Music Legend Ahmet Ertegun Is Dead

The co-founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun died Thursday. Fittingly, he died from injuries suffered when he fell down backstage at the Rolling Stones concert in the Beacon Theatre. Ertegun wooed the Stones to Atlantic many years ago. His career stretched from Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll" to virtually the present and Ertegun's most significant artists include giants like Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles. I never met or interviewed the man, but my CD collection is filled to bursting with his work, such as Bobby darin and Sonny & Cher and Bette Midler and ABBA and Genesis and Foreigner and many many more. Here's the NYTimes obit, one from Billboard, one from Rolling Stone, one from Hollywood Reporter and good ole Wikipedia.