A legend died today. Ahmet Ertegun the founder of Atlantic Records passed away earlier today after becoming injured in a fall at a Rolling Stones show in October. Ertegun did it all and touched our lives in immeasurable ways. He made Stax a nationally distributed label, signed the Stones & Zeppelin, Shaped the careers of Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and The Allman Brothers to name just a very few artists. And he helped found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The man was there and he did it. There will never be another like him. Never ever. I encourage all of you who do not know about Ahmet Ertegun to check out all that he did for our record collections.
Exploding by Stan Cornyn is a funny and very interesting history of the Warner - Elektra - Atlantic labels and all of their subsidiaries written by a guy who started writing liner notes for the company and eventually rose to high management, never losing his perspective. Good read, especially if you have any interest in the history of the record business.
RIP Ahmet, you will be missed.
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