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.
AHMET ERTEGUNThe Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame will provide a center where the lives and the artistry of the greatest jazz musicians will be celebrated, and where people will come to learn about jazz, something to which my brother devoted his lifes work.
More Ahmet Ertegun Quotes
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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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Laura had an instinctive feel for music and melody, and her delivery was sensational.
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There are still many great surviving talents: Stevie Winwood. Another great talent is Stevie Wonder.
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The all-time greatest Atlantic group – The Drifters
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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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I should have gotten the Beatles. But one of my lawyers kind of messed up.
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The songwriters whom we think of being the greatest songwriters usually write one hit and six or seven flops.
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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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My father believed very strongly in Ataturk. Ataturk was a very powerful man and a man of great vision.
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Everyone felt like they knew Ray Charles and in a way they did, because he was embodied by his music.
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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.
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It is a great life, this life of music.
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Whenever a songwriter writes a big hit, then the next 20 songs they write – no matter how bad they are – get recorded.
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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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I 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 ERTEGUN