Ertegun brothers

File:Nasuhi Ertegün by David Shankbone.jpg

Bust of Nesuhi Ertegün at the Nesuhi Ertegün Jazz Hall of Fame at Jazz at Lincoln Centers Rose Hall

Ahmet Ertegün (July 31,1923 – December 14, 2006) and Nesuhi Ertegün (November 26, 1917 – April 15,1989), were the Turkish-American executives of Atlantic Records. They also co-founded the New York Cosmos soccer team of the North American Soccer League. They were instrumental in bringing in soccer legends like Pelé, Carlos Alberto and Franz Beckenbauer to the club. They transformed the Cosmos into a "dream team". Their love for soccer was the reason that the Cosmos were born.

Background

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, they moved to Washington, D.C. in 1935 with their father Münir Ertegün, who was appointed the Turkish Ambassador to the United States in that year. Münir Ertegün was a Turkish Muslim and raised Ahmet as a Muslim.. Ahmet graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis in 1944.

Ambassador Ertegun died in the US in November 1944 and he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery; nearly two years later, in 1946, President Harry Truman ordered the battleship USS Missouri to return his body to Turkey as a demonstration of US power opposing Russian demands on Turkey.

Early career

Ahmet Ertegün, producer Tom Dowd, Herb Abramson and others created Atlantic Records in the late 1940s as an independent record company that became, with the added partnership of Jerry Wexler, a jazz and pop empire in the 1960s. Their first success came in rhythm and blues (R&B), with such artists as Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, The Clovers, The Drifters, and Ray Charles. Regarding Charles, Ahmet Ertegün is quoted as saying "First time I saw Ray I told him, 'You are the fucking end, you know.'"

They brought a jazz sensibility (and many jazz artists) into R&B and participated in turning the genre from a minority interest into a major part of the musical scene. Ahmet Ertegün wrote a number of classic blues songs, including Chains of Love and Sweet Sixteen, under the pseudonym A. Nugetre (Ertegün backwards).

The songs were given expression first by Big Joe Turner and continue in B.B. King's repertoire. "Nugetre" also wrote the Ray Charles hit "Mess Around", with lyrics that drew heavily on Pinetop Smith. Ertegün was part of the shouting choral group on Turner's Shake, Rattle and Roll along with Wexler and songwriter Jesse Stone.

Nesuhi was persuaded to join Atlantic in 1955 and became vice-president in charge of the jazz and LP department.

During the 1960s, Ahmet heard Led Zeppelin's demo and knew they would be a smash hit after hearing the first few songs. He quickly signed them. He also convinced Crosby, Stills and Nash to allow Neil Young to join them on one of their tours, thereby founding Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Ertegün helped introduce America to blue-eyed soul when he discovered the Rascals at a Westhampton nightclub in 1965 and signed them to Atlantic. They went on to chart 13 top 40 singles in four years and were elected to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Ahmet also 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. 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.

The Ertegüns' primary musical interest was jazz. In the 1940s, while living in Los Angeles, Nesuhi owned the Jazz Man Record Shop, which, in addition to selling jazz records produced by other labels, also produced their own on the Jazz Man and Crescent labels. At Jazz Man, Nesuhi produced the classic Kid Ory revival recordings in 1944 and 1945. In the early 1950s, Nesuhi worked at his friend Lester Koenig's Contemporary Records. When Les Koenig was approached by Lawrence Morton of the UCLA music department to teach a course in jazz at UCLA, he recommended Nesuhi. Nesuhi thus taught the first course in jazz at a major American university. Nesuhi was on the verge of joining Imperial Records when Ahmet persuaded him to join Atlantic instead and was made a partner. At Atlantic, Nesuhi produced records for artists like John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Les McCann and Hank Crawford. Both brothers promoted jazz concerts, founded jazz record companies, and organized jazz bands. Nevertheless, they were also open to more modern popular styles and worked with such famous artists as Sonny and Cher.

In 1971, Nesuhi founded WEA International, now Warner Music International.

See also: Atlantic Records

Later career

Many independent record executives, like the Ertegüns, were from immigrant backgrounds, including the Bihari brothers and the Chess brothers.

In 1987, Ahmet was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, of which he himself was the founder. Nesuhi Ertegün was inducted posthumously four years later. Ahmet 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; Nesuhi was awarded the same posthumously two years later in 1995. The United States Library of Congress honored Ahmet as a Living Legend in 2000. The Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame at Jazz at Lincoln Center was dedicated to Nesuhi in 2004. In 2005, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presented Ahmet with the first "President's Merit Award Salute To Industry Icons". For their contributions to the sport of soccer, both were inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003. In the late 1980s with the support of Bonnie Raitt and others, Mr. Ertegün provided $1.5 million to help found The Rhythm & Blues Foundation to award monies to underpaid blues artists. Among those receiving this honor were John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Ruth Brown and the Staple Singers.

Ahmet's 2006 injury and death

Ahmet Ertegün (83) was injured after a fall at a Rolling Stones New York performance on October 29, 2006 for the 60th birthday of former US President Bill Clinton.. Ertegün slipped and hit his head backstage. After being in a positive stable situation, Ertegün took a turn for the worse. This announcement was made by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page during the band's induction into the UK Music Hall of Fame. Ertegün slipped into a coma and died later, with his family by his side, on December 14, 2006 at New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. He was buried December 18 in the Garden of Sufi Tekke, Özbekler Tekkesi in Sultantepe, Üsküdar, İstanbul, next to his brother Nesuhi Ertegün, his father Münir Ertegün and his shaikh great-grandfather Şeyh İbrahim Edhem Efendi, who was once the head of the "tekke" (Khanqah) in his native Turkey. At the garden were hundreds of mourners, including his wife Mica, members of the Ertegun family, Turkish dignitaries and entertainers including Atlantic artist Kid Rock [1].

Popular culture

• In Ray, the biopic of Ray Charles, Ahmet Ertegün is portrayed by Curtis Armstrong.

• Antonio Carlos Jobim mentions Nesuhi in his song Chansong.

• In Beyond the Sea, the biopic about Bobby Darin, Ahmet is played by Tayfun Bademsoy.

• Ahmet Zappa was named after Ertegün, who played an important role in Frank Zappa's early career.

See also

• Atlantic Records
• Turkish diaspora