The Clive Davis pre-Grammy gala has been called off for this year, but that’s not stopping the legendary mogul from throwing a big party — his 90 th birthday is April 4, the day after the big show, and he’s throwing a star-studded bash at Casa Cipriani in New York two days later, on Wednesday the 6th, a rep for Davis confirms to Variety.
The event is sure to include a guest list that outshines even his famously star-studded pre-Grammy parties — while many of these names are longtime Friends of Clive, the New York Post says invitees include Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Pat Houston, David Geffen, and entertainment lawyer Allen Grubman, as well as label heads such as Monte Lipman, Tom Corson, Rob Stringer and Julie Greenwald.
Davis wrote on the invite: “I personally hope you will one day be told that the next birthday you celebrate will be your 90th. If you’re in any way like me, you’ll be shocked, touched, shocked, gratified, and shocked.”
He added, “Where did the years go? Well, whether you’re family or a friend or an artist or a colleague, our lives have forever connected.” He promised attendees will “gather in a truly magnificent, brand new, spacious New York ballroom to celebrate together with warm reminiscences about unforgettable times,” he said, which sounds similar to his virtual Grammy galas held last year, where he interviewed a number of major artists — from Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell to John Legend — and showed archival videos of music performances.
An inside told the Post that the party is not a replacement for the pre-Grammy gala, which is ostensibly called off due to the pandemic but also because organizers may have been uncertain about drawing a sufficiently A-list audience to Las Vegas, where the Grammys are being held after having to postpone their originally scheduled date in Los Angeles of Jan. 31.
“It’s been in the works for more than year and will be quite different from the glittering pre-Grammy gala,” the insider said.