Clive Davis remembers Whitney Houston as he receives Apollo Theater's Legacy Award

USA Today

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Clive Davis remembers Whitney Houston as he receives Apollo Theater's Legacy Award
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Megan Thee Stallion, Serena Williams, more arrive at Pre-Grammy party
Watch the stars arrive at the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills. USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa also speaks with Gayle King about the evening.
NEW YORK – Clive Davis has been associated with the some of the biggest names in music, from Bruce Springsteen and Barry Manilow to Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin.
But the music producer/executive may have no greater association than that with Whitney Houston, from Davis discovering the singer at 19 to her death in 2012 at age 48 on the night of his Pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton.
The relationship between the two was on display Wednesday night in Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Davis received both a lifetime achievement award and a spot on the theater's walk of fame. Davis was honored with the Legacy Award at the Apollo's annual spring benefit, which raised over $5 million that will go to both renovating the theater and expanding its footprint in Harlem.
"After 91 years, anyone, especially this great theater, deserves a modernization," Davis, 92, tells USA TODAY before a star-studded event June 4 that included performances from Method Man, Deborah Cox, Shoshana Bean and Busta Rhymes. "I can't wait to see the new Apollo Theater."
The theater's facelift will include new seats, an expanded lobby and a retooling of its iconic marquee. Since 1914, the Apollo has served as both an anchor of the Harlem community and a beacon of Black culture. Performances from Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown and Michael Jackson along with comedians such as Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx have all contributed to the venue's legacy.
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Like Houston, record executive Larry Jackson linked up with Davis when he was 19. Jackson, who co-founded the media company Gamma, introduced Davis ahead of his Walk of Fame ceremony and revealed that Davis has helped artists both publicly and behind the scenes.
"When Whitney post-divorce fell on a bit of hard times, (Davis) was there with huge financial and consistent support for her," Jackson said, noting that Davis' goal was to help her "pick up the pieces and put them back together" following Houston's 2006 divorce from Bobby Brown. Jackson also revealed that after a performance in 2001 where Houston looked "skeletal," he stayed "up until 2 in the morning with Clive on the phone that night talking about what we should do to intervene."
Pat Houston, Whitney's sister-in-law, also spoke at the ceremony.
"I could never speak about Clive and not mention Whitney, and I can never speak about Whitney without speaking of Clive," she said. "The only thing I wish for tonight is Whitney were here to speak instead of me, because I know how proud she would be of you at this moment."
Teyana Taylor receives innovator award
Teyana Taylor was born in Harlem and performed on the Apollo stage when she was 8 years old: She's now the recipient of the theater's inaugural Innovator Award. The honor was presented to her by fellow Harlem native and fashion designer Dapper Dan along with TV host Sherri Shepherd, who stars with Taylor in the new Netflix film "Straw."
Prior to the introduction, rapper Method Man performed a medley of hits and joked that it was worth the "three hours of traffic" he hit en route to the venue to honor Taylor.
Taylor's acceptance speech was filled with gratitude. She thanked Shepherd for her sisterhood, Dan for his mentorship and Method Man for believing in her. She also thanked God with a prayer she wrote before acknowledging her family and colleagues.
"This little innovative little Harlem girl you see being honored tonight has a tribe that helps me be the greatest that I can be," Taylor, 34, said. "Thank you for having my back, my front (and) both sides."
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Diddy's presence looms at Apollo Theater event
The spring benefit was a celebration of the Apollo and Harlem, but without one of the neighborhood's embattled luminaries. Sean "Diddy" Combs co-founded Bad Boy Records with Davis, but the music mogul is jailed while standing trial on federal sex-crimes in lower Manhattan.
Still, his presence at the event was felt. Method Man's set included the single, "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By," which was mixed for radio airplay by Combs. Later in the evening, Rhymes performed "Pass the Courvoisier, Part II" which features Pharrell Williams and Combs. He also credited Davis with helping that song and others become radio hits.
Dapper Dan, Busta Rhymes sound the alarm on the Apollo's future
Last year, the Kennedy Center bestowed special honors on the Apollo to recognize its status as an iconic American institution. But on day one of President Donald Trump's second term, he issued an executive order to crack down on what he referred to as "illegal and radical' diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Trump later appointed himself chair of the Kennedy Center and took aim at the Smithsonian Institute, complaining that it has "come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology." The Smithsonian opened a Black history museum in 2016.
Busta Rhymes, who performed a medley of hits to honor Davis, said before the event that he liked the renovation of the theater "so long as establishment's narrative doesn't change and the history doesn't get erased or removed."
"I hope they keep people from the community like myself involved in it," Dapper Dan, born Daniel R. Day, says of the theater's expansion. "I'm deeply concerned about the way culture is being held back by those people in power. So our hope that the liberty that we have to express our culture is not curtailed by people in power."