I first heard Laura Branigan sing live in my brother Nesuhi’s apartment, where we had gone because he had a very good piano. I immediately realized that she had a great pop voice, in the classical sense.
AHMET ERTEGUNThe first time I heard Clyde McPhatter singing with the Dominoes at the Apollo I just fell off my chair
More Ahmet Ertegun Quotes
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My first wife was a theater person.
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If I’d have continued it might have killed me. My doctor said I should stick to wine.
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Everybody at Atlantic knew that we had a winner in this young lady, and she came through with great hits that will be remembered for many years to come.
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Another one is Eric Clapton. Another one is Phil Collins. Eminem, Kanye West I like all those people.
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Theres two kinds of music: black soul music, and the white imitation thereof.
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A singer’s biographical film should have their music and their voice.
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You know you have a multimillion-seller hit – and what you’re working on suddenly has magic.
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People like Clyde McPhatter who came out of the black churches – like Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin – were all church singers who became great pop singers because gospel singing is very close to the blues.
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Laura had an instinctive feel for music and melody, and her delivery was sensational.
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I used to drink a bottle of vodka a day, every day, for about 40 years and it never occurred to me it’d kill me.
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I did a little bit to raise the dignity and recognition of the greatness of African-American music.
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I became a jazz fan quite early and never went off the path thereafter.
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I’ve been in the studio when you go through a track and you run down a track and you know even before the singer starts singing, you know the track is swinging.
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At a time when it was very brave to do because Ataturk was cutting off the heads of the imams. And people thought that that was foolhardy of my father.
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The all-time greatest Atlantic group – The Drifters
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