Music greats share memories of Ertegun in PBS documentary

02/16/2007 10:15 PM, Reuters


Everyone from Ray Charles to James Blunt chimes in on the life and loves of Ahmet Ertegun, the late revered music executive, in the documentary "Atlantic Records: The House That Ahmet Built," set to premiere in May on PBS.

As part of the "American Masters" series, the film takes an in-depth look into Atlantic co-founder Ertegun's contribution to rock 'n' roll history via previously unreleased performance footage, home movies and interviews with such Atlantic artists as Phil Collins, Aretha Franklin, Solomon Burke, Mick Jagger and Mick Jones.

The film's writer/director, Susan Steinberg, worked in conjunction with "American Masters" creator/executive producer Susan Lacy on the film for more than four years.

"What first struck me about the man was his elegance," Lacy says about her first encounter with Ertegun, at a lunch in his Santa Barbara, Calif., home. "That was the very interesting thing about him, these two sides of the coin. He was cosmopolitan, elegant and a real European man. But then he could party with the best of them. Both sides were so incredibly personable."

Lacy was intrigued with Ertegun's unique back story: a Turkish immigrant in love with the music of another American minority, African-Americans, who innovated and nurtured the art form for the rest of the country to enjoy.

The filmmakers were able to compile rare footage, like that of Ertegun's early exchanges with Ray Charles, only to pair it with film of the two chatting months before Charles' death in 2004.

"I think Ahmet had this feeling for music and never got in the way of the music, never, at no point from start to finish," Charles notes in the film. "As opposed to most record execs, Ahmet is different. He knows his music."

Reuters/Billboard