Ahmet Ertegun discovered and championed many leading rhythm and blues and rock musicians.
35 Facts About Ahmet Ertegun
2.
Ahmet Ertegun served as the chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum, located in Cleveland, Ohio.
3.
Ahmet Ertegun helped foster ties between the US and Turkey, his birthplace.
4.
Ahmet Ertegun served as the chairman of the American Turkish Society for over 20 years until his death.
5.
Ahmet Ertegun co-founded the New York Cosmos soccer team of the original North American Soccer League.
6.
Ahmet Ertegun was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire.
7.
Ahmet Ertegun's mother, Hayrunnisa, was an accomplished musician who played keyboard and stringed instruments.
8.
Ahmet Ertegun bought the popular records of the day, to which Ahmet and his brother, Nesuhi listened.
9.
Ahmet Ertegun attended Landon School, an affluent all-male private school in Bethesda, Maryland.
10.
Ahmet Ertegun graduated from St John's College in Annapolis in 1944.
11.
At the time of his father's death, Ahmet Ertegun was taking graduate courses in medieval philosophy at Georgetown University.
12.
Ahmet Ertegun expanded through the 1950s, with Jerry Wexler and, later, Ertegun's brother Nesuhi on board as partners.
13.
Ahmet Ertegun wrote the Ray Charles hit "Mess Around", with lyrics that drew heavily on "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie".
14.
Ahmet Ertegun was part of the shouting choral group on Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll", along with Wexler and songwriter Jesse Stone.
15.
Ahmet Ertegun wrote "Ting A Ling", a 1956 hit for The Clovers that was covered by Buddy Holly.
16.
Ahmet Ertegun wrote "Missa Olit Silloin " for Finnish singer Irina Milan as Ahmet Ertegun.
17.
In 1958, Ahmet Ertegun replaced Abramson as Atlantic's president and Abramson left the company after selling his financial interest.
18.
On 6 January 1953 Ahmet Ertegun married Jan Holm, a Swedish-American actress, fashion model, and set designer, who was the daughter of Carl Enstam and the former wife of Walter Rathbun.
19.
Ahmet Ertegun helped introduce America to The Rascals when he discovered the group at a Westhampton nightclub in 1965 and signed them to Atlantic.
20.
Ahmet Ertegun heard Led Zeppelin's demo and knew they would be a smash hit after hearing the first few songs, and quickly signed them.
21.
Four years later, the Ahmet Ertegun brothers took some of the money and co-founded the New York Cosmos Association football team of the North American Soccer League.
22.
Ahmet Ertegun continued to produce some rock acts, such as Dr John and The Honeydrippers.
23.
Ahmet Ertegun used his considerable personal skills in negotiations with major stars, such as when The Rolling Stones were shopping for a record company to distribute their independent Rolling Stones Records label.
24.
Ahmet Ertegun personally conducted the negotiations with Mick Jagger, successfully completing the deal between the Stones and Atlantic, when other labels had actually offered the band more money.
25.
Ahmet Ertegun took a personal interest in the progressive rock band Yes, and took a strong stand with bassist Chris Squire on the direction of the 90125 album.
26.
Ahmet Ertegun encouraged Squire and the group to make sure the album produced a hit single, which it did with "Owner of a Lonely Heart".
27.
Ahmet Ertegun received an honorary doctorate in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 1991, and was awarded the Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1993.
28.
Ahmet Ertegun was a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence.
29.
Ahmet Ertegun approved the recording and release of Music of the Whirling Dervishes, featuring ayin singer Kani Karaca and ney player Akagunduz Kutbay on the Atlantic label.
30.
On October 29,2006, Ahmet Ertegun tripped, striking his head on a concrete floor, at a Rolling Stones concert at the Beacon Theatre.
31.
Ahmet Ertegun fell into a coma and died on December 14,2006, at Weill Cornell Medical Center.
32.
The Martin Scorsese film Shine a Light, about The Rolling Stones' concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York at which Ahmet Ertegun sustained the injury that ultimately ended his life, contains a dedication to Ahmet Ertegun.
33.
In honor of the barriers the Ahmet Ertegun brothers broke during their time in segregated Washington, the Turkish Ambassador to the US, Namik Tan, hosted a series of jazz concerts at the historical residence on Sheridan Circle in Washington, DC The "Ahmet Ertegun Jazz Series," in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center, reviving the brothers' legacy of bridging cultures and bringing people together with one common objective: celebrating music.
34.
Musician Serj Tankian has claimed that Ahmet Ertegun was against recognising the Armenian Genocide in line with the official policy of Turkey, his home country.
35.
In 2017, Dorothy Carvello alleged that Ahmet Ertegun tried to remove her underwear and groped her under her shirt at a public event in 1987.