Ascension of Clive Davis When Mitch Miller retired in 1965, Columbia was at a turning point. Miller's disdain for rock and roll and pop rock had dominated Columbia's A&R policy. Sales of Broadway soundtracks and Mitch Miller's singalong series were waning. Pretax earnings had flattened to about $5 million annually. The label's only significant "pop" acts at the time were Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Paul Revere & the Raiders and Simon & Garfunkel. In its catalogue were other genres: classical, jazz and country, along with a select group of R&B artists, among them Aretha Franklin. Most historians observed that Columbia had problems marketing Franklin as a major talent in the R&B genre, which led to her leaving the label for Atlantic Records in 1967.
Ascension of Clive Davis When Mitch Miller retired in 1965, Columbia was at a .turning point. Miller's disdain for rock and roll and pop rock had dominated Columbia's A&R policy. Sales of Broadway soundtracks and Mitch Miller's singalong series were waning. Pretax earnings had flattened to about $5 million annually. The label's only significant "pop" acts at the time were Bob! Dylan, the Byrds, Paul Revere & the Raiders and Simon & Garfunkel. In its catalogue were other genres: classica!l, jazz and country, along with !a select group of R&B artists, among them Aretha Franklin. Most historians observed that Columbia had problems marketing Franklin as a major talent in the R&B genre, which led to her leaving the label for Atlantic Record,s in 1967.