The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun

by Robert Greenfield

Overview

The definitive biography of Ahmet Ertegun—founder of Atlantic Records, the man behind stars from Ray Charles to the Rolling Stones.

Brilliant, cultured, brash, and irreverent, Ahmet Ertegun was a legend in the music world. Blessed with great taste and sharp business acumen, he founded Atlantic Records and brought rock ’n’ roll into the mainstream. He quickly became as renowned for his incredible sense of style and nonstop A-list social life as for his pioneering work in the studio.

Ertegun discovered, signed, or recorded many of the greatest musical artists of all time, among them Ruth Brown; Ray Charles; Bobby Darin; Sonny and Cher; Eric Clapton; Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Led Zeppelin; and the Rolling Stones.

Ertegun lived grandly but was never happier than when he found himself in some down-and-out joint listening to music late at night. As colorful and compelling as its subject, The Last Sultan is the fascinating story of a man who always lived by his own rules.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416558408
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	11/06/2012
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	1,129,900
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

An award-winning journalist, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and former associate editor of the London bureau of Rolling Stone, Robert Greenfield is the author of ten books of fiction and nonfiction, among them the classic STP: A Journey Through America With the Rolling Stones, and critically acclaimed biographies of Jerry Garcia, Timothy Leary, and Bill Graham.

Table of Contents

Prologue: A Day of Tribute in New York xv

1 Coming to America 1

2 The Nation's Capital 20

3 Making Records 37

4 The House That Ruth Built 58

5 Mess Around 73

6 Shake, Rattle and Roll 88

7 Brothers in Arms 104

8 Splish Splash 120

9 Love and Marriage 137

10 The Oak Room 150

11 I Got You Babe 163

12 Hey, What's That Sound 176

13 Selling Out 188

14 Helplessly Hoping 196

15 Romancing the Stones 223

16 The Boy Wonder 252

17 The Years with Ross 268

18 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 287

19 Clash of the Titans 309

20 Bawitdaba in Bodrum 322

21 "The Encore Was Heaven" 343

Acknowledgments 357

Notes 361

Bibliography 407

Index 419

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"A vivid saga of the an industry in its salad days, and of the unholy but fertile union of money and music." —-Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

The eternal music-biz question—what exactly do record-label executives do?—is explored in this sprightly bio of the legendary Atlantic Records cofounder. Journalist Greenfield (S.T.P.: A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones) finds Mephistophelian traits in the Turkish-American impresario—a preternaturally suave, persuasive schmoozer, Ertegun commits his share of cheats, betrayals and payola—but Greenfield credits him with creative midwifery of the rock ’n’ roll revolution. We see Ertegun scouting R&B pioneers, spotting potential hits amid the dross, singing backup on the pathbreaking “Shake, Rattle and Roll,” matchmaking super-group Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, and introducing Bianca and Mick. Despite Ertegun’s dapper suits, tireless partying, and groupie-squiring, make him the Dionysian soul of rock; he was still hanging out with Kid Rock even after a hip replacement. Greenfield overhypes his subject—“as great a star as any artist who had ever recorded for his label”—and his accounts of Ertegun’s postmerger boardroom duels with Jerry Wexler, David Geffen, and others in the Warner entertainment conglomerate are, like most corporate turf battles, uninteresting. Still, he gives us a vivid saga of the an industry in its salad days, and of the unholy but fertile union of money and music. Photos. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"A vivid saga of the an industry in its salad days, and of the unholy but fertile union of money and music." ---Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

In 2006, at 83 years old, the businessman with a passion for music who was as comfortable wheeling and dealing in French as he was joking around with Kid Rock died after falling backstage at a Rolling Stones concert. Greenfield—who has written exemplary biographies of Bill Graham and Jerry Garcia—draws on extensive interviews with Ahmet Ertegun's widow, the musicians who worked with him, and his many friends and traces Ertegun's emigration from Turkey at age two, growing love of jazz and early acquisition of around 20,000 78s, first partnership with Herb Abramson and the formation of Atlantic Records, often contentious relationship with David Geffen (founder of Asylum Records), and deep friendships with everyone from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Keith Richards and Eric Clapton. VERDICT Greenfield's definitive biography gracefully sums up the life of a man who, in record mogul Jerry Wexler's words, "had eyes to make records." A must for every collection, this enchanting book captures the life and work of a seminal figure without whom the business of making records would not have had its lasting impact. [See Prepub Alert, 5/23/11.]—Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Evanston, IL

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