The co-founder of Atlantic Records Ahmet Ertegun has died, aged 83.
Ertegun helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones in the early 70s. Over the time, Atlantic Records helped popularise the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Dire Straits, Stevie Wonder and Neil Young.
Ertegun suffered a head injury when he fell at a Rolling Stones concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre in October, and died after slipping into a coma.
Ertegun, a jazz fanatic who came to the United States at the age of 11 when his father was named Turkish ambassador, founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947.
They quickly turned it into one of the leading independent jazz and rhythm and blues labels signing such names as Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington.
Successes came steadily including the signing of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s.
The label is now part of the Warner Music Group, and includes acts such as Kid Rock, James Blunt and Missy Elliott.
Ertegun will be buried in his native Turkey.