I was watching the film “Ray” (the biography of Ray Charles) recently and saw Ahmet Ertegün portrayed in the film.

I am sure he must have been mentioned somewhere else in this site (by Qdemir, if I remember rightly) but I couldn’t find anything in my search.  Anyway, forgive me if I am repeating anything!

Described as “one of the most significant figures in modern recording history” Ahmet (who was born in Istanbul) was co-founder of Atlantic Records and was responsible for bringing such a huge amount of talent to the US music scene, that it reads like a “Who’s Who” of popular music, including Ruth Brown, Joe Turner, The Clovers, The Drifters, The Coasters, Ray Charles, Ben E. King, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and many others.

He died, aged 83, after a fall at a performance in New York of the Rolling Stones in 2006! He was buried in the Garden of Sufi Tekke, Özbekler Tekkesi in Sultantepe, Üsküdar, Ýstanbul, next to his brother, his father (who had been Turkish ambassador to the US), and his shaikh great-grandfather Þeyh Ýbrahim Edhem Efendi, who was once the head of the tekke in his native Turkey. At the garden were hundreds of mourners, including his wife Mica, members of the Ertegün family, Turkish dignitaries and entertainers including Atlantic artist Kid Rock.

Led Zeppelin reunited for a one-off show in a tribute to Ertegün at the O2 Arena in London on December 10th 2007. The band headlined a bill that also included Paolo Nutini, Mick Jones of Foreigner, and Bill Wyman´s Rhythm Kings who backed those two acts as well as playing themselves. The show was held to raise money for the Ahmet Ertegün Education Fund, which pays for university scholarships in the UK, US and Turkey. Also the Martin Scorsese film "Shine a Light" about the Rolling Stones concert held at the Beacon Theatre New York contains a dedication to Ahmet Ertegun.

 

What an amazing life...

 

http://www.history-of-rock.com/atlantic_records.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmet_Erteg%C3%BCn