Ahmet Ertegün would have been 100 years old on July 31, 2023. The legendary co-founder of the US record company Atlantic Records came to Washington as the son of a Turkish diplomat. Even as a college student, he browsed the rhythm and blues record stores in the American capital. Even in the local jazz and blues clubs there were often one of the few non-African Americans.
He had chosen an exotic subject to study at Georgetown University; the philosophy of the Middle Ages. But his life was to take a different turn when, shortly after the horrors of World War II, the privileged son of emigrants founded a music company in September 1947, together with partner Herb Abramson, a young R&B music producer from New York. These days are the seventy-fifth anniversary of this founding.
Legend has it that Atlantic Records came into existence after Ertegun’s dentist provided a $10,000 loan. They were humble beginnings for two twenty-somethings. Your company would be called a start-up today. Atlantic released its first recordings in 1948. When Abramson was drafted into the US Army, producer Jerry Wexler joined Atlantic Records in 1953 with a minority stake. It was the feeling and also a commercial penchant for black music that later led to the discovery of Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, which Ertegun and co were soon able to establish with a white US audience.
75 years later, Atlantic Records remains one of the most storied labels in American history. Over the decades, bands and artists as diverse as Led Zeppelin, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Genesis, Stevie Nicks and Matchbox Twenty have been released and, more recently, Twenty One Pilots, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran and Lizzo.
To mark its anniversary, Atlantic Records has combed through its rich heritage and created a year-long release campaign. The release of 90 classic titles has already started, many of them on crystal clear, colored or recycled vinyl, put together by a team led by Atlantic boss and record collector Craig Kallman.
“Our 75th anniversary has given us an incredible opportunity to revisit the amazing range and depth of music that Atlantic has released over the decades,” said Kallman at the start of the anniversary celebrations. “These 90 albums are not only an extraordinary musical journey through the years, but also a cultural trip that reflects a series of seismic social changes. As a self-confessed vinyl junkie, I’m honored and thrilled to be joining our colleagues at Rhino, our long-time friends at Acoustic Sounds and the amazing folks at VMP in giving all this brilliant music the straight LP treatment. This task was a real pleasure and a perfect souvenir for this important anniversary.”
In the wake of various sales crises, Ertegun sold his indie label to Warner Brothers/Seven Arts in 1967 for around $17 million. Ertegun and his music and management team remained on board as leaders. Over the years, further mergers with US labels formed the music conglomerate WEA (Warner, Electra, Atlantic), which in turn gave rise to today’s Warner Music.
The first 60 titles in the series are available now. (see also: https://store.atlanticrecords.com/)
These include Aretha Franklin’s “Lady Soul”, Yes’ “Fragile”, Lizzo’s “Special” and “Cuz I Love You”, Dusty Springfield’s “Dusty in Memphis”, Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy”, P. Diddy’s “Press Play “, Ed Sheeran’s “Divide”, Wiz Khalifa’s “Rolling Papers”, Arthur Conley’s “Sweet Soul Music”, INXS’ “Kick”, Young Boy Never Broke Again’s “The Last Slimeto” or Velvet Underground’s “Loaded”.
Fun fact at the end: Ahmet Ertegun founded the dazzling New York football club New York Cosmos with his brother Nesuhi Ertegün in 1971. An early attempt to establish the sport, which was marginal in the USA at the time. With full wallets, football stars like Pelé, Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Neeskens were brought into the “Studio 54” disco in the autumn of their careers. Ertegun remained “Presi” of the kicker club until 1985, which soon disappeared into obscurity.