Rca

Bertelsmann Music Group merged its RCA and J labels Tuesday and called on industry legend Clive Davis to take charge of the new division. The move marks the latest twist in a remarkable career for the 68-year-old Davis, who discovered Santana and Janis Joplin but was told recently that he was too old to work at BMG. He was driven out of his Arista label three years ago by a team of executives who soon after lost their jobs.

For the pop music industry, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in July. On the heels of recent powerhouse releases from Eminem and Nelly, this week will see another hotly anticipated album: the Dave Matthews Band's "Busted Stuff." The album hits stores Tuesday, and retailers are estimating it will sell at least half a million copies during its first week.

Philo T. Farnsworth is hiding in plain sight wherever you look. He is unseen yet impossible to miss. Unknowingly, the average American home affirms Farnsworth eight hours each day. When he died--March 11, 1971--millions paid their heedless respect by watching "Ironside," "Bewitched" and "The Jim Nabors Hour." Philo Farnsworth, you see, invented television. And in this 75th anniversary year of TV's first successful demonstration (on Sept.

Norman Racusin, the former president of RCA Records who worked with Elvis Presley and other pop singers and was instrumental in developing the eight-track tape, died April 29 at his home in Carlsbad after suffering a stroke. He was 82. Racusin was appointed president of RCA Records and elected an executive vice president of NBC in 1969. He formerly had been division vice president and general manager of RCA Records, a division of NBC. Born in Johnsonburg, Pa.

RCA Records President Jack Rovner was ousted in a surprise management shake-up at Bertelsmann Music Group. The move is part of a restructuring in which the German record corporation will dissolve its North American sector, removing a corporate layer between its American labels and its global operation.

Two dozen years after Elvis Presley's passing, a prodigious amount of his material continues to be released, with a few new titles each year. The latest is a four-disc overview of his casino recordings, "Elvis: Live in Las Vegas" (RCA), a field one would think has been pretty well covered, especially with the release of the three-disc "Elvis: That's the Way It Is--Special Edition" to coincide with the re-cutting of the concert film of the same name.

David Gray was lost all those years. A stalled career. Doubts that he should continue making music at all. Then came the unexpected divorce of his parents. The struggles between disbelief and faith have only fueled his music, leading to deeply felt lullabies of sorrow and redemption. The long battle against indifference finally ended with "White Ladder," recorded in 1998 but released last year. It became an international hit that melded haunted acoustic balladry with samplers and drum machines.

There's no Britney-esque oops before "I Did It," the album's rollicking opening song. Matthews offers no apologies, no disclaimers for the new focus and pop consciousness heralded by the first notes of the song--the first time he's played electric guitar on a record. While he does wonder in the same song "Did I go too far?" the album itself (due in stores Tuesday) provides a resounding answer of "no."

Bob Jamieson, president of Bertelsmann Music Group's RCA record label, was elevated to chief executive of Bertelsmann's North America music operations as part of a reorganization of the company's management team. The move follows the appointment of former television executive Rolf Schmidt-Holtz to run the media giant's music division.