From his early years at CBS and Columbia Records to his all-conquering runs atop Arista, J Records and beyond, Davis was a music man through and through. Below, 10 of his artists, collaborators and admirers reflect on Davis, who died at the age of 94 on June 22, and how the Man With the Golden Ears helped shape their respective careers. Also be sure to check out Pete Ganbarg’s extensive remembrance of Davis here.

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Clive Davis Remembered by A&R Pete Ganbarg: He ‘Had This Crazy Ability to Predict the Future’

• Pete Ganbarg

Barry Manilow

Robin Platzer/Getty Images

I met Clive in 1974 when he took over Bell Records, the label I was on. He decided to keep three of us on his new label. He kept Melissa Manchester, me and of course… the Bay City Rollers. A few weeks after Bell Records became Arista, I got a phone call from Clive. He told me that he had a song that he thought I should consider recording. Record somebody else’s song? I never considered that. But, since he was the boss, I listened to his song.

It was a rock song called “Brandy” that had been a minor hit in England, with a gruff-sounding lead singer. And it was totally wrong for me. But it was Clive Davis, my new president, so I recorded it. A week later, I met Clive in the recording studio and I played him the song he sent me with me singing the lead. Clive listened and said, “What’s that?” I said, “Well, that’s the song you sent me.” “That’s terrible,” he replied. “I know it’s terrible,” I said. “But that’s the song you sent me.” We stood there, staring at each other, and finally I said, “Clive, come into the studio with me.”

During the afternoon, in order to learn the song, I had played around with it. As I played “Brandy,” I found the love song hiding in this rock song. So, I slowed it down, changed a lot of the chords and added a key change, and I started it gently and built it to a passionate ending. I played my version for him. He was quiet and then he said, “Just do that. Just do that.”

“But we can’t call it ‘Brandy,’ ” I said. “Call it ‘Mandy,’ ” he said. “OK,” I replied.

Within a month, “Mandy” soared to No. 1 on the charts. That was the beginning of my relationship with Clive. He would show me a song, I would turn it down, we’d argue, I would rearrange it, I would record it. We would celebrate when they were hits, we would feel bad when they weren’t. This went on for nearly 50 years. Clive has always been there for me. He believed in me from the very beginning. Boy, I’m gonna miss him. Who am I gonna argue with? Thanks for everything, my friend.