Ahmet Ertegun, an example for us all

[Bob Olhsson]

A lot has been written recently about Ahmet Ertegun but this is utterly fascinating. It describes the man one of my mentors, Joe Atkinson, spent hour upon hour telling me about.

http://redkelly.blogspot.com/2006/12/drifters-featuring-clyde-mcphatter.html

[thermionic]

An example for anyone working within the music industry indeed…

Ertegun would have been successful in any industry outside of music, such was his talent for business, but he also managed to leave a legacy of great art; why is it that today’s industry is so fixated on succeeding in the former discipline, yet treats the latter as if it’s some kind of afterthought?

If Ertegun had both the ability to succeed in the boardroom as well as the A+R office, what is it that he had that today’s mooks don’t? Answers on a postcard please…

I wonder if a parallel can be drawn between Ertegun and his good friend Arif Mardin. Mardin came from a well-to-do family and it wasn’t as if he had the pressure of the world to succeed on his shoulders, yet he made himself invaluable to the music industry. You needed a producer? Mardin could fit the bill. Arranger? Likewise. Engineer? That as well. And on his days off he would track down new talent for the likes of Ertegun to sign!

What makes these guys so special? Is it purely work ethic?

Does today’s industry just want to make money for the least amount of effort? People needed money back in the days when Ertegun and Gordy were at the peak of their powers and in a lot of ways, even more than we do today; yet they brought music to the world that would not only make money, but sell on the shelves of record stores for decades to come, with new generations of fans being established all the time.


Justin

[Bob Olhsson]

They needed more money to create the recordings but a lot less money to sell the records. The Field of Dreams "build it and they will come" fantasy has never been true. I've always experienced a hit record as being a chain reaction first within the industry and followed by on the streets. I keep searching for what has changed and I keep coming back to several generations of kids who have never been exposed to a lot of good life music the way my generation was.

It began with disco where garage bands were no longer playing every important middle and high school party of dance. Soon non-drinking teen clubs where local bands once played were shuttered. Live rock and roll turned into a stadium experience where there was little or no interaction between bands and their fans. There were still bar bands but too many of them also fell prey to cheap club owners who'd rather pay a DJ what one band member would earn.

This experiential cornerstone for teens is gone and I'm afraid that the rest has been a slow domino effect. What needs to be addressed is bringing live music back into people's lives. Maybe live, unedited internet broadcasts can restart local music the way radio did during the late '20s.

One thing's for sure which is that posing as an '80s artist or label mook isn't going to change things for the better.

[neoclassic]

Hi there,
When i hra about those two guys(R.I.P),i feel a bit sad and angry about life itself.They were simply amazing minds,who does not see the future,but create the future,they were free.No matter if they were producers or composers or whatever they were,they knew that if they truly believe in and like what they create,then everybody will like it,i am sure what they were planning was not being at the top,but reaching the greatest that they can.the most beatiful that they will not get bored of while they are listening.Todays producers?while creating their point is NOT pleasure from creation but pleasure from what it brings.you see,painters,composers etc. of old times were creating for nothing but expressing themselves,the things they lived,what they love and what they are against of.For ex.,J.S.BACH believed in god so much that every piece he composed had a design that simulates god s designs,and at the end of every composing of him,he wrote" god victorious".He believed in it so much that the only desire he had was to express it in the greatest way he can,and of chourse as much as he can.
no need to talk about todays composers actually,mostly writing for money,buyable stars!
shortly brothers,my point is,i believe composing or writing or producing whatever we do,it should have a reason,if you are writing a sad song,then you have to be real sad,reeeeeaaaaly so sad that you cannot get along with that pain,you make a song out of it,you cry when you hear it,you make people cry when they hear it,that is success,that is freedom and honesty,that is lacking today.rest in peace ahmet abi,rest in peace arif abi.

[Bob Olhsson]

Ahmet was buried December 18 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_18) in the Garden of Sufi Tekke, Özbekler Tekkesi (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C3%96zbekler_Tekkesi&action=edit) in Sultantepe (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sultantepe&action=edit), Üsküdar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9Csk%C3%BCdar), İstanbul (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0stanbul), next to his brother Nasuhi Ertegün (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasuhi_Erteg%C3%BCn), his father Münir Ertegün (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCnir_Erteg%C3%BCn) and his shaikh great-grandfather Şeyh İbrahim Edhem Efendi, who was once the head of the "tekke" (Khanqah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanqah))

Neoclassic, I hope you can visit and help spread a bit of Ahmet's baraka. We all need it badly.

[neoclassic]

"Neoclassic, I hope you can visit and help spread a bit of Ahmet's baraka."

pardon my english because i couldnt get what spreading Ahmet's baraka means?.in a few weeks i will be in istanbul,did you mean visiting him?

[Bob Olhsson]

It's the blessing of his spirit.

[neoclassic]

ok.i will do it.i was not able to talk to him when he was alive,actually died a few weeks before we would meet,kinda strange thing anyway.