Arista Records was founded in 1975 by legendary music executive Clive Davis. After being fired from CBS Records, Davis – known as “The Man with the Golden Ears” – was hired by Columbia Pictures to oversee its struggling, singles-oriented music division, Bell Records.
He chose to completely rebrand the company as Arista Records, taking the name of the New York school system’s honour society (of which Davis was a member) and shifting the company’s musical direction from singles-oriented pop to more sophisticated rock music.
Davis inherited singer/songwriter Barry Manilow and turned him into one of the new breed of Arista stars.
In 1983, Davis discovered a 19-year-old Whitney Houston singing in a New York nightclub and signed her on the spot. Under Arista’s guidance, she became one of the best-selling musical artists of all time.
While Slik, Showaddywaddy, The Thompson Twins and Lisa Stansfield carried the Arista banner in the UK, in America the emergence of solo star Annie Lennox, Canada’s Crash Test Dummies and the Swedish band Ace of Base gave the label new impetus, following BMG’s purchase of RCA Records in 1986.
Halfway through the ’90s, Arista was involved in two major joint venture deals – with R&B label La Face Records and leading rap company Bad Boy Records – which played a major part in making Arista America’s hottest singles label in 1996.
After Sony deactivated Arista in 2011 during a corporate consolidation, it relaunched the label in 2018, and it remains active today.
Clive Davis died at his home in Manhattan on 22 June 2026, at the age of 94. He had been hospitalised with respiratory problems shortly before his death.
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He chose to completely rebrand the company as Arista Records, taking the name of the New York school system’s honour society (of which Davis was a member) and shifting the company’s musical direction from singles-oriented pop to more sophisticated rock music.
Halfway through the ’90s, Arista was involved in two major joint venture deals – with R&B label La Face Records and leading rap company Bad Boy Records – which played a major part in making Arista America’s hottest singles label in 1996.
