Ahmet Ertegün

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Ahmet Ertegün (photography by William P. Gottlieb )

Ahmet Ertegün (born July 31, 1923 in Istanbul ; † December 14, 2006 in New York ), Ertegun often written in English-language publications , was a Turkish-American entrepreneur in the USA and founder of the influential jazz and soul label Atlantic Records . With his brother Nesuhi Ertegün , he founded the New York soccer club New York Cosmos in 1971 , signed soccer stars such as Pelé , Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Neeskens and managed it until 1985.

Life

Ertegün was born in Turkey and moved to Washington, DC with his family when his father Münir Ertegün became Turkish Ambassador to the United States. Münir Ertegün was the legal advisor to the Turkish founder Ataturk and previously served as Turkey's ambassador to Switzerland, France and Great Britain. The young Ahmet Ertegün acquired his enthusiasm for jazz in 1932 at a concert in the Palladium concert hall in London, where his older brother Nesuhi took him. There they experienced the orchestras of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway and from then on they fell for the elegance and beauty of this music. In 1943, 19-year-old Ahmet made his first private recordings with R&B singer Little Miss Cornshucks in Washington. In 1944 he graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis (Maryland) with a Bachelor of Arts . He then began studying Medieval Philosophy at Georgetown University . After the lectures he went to rhythm and blues record stores in Washington DC and went to various jazz and blues clubs every evening .

At the age of 23 he broke off his studies and founded the music label Atlantic Records together with Herb Abramson in September 1947 . He also borrowed $ 10,000 from his family's dentist. His older brother Nesuhi (1917–1989) joined them in 1956. You worked with producers Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler , among others . His brother managed to get the most innovative jazz musicians of this time under contract, above all John Coltrane , Charles Mingus , the Modern Jazz Quartet and Ornette Coleman . In 1957, Atlantic Records was one of the first record companies to only record with stereo technology. Furthermore, Ertegün celebrated great success with the soul greats Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin . After the record company was sold, he remained loyal to the music business as a talent scout and producer.

On April 6, 1961, Ertegün married the native Romanian Ioana Maria Banu, called Mica, who became a well-known interior designer . In the marriage everyone kept his denomination.

In addition to numerous activities, Ertegün was also chairman of the “ Turkish-American Businessmen Association ” for several years .

Family grave of the Ertegün family in Üsküdar / Istanbul

On October 29, 2006, Ahmet Ertegün fell down a flight of stairs at a Rolling Stones concert in New York's Beacon Theater and sustained severe head injuries, which resulted in his death on December 14, 2006. At this concert, Martin Scorsese shot the music film Shine a Light , which is therefore dedicated to Ahmet Ertegün. Like his companion of Turkish descent, the producer Arif Mardin , Ahmet Ertegün was buried in his Turkish homeland in Istanbul according to Islamic tradition . The grave is in the Istanbul district of Üsküdar in the family grave of the Özbek order , which played an essential role in the Turkish war of liberation .

plant

Atlantic Records became one of the great and artistically influential labels in jazz and pop music in the 1960s .

Ahmet Ertegün (photography by William P. Gottlieb )

The Ertegün brothers were able to celebrate their first successes with rhythm and blues artists such as Big Joe Turner , Ruth Brown , The Clovers , The Drifters and Ray Charles . They managed to develop the R&B genre from a fringe group theme to an important part of the music scene. Ahmet Ertegün wrote a number of classic blues pieces, including "Chains of Love" and "Sweet Sixteen", which he wrote under the pseudonym "A. Nugetre ”(his name written backwards). Aretha Franklin , Wilson Pickett , Otis Redding and many other soul greats celebrated their great success with the Atlantic label in the 1960s.

In the 1960s, Ertegün heard a demo by the Led Zeppelin group . This convinced him immediately after the first songs, and he signed Led Zeppelin. He also convinced David Crosby , Stephen Stills and Graham Nash , Neil Young to take on tour and contributed to the founding of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young at.

Ahmet Ertegün used his skills in negotiations with major music stars. For example, when the Rolling Stones were looking for a record company to market their independent label Rolling Stones Records. Ertegün negotiated personally with Mick Jagger and was able to close the deal between the Rolling Stones and Atlantic, although other labels had offered the band more money than Atlantic Records.

In the mid-1980s, Ertegün initiated the establishment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . From around 2002 he worked with the Turkish pop musician Tarkan on his first album in English .

In September 2006, Ahmet Ertegün and the Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch bought the Turkish private broadcaster TGRT for 90 million dollars .

Awards

  • In 1987 Ahmet Ertegün was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame . His brother followed in 1991.
  • In 1991 he received an honorary doctorate from the Boston Berkley Music School
  • In 1993 he was honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
  • In 1993 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his services in the music business . His brother received the same award in 1995.
  • In 2000 he was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress .

various

Movies

In the film Ray , the biography of Ray Charles , Ahmet Ertegün is portrayed by Curtis Armstrong . Tayfun Bademsoy embodies him in Beyond the Sea , a film about Bobby Darin .

In the documentary Once In A Lifetime about the New York Cosmos , Ertegün talks about the founding of the club.

literature

Web links

Commons : Ahmet Ertegün  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ALEX ABRAMOVICH on November 25, 2011: Soul Man YouTube video
  2. ↑ One million in Zeppelin gig draw . BBC , September 20, 2007
  3. ↑ "Ahmet Ertegun Memorialized in New York City" , Rolling Stone
personal data
SURNAME Ertegün, Ahmet
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Turkish-American music producer and founder of Atlantic Records
DATE OF BIRTH July 31, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Istanbul , Turkey
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 2006
Place of death New York City