Santana, McLachlan, Houston To Play Arista Anniversary
Santana, Sarah McLachlan, LFO, and Whitney Houston are among the first batch of announced performers for an upcoming TV special honoring the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Arista Records label.
Annie Lennox, Deborah Cox, Monica, and Patti Smith will also take to the stage for "25 Years Of #1 Hits: Arista Records' Anniversary Celebration," which will be taped on April 10 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.
NBC plans to air the special on May 15 at 8 p.m. (ET) during the crucial sweeps period for networks. Additional musicians, performers, and guests will join the anniversary bill in the next few weeks.Clive Davis founded Arista Records in 1975, and the label enjoyed the greatest success in its history during the last six months of 1999, taking in more than $300 million in sales, anchored by Santana's multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated "Supernatural" album.Other cornerstone acts recording for Arista or its subsidiaries include Bad Boy artistsSean "Puffy" Combs, Faith Evans, 112, and Mase; La Face Records' TLC, Outkast, Toni Braxton, and Usher; and Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Carly Simon, Kenny G, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, and Lisa Stansfield, among others.
Rumors continue to abound that Davis might be forced to retire from Arista when his current contract expires on June 30. Davis would subsequently be replaced by Antonio "L.A." Reid as the label's president, although talk of such a switch has tapered off in the new year (see [article id="1427314"]"Arista Artists Support Label Head Clive Davis"[/article]).-- David Basham
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