The Soundtrack of My Life by Clive Davis & Anthony Decurtis

Author:Clive Davis & Anthony Decurtis
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Business, Entertainment & Performing Arts, General
ISBN: 9781476714783
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2013-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

One of the outstanding bands launched in the MTV era was Eurythmics, and I was always in awe of Annie Lennox, her artistry, her hypnotic power, her just being a quintessential visual rock star. She has a presence on camera almost like the screen goddesses of earlier eras, Garbo or Dietrich. Simply transfixing. And Dave Stewart gave her such excellent material: “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),” “Here Comes the Rain Again,” “Would I Lie to You,” “Who’s That Girl.” I followed their career closely, and always with the highest level of admiration, so I was really excited when they became available. Their streak of hit singles had slowed a bit since their peak in the mid-Eighties, but I had no hesitation. Some artists are simply important, and that’s rare. I didn’t think of them in terms of pop hits, although they had so many. They were, to me, more in the category of David Bowie, a creative entity. I didn’t ask to hear new material, and it never dawned on me to submit songs to them. When I signed Eurythmics in 1989, I saw them as being larger than the sum of their hits, and I felt there was much more life in the group.

I remember that I was at the Ritz Hotel in Paris when I got a call that Annie and Dave wanted to do something fun to celebrate their signing to Arista. They were coming to Paris, and they arrived at the Hemingway Suite, where I was staying, wearing sunglasses, and they brought pairs of sunglasses for me to wear in the signing photos. It all felt good and I just let myself be directed by them, whether it was on the couch or the three of us on the bed, anywhere and everywhere all over the suite. I let them run with it and the photos reflect that playfulness, that wit and intelligence. I wanted to let them know that I understood them and believed in them. When their first, and only, Arista album came out in September 1989, we threw them an outdoor celebration in Los Angeles on a huge back lawn, invited the press, and set up speakers so the two of them, without the band, could perform. It was just so vivid, watching them, because it never mattered where they were, what the circumstances were, when Annie was singing she created her own mystique, her own magic, and drew you in. It’s always inspiring to hear her. She’s the kind of artist who, if you’re with a young singer just starting out, you want to point to her and say, “That’s how you should communicate, not only with your voice and movements, but with expressiveness and commitment. That’s what makes a true star.”

Eurythmics’ Arista album, We Too Are One, produced by Dave Stewart and Jimmy Iovine, didn’t do quite as well as we’d all hoped, although it did go Top 10 in many countries outside of the United States. The single “Don’t Ask Me Why” didn’t go all the way.

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