most people don’t know his name. but if you listen to music, you know his work. ahmet ertegun. born in istanbul, raised in washington d.c., and somehow became the guy who shaped modern music. not just rock, not just soul, but everything.
his father, munir ertegun, was a diplomat assigned by ataturk. he served as the ambassador to bern first, then london, paris, and finally washington d.c. growing up in these capitals shaped ahmet’s world view.
and he was turkish. yeah, a turkish guy from istanbul changed music forever. how crazy is that.
the man behind the music
ahmet ertegun founded atlantic records in 1947 with herb abramson. he was only 24 years old. people were expecting him to be a diplomat like his father. but he had other plans.
he found artists. he believed in them when nobody else did. ray charles, aretha franklin, led zeppelin, the rolling stones, eric clapton… without him, music would sound different today.
but here’s the thing most people don’t know. he wasn’t just a producer. he wrote songs too. bb king’s “sweet sixteen”? ahmet ertegun wrote that. ray charles’ “mess around”? also him. so yeah, he didn’t just find legends, he helped them become legends.
dawn in ankara
okay this is where it gets interesting. in turkiye, everyone knows izmir marşı. the march of izmir. well, ahmet took that melody and made a song called “dawn in ankara” back in the day. it was performed by frank hubbell & the stompers in 1966.
sadly, you can’t find it anywhere on the internet today. it’s just… gone. which is really sad because i would love to hear it.
but here’s the cool part. there’s a finnish song called “missä olit silloin” by irina milan. released in 1967. it’s an arrangement based on dawn in ankara. so indirectly, it’s based on izmir marşı. because ahmet made it happen.
so yeah, who would’ve thought izmir marşı would end up in finnish pop :)
the hall of fame
you might think the grammys are the biggest deal in music. sure, for that year, they are.
but the rock & roll hall of fame? that’s about forever.
it’s not about who sold the most records last year. it’s about who changed the history of music. it’s the place where music becomes immortal. and ahmet ertegun didn’t just support it, he co-founded it in 1983.
he knew that music wasn’t just entertainment, it was history. it needed a home.
every year, they induct new artists who changed the game. and it’s a big deal. if you get inducted, you’re basically immortal. it’s one of the highest honors in music.
there is also an award called ahmet ertegun award in the hall of fame. it’s given to non-performers. i mean the people who built the industry like songwriters, producers, executives. receiving this award means your name is written in the history of music, right next to the legends you helped create. and that award is named after a turkish man. how cool is that…
what bothers me
here’s what really gets me. in turkiye, there’s basically nothing named after ahmet ertegun. no cultural center, no music hall, nothing significant.
i mean, this guy literally changed the world. and we just… forgot about him? or maybe we never really knew.
wouldn’t it be nice to have an ahmet ertegun cultural center? somewhere in istanbul maybe. a place for music, for artists, for the kind of creative spirit he had. i don’t think that’s too much to ask.
the legacy
ahmet ertegun died in 2006. but walk into any record store, open spotify, listen to music. he’s still there. every led zeppelin song, every aretha franklin track, every rolling stones song, every ray charles song, every eric clapton song, every piece of music he touched is still alive.
do you know frank zappa’s son “ahmet zappa”? yes, zappa named his son after ahmet ertegun. look, this is what i mean. this is the real legacy.
that’s the thing about real legacy. it lives in the songs people still sing, the songs people still play, the artists who still inspire.
but honestly? a cultural center would still be nice. just saying.
hey ahmet, we did it!