Ahmet Ertegun

Ahmet Ertegun (1923–2006) was a Turkish-American record executive, producer, songwriter, and co-founder of Atlantic Records. Born in Istanbul, he developed a passion for American jazz and blues as a young man and moved to the United States with his family in the 1930s. In 1947, Ertegun and Herb Abramson founded Atlantic Records in New York, initially concentrating on jazz, blues, and rhythm & blues.

Ertegun helped establish Atlantic as one of the most important independent record labels of the postwar era. He produced and wrote songs for artists including Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, and Big Joe Turner, sometimes using the pseudonym A. Nugetre, his surname spelled backward. During the 1960s and 1970s, Atlantic expanded into soul and rock, with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Cream, and Led Zeppelin becoming part of the label’s celebrated roster.

Ertegun remained chairman of Atlantic Records for much of his career and was also instrumental in establishing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received the Recording Academy’s Trustees Award in 1993. Ertegun died in New York in 2006 at the age of 83.