Popular Music Industry Giant Ahmet Ertegun Dies at 83

He's the man largely responsible for bringing Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to the American public as head of Atlantic Records and so much more. Ahmet Ertegun, an immigrant and son of a Turkish diplomat, co-founded Atlantic Records in 1947. The label soon became one of the dominant American labels for r&b and jazz. Later, Atlantic became one of the top pop labels counting Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Foreigner, Genesis, Jewel, James Blunt, and Gnarls Barkley among the endless list of top artists who recorded for Atlantic.

Ahmet Ertegun died today at the age of 83 from complications related to head injuries he suffered when he fell backstage at a Rolling Stones concert on October 29th. Current Atlantic Records chairman and CEO Craig Kallman released a statement saying "All of us at Atlantic Records are profoundly saddened by the loss of our founder and mentor." Ahmet Ertegun was a founder and chairman of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.

In April, 2000 the Library of Congress honored Ahmet Ertegun as a Living Legend. Another music industry living legend, Quincy Jones, said of Ertegun that he is "definitely one of the pioneering visionaries in this whole scene. He was a very 360-degree person. He loved to have a good time. He knew how to party, which is my kind of guy, and he knew how to work. He knew how to look into the future and how to execute to bring it to fruition."