CLIVE'S FORMULA: Anybody who follows music at all should know who Clive Davis is. He's a Harvard-trained corporate attorney who in 1966 became Vice President and General Manager of Columbia Records. After being ousted from Columbia, in 1975 he formed Arista Records and launched the careers of such diverse artists as Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Santana, Luther Vandross and Dido!
Clive Davis was also responsible for bringing Johnny Mathis back to Columbia Records from Mercury. In a fascinating book he wrote entitled, Clive: Inside the Record Business [published 1974, ISBN 0-688-02872-1], Davis describes how he got Mathis back from the paltry record sales at Mercury and applying what he called "the formula" to three of his next four albums: Love is Blue, Those Were The Days, and Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet. According to Davis the sales of these albums tripled in comparison to the Mercury albums.
"The Formula" was applied to the label's MOR artists, since they were less likely to write their own material, and it worked as follows: The days when you could go into a record store [remember those] and ask to play an album were gone due to the fact that records were being shipped with shrink-wrapping. So, it became a common practice for a potential buyer to flip the album cover over to see if there was anything recognizable on the album, something people still do to this day. Without that, chances were slim that the album would sell. Davis' idea was to put as many well-known songs on each album, name the album after one of them, and it would outsell an album that was composed of entirely new songs. The concept apparently worked for the three albums of Mathis mentioned earlier. [Oddly, the album Up Up and Away is not even mentioned.]
I'm wondering if there's anybody at CBS today who couldn't come up with a similar idea and apply it to Mathis. His last single was 14 years ago; however, Because You Loved Me came the closest to following "the formula", yet it suffered from the lack of a single and therefore airplay. To this day I don't know why it didn't do well commercially.
Surely this doesn't have to mean that the artist humiliate himself artistically for the sake of a sale; in spite of what Clive Davis may suggest in his book, I can't imagine having Johnny Mathis sing Evil Ways for Close To You album did much of anything to draw him a younger audience; especially after they heard it and compared it to the original! I much prefer the concept of having Mathis do a currently-popular song only in the context of "wouldn't it be fun to see what he could do with this". This is why I hate the constant barrage of compilation after compilation, which discourages this kind of experimentation with the popular hits.
Davis claims he took an active interest in the career of Mathis, and I must say it shows. Mathis certainly doesn't get that kind of personal attention today. It was Davis who got Mathis and Thom Bell together, resulting in the best album of his career. Clive Davis wanted Johnny Mathis to get more in touch with his black roots, while continuing to please his white audience. But Mathis scoffed at Davis' suggestion that he play the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, thinking that he would be subjected to a daily grind of seven to eight shows a day like he had to do when he was younger. Davis was regretful of this, believing Mathis would have shined in such an environment. One can only speculate now what could have happened with Mathis' career had Clive Davis not left the scene.
Now at the age of 67 (I won't say "ripe old...") after being ousted from Arista, he has a new label, j-records [whose website, www.j-records.comJ) is not quite functional yet]. Does "the formula" still work for today's roster of artists? I'd venture to say not, since MOR as a genre no longer exists. I can't think of a better person to steer a new artist's career if they'll only listen. Veteran Luther Vandross certainly has faith in him. But, really, who can say?
ON WITH THE SHOW: Mr. Mathis is feeling a little under-the-weather, so the Westbury shows have been cancelled. Contact Ticketmaster for your refunds, if you bought tickets through their service.
Hopefully, he'll be feeling better by the time his New England dates roll around next month. To my knowledge, tickets are still on sale for the shows in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at the Cape Cod Melody Tent on Saturday, August 4 and Sunday, August 5. New Englanders can also still buy $52 Super Saver tickets for the North Shore Music Theatre concert in Beverly, Massachusetts, north and east of Boston near Salem, on Wednesday, August 15 and Thursday, August 16 If you see my good bud Jon-Daniel there, tell him hello for me.
It's still a GO for the concert in Saratoga, California (a suburb of San Jose) on Thursday, August 30th. Since it's on a Thursday night, it's probably not a good gig for out-of-towners unless one no longer works for a living. There is a strict ticket limit (6) and prices are from $65-$100.
Three casino shows are set for the fall: Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut (about 50 miles SE of Providence, Rhode Island) on October 5th and 6th, at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19th and 20th, and at Caesars Atlantic City November 9th and 10th. Tickets may not be available yet, call for details.
MORE NEW CONCERTS FOR 2002! Looks like February 2002 is booked solid! I don't see a Valentine's day concert yet, but he's spending a lot of time in South Florida. I see dates for Fort Myers, Florida on George's birthday (22nd) at the Barbara B. Mann Hall, and Miami Beach, Florida (is this different from plain old Miami, Florida? I don't know!) at the wonderful Jackie Gleason Theater on the 24th. Earlier in the month shows a Feb. 7th concert in waterlogged Houston, Texas at Jones Hall, and a Feb. 9th show in Savannah, GA at the Johnny Mercer Theatre. Later in the year I see a show in Charlotte, North Carolina (watch out, Fab) at the Ovens Auditorium on May 4th. I doubt that tickets are on sale yet. 2002 is looking wonderful (nope, won't do it) with Johnny Mathis is still very much in demand!
Unfortunately, still no Canadian or other foreign dates that I can see. Looks like he's left you guys for good.
In the meantime, to those who have lived in the United States without having seen Johnny Mathis in concert, what's up with that? There is ample opportunity, so you don't have any excuse in the world. Mathis is one of a kind, and while he remains at the top of his class he's getting older, so if a date with Mathis isn't important enough, and you'd rather be home watching a TV sitcom, well, ultimately it's your loss.
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