Ahmet Ertegun,
the famed pioneering co-founder of Atlantic Records, is in a coma after sustaining
a serious injury to his brain after a fall. Ertegun,
83, lapsed into a deep coma after he fell on Oct. 29 while attending a Rolling
Stones concert. Ertegun
is currently on life support at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. Ertegun
founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947 with just $10,000. Ertegun,
along with his brother Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, helped revolutionize popular
music by releasing legendary artists like Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton,
Otis Redding, Joe Turner, Led Zepplin, John Coltrane, The Coasters, Aretha Franklin
and numerous others. The
label is now owned by Warner Music Group. Atlantic has recorded and released numerous
rappers over the years, like 2Pac, Lil’ Kim, Junior M.A.F.I.A., Sean "Diddy"
Combs, T.I., Juvenile, Sean Paul and others. Ertegun’s
influence was felt in early Hip-Hop as well, notes Ruthless Records cofounder
Jerry Heller. Heller
credited Ertegun as being responsible for the Ruthless Records release of J.J.
Fad’s single and album "Supersonic," the first Hip-Hop album to sell
gold for any label in the Warner Music Group fold."Ahmet
has brought integrity, vision, style and class to the music business," Heller
told AllHipHop.com in a statement. "A giant among mere mortals. His presence
will be sorely missed by those of us who had the privilege of knowing him."
