I did a little bit to raise the dignity and recognition of the greatness of African-American music.
AHMET ERTEGUNI did a little bit to raise the dignity and recognition of the greatness of African-American music.
AHMET ERTEGUNThere are still many great surviving talents: Stevie Winwood. Another great talent is Stevie Wonder.
AHMET ERTEGUNEveryone felt like they knew Ray Charles and in a way they did, because he was embodied by his music.
AHMET ERTEGUNThe songwriters whom we think of being the greatest songwriters usually write one hit and six or seven flops.
AHMET ERTEGUNI came close to signing Elvis Presley. I offered $25,000 for his contract and they asked for $45,000 and I just didn’t have the other $20,000.
AHMET ERTEGUNI consider Laura to be one of my best signings, and I am proud to have had such a great singer in my career in the record business. We miss her dearly.
AHMET ERTEGUNYou know you have a multimillion-seller hit – and what you’re working on suddenly has magic.
AHMET ERTEGUNThe main thing is that Ataturk saw the desperate condition of the countries that had not had an industrial revolution.
AHMET ERTEGUNI became a jazz fan quite early and never went off the path thereafter.
AHMET ERTEGUNI 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 ERTEGUNI should have gotten the Beatles. But one of my lawyers kind of messed up.
AHMET ERTEGUNIt is a great life, this life of music.
AHMET ERTEGUNThere’s been so much bad blood between the Kurds and the Turks.
AHMET ERTEGUNMy father was a very religious person. And he prayed five times a day. And he did that throughout his relationship with Ataturk.
AHMET ERTEGUNAt 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.
AHMET ERTEGUNTheres two kinds of music: black soul music, and the white imitation thereof.
AHMET ERTEGUN