Precious Metals: Arista On The Charts
BY GEOFF MAYFIELD

Here are the top 100 charting singles and albums from the Arista family's 25-year history. The singles are ranked according to performance on The Billboard Hot 100, determined by peak position, weeks at peak, weeks on chart, weeks in the top 10 and weeks in the top 40. The album list is based on two criteria: level of Recording Industry Assn. Of America (RIAA) platinum certification and performance on The Billboard 200, utilizing the same formula used to determine the above-mentioned singles list.

The s denotes RIAA platinum certification, for net shipment of 1 million units in the U.S. The u denotes RIAA diamond certification for albums with net shipments of 10 million or more. Numerals listed after platinum and diamond symbols indicate the most recent certification level for multi-million sellers. All titles on the album list are at least platinum. Singles footnoted by a - are certified gold by the RIAA, for net shipment of at least 500,000 units.

The list includes some historic hits in Billboard chart history. Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" was No. 1 for 14 weeks in 1992 and 1993; at the time, it was a record streak atop the Hot 100. It is now tied for second among all charting singles, while the more recent "Smooth" by Santana, released last year, ranks eighth all time. The latter also has the distinction of being the only single with a reign of exactly 12 weeks.

The soundtrack from "The Bodyguard," from which "I Will Always Love You" hails, was No. 1 for 20 weeks, the longest tenure by any album since May 1991, when The Billboard 200 began to use SoundScan data.

Aside from Arista titles, the lists also include albums and singles from other labels that were marketed and promoted by Arista, including Arista Nashville, Bad Boy, Grateful Dead, LaFace, Nettwerk and Rowdy. The album list also includes 1999's "Totally Hits" compilation, which was a joint venture between Arista, Elektra and Warner Bros.

ARISTA 25 - TOP 100 ARISTA POP SINGLES
RANK / PEAK POSITION / WEEKS AT PEAK / WEEKS ON CHART
1. I Will Always Love You s4 Whitney Houston.....1.....14.....26
17. Greatest Love Of All - Whitney Houston.....1..... 3.....18
21. All The Man That I Need - Whitney Houston.....1..... 2.....23
22. How Will I Know - Whitney Houston.....1..... 2.....23
26. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) s Whitney Houston.....1..... 2.....18
27. Where Do Broken Hearts Go Whitney Houston.....1..... 2.....18
28. Didn't We Almost Have It All Whitney Houston.....1..... 2.....17
31. Saving All My Love For You - Whitney Houston.....1..... 1.....22
32. Exhale (Shoop Shoop) s Whitney Houston.....1..... 1 .....21
39. I'm Your Baby Tonight - Whitney Houston.....1..... 1.....19
40. So Emotional - Whitney Houston .....1..... 1.....19
50. Heartbreak Hotel s Whitney Houston (Feat. Faith Evans & Kelly Price).....2 ..... 3.....28
77. You Give Good Love - Whitney Houston.....3..... 1.....21
82. I Have Nothing - Whitney Houston.....4..... 5.....20
85. My Love Is Your Love s Whitney Houston.....4..... 2.....28
88. I'm Every Woman - Whitney Houston.....4..... 2.....23
92. I Believe In You And Me s Whitney Houston.....4..... 1.....20
93. It's Not Right But It's Okay - Whitney Houston.....4..... 1.....20


Top Arista Pop Albums:
RANK / PEAK POSITION / WEEKS AT PEAK / WEEKS ON CHART

1. The Bodyguard u17 Whitney Houston/Soundtrack.....1.....20.....141
2. Whitney Houston u13 Whitney Houston.....1.....14.....162
7. Whitney s9 Whitney Houston.....1.....11.....85
11. Waiting To Exhale s7 Soundtrack.....1.....5.....49
24. I'm Your Baby Tonight s4 Whitney Houston.....3.....1.....51
35. The Preacher's Wife s3 Whitney Houston/Soundtrack.....3.....2.....38
39 My Love Is Your Love s3 Whitney Houston.....13.....1.....71+

+: still charting as of April 8, 2000

Graduating With Honors: Arista's Awards 1975-2000
BY TERRY BARNES

In its first quarter century, Arista's small but powerful cadre of artists and staff have captured a dispropotionate share of industry awards. Already in 2000-on the heels of the most successful fiscal year in Arista history-the label has picked up 13 Grammy awards and an Induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, adding to a staggering 25-year-list of honors that includes multiple Oscars, American Music Awards, Grammy and Soul Train Awards.

GRAMMY AWARDS

1985
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: "Saving All My Love For You" (single) Whitney Houston

1987
Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" (single) Whitney Houston

1993
Record Of The Year: "I Will Always Love You" Whitney Houston; David Foster, producer

Album Of The Year: "The Bodyguard-Original Soundtrack" (album) David Foster, Narada Michael Walden, L. A. Reid, Babyface, Whitney Houston, David Cole, Robert Clivilles & Bebe Winans, album producers

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female: "I Will Always Love You" (single) Whitney Houston 1996 Best R&B Song: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" (track from "Waiting To Exhale"-Soundtrack) Whitney Houston; Babyface, songwriter


1999
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (track from "My Love Is Your Love") Whitney Houston


AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS

1986
Favorite Single-Soul/Rhythm & Blues; Favorite Video Single-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston

1987
Favorite Female Artist-Pop/Rock: Whitney Houston
Favorite Album-Pop/Rock: Whitney Houston
Favorite Female Artist-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston
Favorite Album-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston
Favorite Video Single-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston

1988
Favorite Female Artist-Pop/Rock; Favorite Single-Pop/Rock: Whitney Houston

1989
Favorite Female Artist-Pop/Rock; Favorite Female Artist-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston

1994
Favorite Album-Pop/Rock: "The Bodyguard" (Soundtrack)
Favorite Album-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: "The Bodyguard" (Soundtrack)
Favorite Album-Adult Contemporary: "The Bodyguard" (Soundtrack)
Special Award of Merit: Whitney Houston
Favorite Female Artist-Pop/Rock: Whitney Houston
Favorite Single-Pop/Rock: Whitney Houston
Favorite Female Artist-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston
Favorite Single-Soul/Rhythm & Blues: Whitney Houston 1997
Favorite Artist-Adult Contemporary: Whitney Houston


SOUL TRAIN AWARDS

1988
Album of the Year Female: "Whitney," Whitney Houston

1993
Best R&B Single, Female: "I Will Always Love You" (from "The Bodyguard"), Whitney Houston

1994
The 1994 Sammy Davis Jr. Award as Entertainer of the Year for outstanding achievements in the field of entertainment during 1993: Whitney Houston

R&B Song: "I Will Always Love You" (from "The Bodyguard"), Whitney Houston


1996
Best R&B/Soul Single, Female: "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)", Whitney Houston

1998
The 1997 Quincy Jones Award for outstanding career achievements in the field of entertainment: Whitney Houston

2000
Artist(s) of the Decade: Whitney Houston and Prince

The Billboard Interview: CLIVE DAVIS
BY DON JEFFREY

How do you start collaborating with artists on their albums?

It really came from the beginning. I started doing it with Barry Manilow-who wrote a number of hits for himself, but he would give me two spots on each album, and so I would find "Weekend In New England" or "I Made It Through The Rain" or "Looks Like We Made It" or "Mandy" or "Trying To Get The Feeling Again" or "I Write The Songs" to supplement his writing. And the same with Melissa Manchester: she could write "Come In From The Rain" and "Midnight Blue," but I would find "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "You Should Hear How She Talks About You." This tradition continued with Air Supply to give us platinum or quintuple-platinum albums.

I started building important publisher relationships and writer relationships. I had more songs than my quota of two Manilow songs, so it encouraged me to sign Dionne Warwick. A song that I would have normally given to Barry was "I'll Never Love This Way Again," and it rebroke her career. In fact, Barry produced it. So, Dionne won two Grammy's with that and "D ją Vu," and we relaunched another great career. That was what attracted Aretha Franklin, who called me and said she was looking for a creative partner, along the lines of what she had been doing with Jerry Wexler during her landmark career. And, of course, I was dying to do that. So the genesis of this first came out of Barry and then Dionne and then Aretha.

By the time Whitney came about, there was a track record with two women who had been a part of her life, namely Dionne Warwick-who's her first cousin-and Aretha, who was the lead singer of her mother's group the Sweet Inspirations, and so, by the time it came to Whitney, I had key members of her camp endorsing me to play a creative role in her life.


What are some of the albums we can look forward to this year from Arista?

I'm very much looking forward to Whitney's "Greatest Hits." It certainly will be an incredible album that contains not only every hit in her illustrious career, but up-to-date, state-of-the-art remixes. It will be a 2-CD set, and it will have four new songs. I think it will show how contemporary Whitney continues to be. So, there's very strong new material to go along with a very fresh, complete and up-to-date greatest-hits album. Every one of her No. 1 hits is here, either in its original form or in a hot new remixed version.

QUOTES

Whitney Houston: I was 19 and scheduled to go on "The Merv Griffin Show" and sing this song called "Home" from the play "The Wiz." I remember standing in the wings and Clive talking to Merv about this woman who had the soul and guts of Aretha Franklin and the clarity and phrasing of Lena Horne, and I thought, "Who is he talking about-is it me?" I turned to my mother who was with me and Mommy said, "Yes, it's you, little girl."

Clive, we've come a long way since that song, it's been 15, 16 years now. This song brings back so many memories-loving memories that I will never forget you for. You have been my confidant and my father in this industry. You have guided me through things that I probably would not have known-if it were not for you. Congratulations on [Arista's] 25th anniversary!

International Intrigue: George Levendis & Co. Work To Create Buzz Abroad
BY DYLAN SIEGLER

The changes technology has brought to the record industry since the birth of Arista Records in the mid-'70s are innumerable and the benefits are abundant. But for those who work in international marketing, the advances in telecommunications-fax, e-mail, the Internet and more-have radically changed how they do business.

George Levendis, VP, international, for Arista Records in New York and a seven-year veteran of the BMG family, has technology to thank for the increased role of the international department in the careers of every artist on Arista's roster.

"In the past, international marketing was looked at as secondary," says Levendis, who came to Arista's New York office after posts at Arista U.K. and BMG Greece, where he was managing director. But the ease with which Levendis can now work with his BMG colleagues worldwide helps convince U.S. artists of the importance-and the payoff-of a global presence.

"Arista today recognizes the true value of the global marketplace, and that comes from the top. Clive [Davis] and the team at the top look at international as important, and then it feeds through," says Levendis. "We do battle sometimes, but it's an education process. Fortunately, at Arista, enough people have seen Kenny G's tremendous success around the world. When you see what can be done internationally," he says, "it becomes harder to reconcile crossing Japan, Australia or Mexico off the tour calendar."

WORLDWIDE CAPITAL-IZATION

Kenny G ranks high on Arista's roster of international best-sellers. Another strong example, Whitney Houston, has total international sales of more than 50 million, highlighted by "The Bodyguard," which has sold more than 20 million.

When he began his international role at Arista in New York, Levendis' objective sounded simple: "Arista has always delivered the artists and the music, year in, year out," he says. "The task for me was to take the wonderful repertoire and capitalize on it on a worldwide basis."

Since Arista markets its artists so intensively in the U.S., one of the challenges facing Levendis was to obtain the time and resources necessary to create an effective marketing campaign for each artist internationally. That comes from building relationships with his colleagues in the U.S. company and elsewhere.

So how does Arista create an international buzz?

The process depends on an artist's level of development, from baby band to superstar. Consider the case of teenage blues phenomenon Shannon Curfman, for whom Arista is currently creating an international base. For Curfman, says Levendis, the company set tour and press dates in Canada, and then moved to the Japanese market. Communication with marketing executives in international territories is essential and takes place through daily e-mails and phone calls, as well as through quarterly conventions, general artist meetings and less formal meetings at launch events for other artists.

"We are communicating continuously," stresses Levendis, who adds that Clive Davis is very involved in the international strategy for Arista artists.

In some cases, an international BMG label may say, "No, right now this is not for me," says Levendis, "And we'll focus on the territories where it's appropriate." For example, he notes that, for LaFace artist Pink, Arista's Latin department felt it was necessary to break the artist in the U.S. first. "So right now we're working the album in just Asia and the U.S.," which he acknowledges is no small feat. The company has identified both Curfman and Pink as artists who will benefit most by a slow build, "in territories that have the potential to ignite fires."

Superstar artists can be more challenging, says Levendis, "because everyone needs everything." Each territory must be handled strategically, often requiring more than one version of an album, bonus tracks, different album art and separate singles and radio promotion. Not to mention the challenge of scheduling tours, interviews and increasingly important television specials in international regions.

"With a project like a Whitney Houston greatest-hits album, it's a global plan," says Levendis. International will listen to what the U.S. company is doing first, and "try to follow their plan as much as we can."

In a recent instance, most of Europe hummed along to Houston's "It's Not Right (But It's Okay)" while "Heartbreak Hotel" simultaneously went to No. 1 in France. "It depends on the marketplace," allows Levendis. "Some territories are particularly different enough that you make exceptions." International marketing executives must be flexible, he says.

It's impossible to ignore Arista's latest international marketing coup: Carlos Santana. Sweeping the Grammy Awards almost pales in comparison to Santana's success worldwide, and Levendis speaks of the still-unfolding project with something akin to awe.

"The first part of the Santana project was to focus on the U.S.," says Levendis. But in the Latin region, he notes, "we worked a single with Manį, with a separate videoclip just for the region and a coinciding tour." Levendis notes that the international marketing of Santana's recent work began three to four months after the U.S. marketing campaign began. The upshot of the Santana plan has been global domination.

Santana has topped charts in markets as diverse as Malta, Iceland, Brazil, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany and the U.K., says Levendis. "For Arista International, Carlos made the right kind of album, and artists like him have absolutely global appeal-their own appeal. It's flying."

Executive VP/GM Charles Goldstuck: Accelerating The Momentum

...RECONNECTING WHITNEY

The other major success of late is Whitney Houston, who had to reclaim her unparalleled stature after a long layoff. "This was Whitney's first studio album in almost eight years," Goldstuck says. "We weren't sure who her audience was going to be. So Clive worked with Whitney and various producers, very much in the manner of his work with Carlos. We felt it was a groundbreaking album, but we had to convince the consumer. It was a challenge to reconnect to her audience. "Heartbreak Hotel' put Whitney back on the map in terms of her performing from a studio-album perspective as opposed to a soundtrack perspective. Now, 18 months later, the album is still scanning very strongly, and we're at 3 million in the U.S., on top of the 7 million internationally."
 

The Divas
BY DAVID NATHAN

Perhaps more than any other record company in recent memory, Arista Records can justifiably claim to have been home to many of the world's most successful divas. The term itself may have become somewhat overplayed, but the list of just a few of the great female vocalists whose names have graced Arista's roster leaves one in little doubt that Clive Davis has more than a penchant for knowing a bona fide, certified diva when he hears one.

Since its inception, Arista's roster has included, chronologically, such illustrious ladies as Melissa Manchester, Patti Smith, Jennifer Warnes, Phyllis Hyman, Angela Bofill, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Carly Simon, Taylor Dayne, Lisa Stansfield, Jennifer Holliday, Annie Lennox, Sarah McLachlan, Deborah Cox, Monica and Angie Stone. In the '90s, joint ventures with LaFace and Bad Boy have brought a new crop of divas-in-training to the Arista fold, notably Toni Braxton, TLC and Faith Evans.

Arista's ongoing commitment to presenting the music of key female artists has had more relevance than ever during the last few years. In 1999, the company released "Ultimate Divas," a 17-track compilation that not only included artists associated with Arista such as Franklin, Warwick, Houston, Braxton and Lennox but also featured legendary figures like Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald alongside contemporary icons Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross and Mary J. Blige.

FAMOUS EARS

The label, under Davis' tutelage, has played more than a passing role in the influence women have had on the world of music on a global basis. Not only has Davis used his famous "ears" to bring new female artists to the attention of the music-buying public: he has been responsible for the rejuvenation of the recording careers of such legends as one of the original '60s crossover artists, Dionne Warwick (with the label from 1978 to 1994) and "Queen Of Soul" Aretha Franklin (who joined the roster in 1980). Davis recalls signing Warwick, the result of which was a platinum album and classic recordings such as "I'll Never Love This Way Again," "D ją Vu" and "That's What Friends Are For": "Over the years, Dionne Warwick certainly defined the term "urban pop,'" he says. "Her voice floated in and out of lyrics like no other, and yet it could soar as well."

Franklin has continued to reinvent herself as a recording artist during her two decades with Arista via hit albums and singles like "Freeway of Love," "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," "Willing To Forgive," "Jump To It" and "A Rose Is Still A Rose." Says Davis, "Aretha's voice is indeed a natural treasure. You just know that, hundreds of years from now, people will still be listening to her and marveling at "The Queen Of Soul.'"

ELEGANCE AND BEAUTY

While female artists have consistently contributed to Arista's dominance in the marketplace, the impact of Whitney Houston has been unparalleled. With Davis nurturing and developing her recording career, Houston has broken record after record on a global basis. Domestic sales alone for her six albums for the label have easily topped 50 million, worldwide sales have surpassed the 100-million-unit mark, and she recently received her seventh Grammy Award. Davis recalls his initial impressions when signing Houston to the label: "Right after I signed Whitney, I brought her on Merv Griffin's nationwide television show and introduced her, saying that, for the next generation, here was a singer who combined the fiery gospel of Aretha Franklin with both the sultry elegance of lyrical phrasing and the beauty of Lena Horne."

Of particular significance is the diverse range of women who have recorded for Arista: Lisa Stansfield and Annie Lennox, legendary singer/songwriter Carly Simon, former Broadway diva Jennifer Holliday, poet-turned-rock icon Patti Smith, Canadian chanteuses Sarah McLachlan and Deborah Cox, Monica and most recently, classic-soul star Angie Stone, the latest in the long line of women who have helped make Arista diva-friendly.

R&B
BY DAVID NATHAN

While Arista can claim to have consistently been the No. 1 black music label for the last few years, the company's roots in the world of R&B go back to its very inception. Over two-and-a-half decades, Arista's roster has included many of the greatest artists in the multi-faceted genre known as contemporary black music. Although most industry insiders are familiar with the legacy of hit records created by such superstars as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, TLC, Toni Braxton, Usher and Puff Daddy among others, you may be surprised to learn that Arista's ranks have, at one time or another, included the likes of Motown legends Martha Reeves, Eddie Kendricks and The Four Tops, classic soul men Bobby Womack and Garnet Mimms, jazz-fusion drummer Harvey Mason and saxman Gary Bartz, funk bands The Ohio Players and Mandrill, former P-Funk member Bernie Worrell, Southern soul sister Shirley Brown and sweet-soul group the Delfonics.

When Clive Davis masterminded the transformation from Bell Records to Arista, he inherited a couple of black-music stalwarts, Lou Rawls and the Fifth Dimension. Through a deal with Philly Groove Records, disco darlings First Choice's album "The Player" was an early Arista-distributed hit, but immediately after taking the helm of the new label, Davis began to build a significant black-music roster at Arista with the significant signing of poet, singer/songwriter Gil Scott-Heron, whose social commentary was both relevant and insightful. In fact, Arista's first top-40 pop hit album by a black music artist came from Scott-Heron, with the 1975 release "The First Minute Of A New Day," the first of eight albums he made with Arista.

TOP-40 RAYDIO

Other early additions to Arista included Reeves, Tamiko Jones, Jeff Perry and General Johnson, formerly lead singer with early '70s hitmakers Chairmen Of The Board. The label's first major crossover success came in 1977 with Raydio, fronted by Ray Parker Jr., who would later enjoy a string of hits as a solo artist at Arista from 1982-85. The six-man outfit stormed up the charts with tunes like "Jack And Jill" while Parker had a No. 1 pop and R&B hit in 1984 with "Ghostbusters."

Arista began distributing Buddah Records in 1976 and released albums by Gladys Knight, Norman Connors, Phyllis Hyman and Michael Henderson among others. When Buddah folded, Connors and Hyman joined the Arista roster in 1978: Hyman made a quartet of albums for the label, establishing a loyal and solid following for herself in the process. A year later, through a distribution deal with Dave Grusin and Dave Rosen's fledgling GRP label, Angela Bofill and Tom Browne became associated with Arista; both artists would go on to record for Arista itself, with Bofill releasing five albums from 1981-85 and Browne hitting No. 1 with "Funkin' For Jamaica."

In 1979, with disco still enjoying considerable success, Arista signed New York quartet GQ and was immediately rewarded with a quintet of R&B hits including "Disco Nights" and "I Do Love You." The same year, Davis was responsible for literally rejuvenating the recording career of solid '60s hitmaker Dionne Warwick. The pair was rewarded with Warwick's first platinum album and two Grammy Awards (for "I'll Never Love This Way Again" and "D ją Vu"). Over her 15 years with the label, the legendary songstress recorded 11 Arista albums.

In 1980, fresh from his triumph with Warwick, Davis signed another musical legend. Aretha Franklin's illustrious career at Atlantic had momentarily stalled. With Davis working hands-on with "The Queen Of Soul," Aretha has enjoyed consistent pop and R&B success with tunes like "Freeway Of Love," "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)," racking up two platinum and three gold albums as part of her ongoing 20-year Arista reign.

Other early '80s additions to Arista's burgeoning black-music roster included jazz-oriented, multi-ethnic band Hiroshima and soul-and-funksters Average White Band; in 1983, a young singer/songwriter, musician and producer Kashif (a former member of B.T. Express) began a seven-year, five-album stint with the label, achieving additional prominence when he participated in the first two albums recorded by one of Arista's cornerstone artists.

That artist was Whitney Houston. The daughter of gospel and soul star Cissy and Dionne Warwick's first cousin, the stunning New Jersey-born vocalist literally took the world by storm, with her debut album selling more than 12 million copies in the U.S. alone. "Signing Whitney was a defining moment," says Lionel Ridenour, executive VP of black music at Arista. "With Clive's perseverance, and diligence in working with the Arista team at the time, Whitney broke down barriers that allowed a black music artist to go all the way, to become a core, mainstream, global artist and to sell literally millions of albums everywhere. Clive brought her music to the world. Her success laid the groundwork to later bring about our association with labels like LaFace and Bad Boy." Since her 1984 debut, Houston has surpassed the 100-million-unit mark worldwide and had 11 No. 1 pop hits, racking up 13 million album sales in the U.S. alone with 1992's "I Will Always Love You."

ABOUT LaFACE

Arista's commitment to black music continued unabated throughout the '80s:a 1984 distribution link with Jive Records brought Billy Ocean and Whodini into the Arista world; the same year, Davis signed Jermaine Jackson, who stayed with the label for six years, enjoying hits with tunes like "Do What You Do" and "Don't Take It Personal;" while other Arista chartmakers included Expos , Lisa Stansfield and Kiara.

"L.A. Reid and Babyface were creating hits for different labels, and Clive was savvy enough to give them a deal in 1989 that resulted in the formation of LaFace Records," comments Ridenour. The duo had already been successful with hit records by Bobby Brown, Pebbles, the Whispers and others: their joint venture with Arista provided the team with an opportunity to sign and nurture new talent. Their initial breakthrough came in 1992 with three back-to-back multi-platinum albums: the soundtrack for "Boomerang" and the debut sets by TLC and Toni Braxton. Subsequently, LaFace has enjoyed major success with further albums by TLC, Braxton, Usher, OutKast, Goodie Mobb, Shanice and Donell Jones.

BAD BOY'S GOOD TIMES

R&B mainstays Jeffrey Osborne, Jennifer Holliday and Atlantic Starr had brief tenures at Arista in the early '90s, and, in 1994, Davis created another joint-venture deal with Sean "Puffy' Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment, availing Arista of the talents of Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Mase, 112, Total and Faith Evans. "With Craig and Biggie, we began breaking new ground at urban radio," comments Arista's Ridenour. "We had two credible, street-savvy artists who we could deliver at mainstream R&B radio and they helped knocked down the walls for some of today's rap superstars." In addition to a series of gold and platinum albums for artists on the roster, Bad Boy enjoyed tremendous success with Puff Daddy's back-to-back 1997 charttoppers, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "I'll Be Missing You," a multi-million selling tribute to the late Notorious B.I.G., featuring Combs, Evans and 112.

Emphasizing Arista's interest in beefing up its own roster, the label signed Canadian-born vocalist Deborah Cox in 1995, scoring a massive pop and R&B hit with her in 1998 with "Nobody's Supposed To Be Here," the longest-running No. 1 R&B hit single since the 1940's. In 1997, Next had a platinum debut album, and in 1998, Monica joined the label following her impressive 1995 Arista- distributed Rowdy Records debut with another multi-platinum best-selling album, "The Boy Is Mine."

Arista ended the '90s, its most successful decade in black music to date, with best-selling albums by Naughty By Nature; the critically-acclaimed solo debut by singer/songwriter Angie Stone; "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic," by The Artist Formerly Known As Prince in a special distribution deal between his NPG Records and Arista; and fittingly, multi-platinum albums by TLC and Whitney Houston, two of the recording acts who have continually demonstrated the ever-present involvement and commitment that Arista Records has had to black music from the very beginning.

International Intrigue: Germany's Two-Way Street
BY WOLFGANG SPAHR

MUNICH-"Arista is one of the diamonds in the BMG label's jewel-case," declares Thomas M. Stein, CEO of BMG Entertainment Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Eastern Europe.

As BMG's top executive in Germany, Europe's largest market, and the regional chief of GSA and Eastern Europe, Stein appreciates Arista's consistent production of artists with international sales potential. He praises the ability of Clive Davis and his team to nurture world-class stars such as Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Barry Manilow, Patti Smith, TLC, Toni Braxton and Puff Daddy.

But Stein is equally enthusiastic about Arista's long history of reaping success in the American market with German productions such as Snap, No Mercy, Real McCoy, Haddaway and LFO. Arista artists from the U.S. have enjoyed outstanding success in Germany.

Whitney Houston, for example, sold more than 1.7 million copies of the "Bodyguard" soundtrack in Germany in 1992, earning three platinum awards. The album "My Love Is Your Love" sold 670,000 copies in November of 1998 and is also surpassing the platinum mark here. Her German tour in the summer and autumn of 1999 sold out in 17 different cities...