys.

I am passionate about music and my work to the bottom of my very soul, but I also very much enjoy good clothes and some of the finer things in life. Rappers do, too, and perhaps it's one of the reasons I've been welcomed so warmly into their world.

I feel blessed that I found not just a profession, but a 24/7 way of life that I purely love. That curiosity to be current, to listen to the Hozier album, to be early in recognition of a Lorde and spending time with her and Miguel, the pleasure of seeing new talent erupt... I love it.

Having lost both my parents as a teenager, family is so important to me, and I cherish my time with my children and grandchildren. I have four children, and they all became lawyers - as I was myself before I got into music.

If an artist knows you have respect for their talent - which I have to feel to my core, to sign them - they know that you're in their corner. That doesn't mean you have to be 'mum' on everything; it doesn't mean you can't raise your voice.

I did not develop my ear. I discovered I had an ear, and it was an accident.

I know that Kelly Clarkson is going to continue to have an important career. And I believe it will be a lasting one.

I'm the keeper of the flame for Whitney Houston. She was the greatest... and I don't want the world to forget that.

The story of Rod Stewart, the story of Carlos Santana is so inspiring to young musicians because it shows in this trendy business how long a career can last. It shows how you can soar back, regardless of age.

I feel that contemporary music, with very few exceptions, is missing the voice. You see an award show, you see a hundred extras on set dancing and special effects, and you don't see that solo voice that was the trademark of Adele. It's no accident that it was her album that ended up selling 27 million copies worldwide.

I encourage the study of music. And the immersion. 'Cause my life has been so enriched by being involved in music as I have.

I have total respect for the self-contained rock artist. Whether you're dealing with Jerry Garcia or Lou Reed or Patti Smith or a Whitney or an Aretha, they know what they want with their career.

You don't have favorites among your offspring, and you don't among the artists you're involved with, but clearly among my most favorite was Patti Smith.

I had no idea that I was ever getting into music. I did not prepare for a music career, and here I've found, out of pure luck, that I did have, not only a talent and an ear, but a passion for music. And I have it to this day.

After my second marriage failed... I said, 'You know, could I have a relationship with a man? A loving relationship with a man that would involve intimacy?' For a while, before I did get into a relationship, I saw, for a few years, either women or men. And I found that I could be attracted to both.

To this day, there's nobody, nobody that sounds like Janice Joplin.

The purity of finding the right artist, that artist that's gonna be the next hall of famer, that artist that's gonna be the next headliner, lifting people out of their seats at Madison Square Garden, that song that's gonna be sung for hundreds and hundreds of years, that essence remains the same.