Here's what went down at Clive Davis' pre-Grammys bash
LOS ANGELES — Taylor Swift's infamous squad has nothing on Clive Davis.'
At the 40th anniversary of the music mogul's annual pre-Grammys bash at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday night, Davis was surrounded by his celebrity friends — and made sure everyone knew it, as the host spent much of the evening at the podium, pointing out the many famous faces filling the ballroom around him.
Once again, the event reaffirmed Davis' enduring legacy in music, with a room full of major names from Ringo Starr and Herbie Hancock to former One Direction bandmates Harry Styles and Zayn Malik gathering to spend Valentine's Day with the legend. They were joined by stars from movies (Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx,) politics (Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer), sports (the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson) and more.
But in between all of Davis' Hollywood who's-who talk, as he went around naming friend after famous friend, there were the performances, a hallmark of his yearly celebrations. Ahead of Lady Gaga's David Bowie remembrance at the Grammys Monday, Beck, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic honored both David Bowie and Kurt Cobain with their version of The Man Who Sold The World to kick off the show, and Adam Lambert and Bleachers' Jack Antonoff gave their spirited take on Let's Dance to end the night.
Glenn Frey of the Eagles was remembered at the gala in addition, with Melissa Etheridge remembering the band's late co-founder with a performance of Take It to the Limit.
Among the other noteworthy performances was Barry Manilow, who recovered from surgery just in time to sing a medley of songs (one, a duet with archival footage of Judy Garland); and Carly Simon, whom David convinced to fly out just in case Manilow dropped out of his performance that evening. He made the show, but the audience still got to see Simon perform anyway, as she did "a song I haven't performed in a while" — her classic You're So Vain.
Younger artists also had their time to shine, as Davis invited Fetty Wap for a quick run-through of Trap Queen, and introduced three new artists that particularly stuck him for one song each: Audra Day, Tori Kelly and Elle King.
Another hallmark of Davis' pre-party is the President's medal, granted to one notable industry veteran every year, including Herb Alpert, Richard Branson and David Geffen in the past. This year honored legendary manager Irving Azoff, whom Recording Academy chair Neil Portnow called "a man that inspires many words: visionary, innovator, protector, bold, savvy," someone responsible for crafting the careers of performers from classic-rock greats like Chicago and Guns & Roses to more contemporary names like Christina Aguliera.
In Grammys tradition, the honoree gets to choose two artists to play at the gala, and Azoff's choice did not disappoint; Chicago, who will celebrate their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year; and the legendary funk pioneers Earth, Wind & Fire.
And as the band told USA TODAY, their medley of hits wasn't just dedicated to Azoff. "We’re going to be paying homage to Maurice White, who recently passed away. Our leader, our mentor," the bandmembers said on the red carpet. "Tonight’s going to be a very special night to us."
It wasn't long ago — four years ago this week — that Whitney Houston died, tragically, on the night of Davis' 2012 pre-Grammys party. To pay tribute to the "greatest contemporary singer of all time," the party screened the only previously-taped performance of the night: Houston doing her hit The Greatest Love of All during Arista's 15th anniversary party.