Looking for the Magic

Looking for the Magic is a cultural-historical remix, a fresh perspective on how one record company reflected its place and time: New York in the 1970s and early 1980s.



This history of Arista Records, from its 1960s roots in Bell Records through the transformative success of Whitney Houston in the mid-'80s, tells the story of a record label, its visionary leader, Clive Davis, and the artists and genres it embraced and promoted. Author Mitchell Cohen, a well-known music journalist who served as an A&R executive at Arista, interviewed dozens of artists and former colleagues to produce this detailed and thoughtful account.



Patti Smith, Barry Manilow, the Kinks, Lou Reed, Gil Scott-Heron, Graham Parker, Tony Orlando and Dawn, Melissa Manchester, Ray Parker Jr., Aretha Franklin, Haircut 100, Willie Nile, Suzi Quatro, the Brecker Brothers and many more great artists figure in the story, each adding something unique to the label's evolution.