I first met Julie Gold in 1979. I’d been doing A&R for Arista Records for about a year and although we were on opposite sides of the desk, we were more alike than different: a couple of twenty-three year old music-loving kids from Philly trying to make it in New…

Clive Davis could spot gold in a song. The Arista Records chief–whose tenure ran from 1975-2000–was responsible for signing huge acts like Air Supply, Annie Lennox, Aretha Franklin, and Ace of Base. His biggest discovery was the late Whitney Houston, who became one of the best selling artists in music history.   Bob Weir, of The Grateful…