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By the time Ahmet Ertegun had cemented his position within the new Warner Bros set up, one of the biggest bands in rock music history had been signed up to Atlantic Records.  Led Zeppelin were the new kids on the block and the new stars on the horizon and other new British band Yes followed shortly afterward.  Home grown rock was also making an indent at Atlantic though; Crosby, Stills and Nash (and eventually Neil Young) were signed in 1968, their self-titled debut album being a massive seller.

Led Zeppelin were the contemporary superstars though and made vast amounts of money for Atlantic until 1973 when their contract ended and they started their own label,  Swan Song Records, although Atlantic still organised their distribution.  Yes were the third big money maker of the early 1970s and stayed with Atlantic even after Led Zeppelin had left.  In fact Yes continued their success well into the 1980s and still tour and record today.

A fire in one of Atlantic Records’ warehouses in New Jersey in 1978 destroyed a huge amount of early recordings, dating from 1948 and 1969.  Up to 6000 tape reels were destroyed, including some of Atlantic’s original stereo recordings, a technology which they pioneered.  Ultimately many originals were located at various locations around the country, for example those that had been ‘borrowed’ and not returned and the archives were restocked to a a certain level.

The 1980s continued in the same successful vein as previously and featured the likes of Genesis, Foreigner, AC DC and Mike and the Mechanics.  It also preceded Warner Communications merger with Time Inc. in 1990 to become Time Warner.  Atlantic Records remained a largely independent entity although it was forced to sell off its share of the gangsta rap label Interscope Records in 1995.

Atlantic has remained a relevant and successful label to this day, surviving the split between Time Inc and Warner in 2004. The label celebrated its 60th birthday in 2007 and currently has hundreds of successful artists on its roster.  It has also been forward looking enough (for a record label at least) to embrace digital technology; in 2007 50% of its sales were from downloads.

At the end of Part One we briefly mentioned that Ahmet Ertegun has signed The Drifters to Atlantic Records.  This was done almost before hearing them perform – this was because the lead singer Clyde McPhatter had recently become available after being fired from Billy Ward and his Dominoes.  Ertegun knew of McPhatter’s talent and wasted no time in tracking him down.  A couple of The drifters early tracks – Such A Night and Money Honey – were also notable for being banned in various states for suggestive and unwholesome lyrics.  The banning had no effect on sales of course, both tracks reached number one on the U.S. Billboard charts.

Rhythm and Blues was a term coined by Atlantic employee Jerry Wexler in the early 1950s and Atlantic Records was the main driver behind the success of this genre at this time.  At first it was only popular amongst the black population but by 1953/4 records were crossing over to all sections of the listening audience and becoming million+ sellers.  At the time, Atlantic Records had the best R & B artists and the highest quality recording equipment, marking it out as the leader in this field.

Atlantic Records expanded into the U.K. in 1955 to take advantage of that lucrative market and took on extra premises to be able to employ extra staff.  In the early 1960s it began to use it’s considerable trading network to distribute releases from smaller regional labels.  Notable artists active during this period include Ben E. King, The Coasters and Billy Storm.

Ray Charles had left the label in 1959 along with Bobby Darin and this threatened to be a enormous financial blow for Atlantic; fortunately an association with Stax Records, the small Memphis based independent label, provided both parties with 8 years worth of lucrative partnership.  Stax got access to Atlantic’s massive distribution and marketing machine and in return Atlantic got it’s hands on Stax’ list of quality artists including Booker T. and the MGs, Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding.

The 1960s was also the decade when Soul became popular when Solomon Burke and Doris Troy signed for Atlantic.  It was also the years of the British invasion. Atlantic took advantage of this by ending their distribution deal with British label, Decca (who had their own U.S. subsidiary, London  Records) and arranging a new one with Polydor Records.  Cream were one of the licensing success stories and notable for their being the first rock band signed by Atlantic.

In 1967, the constantly shifting sands of the record industry led Jerry Wexler to recommend the sale of Atlantic to a bigger company.   The Ahmet brothers (Nesuhi had returned to Atlantic by this time) eventually agreed to the sale and in October of the same year accepted $17.5 million from Warner Bros, something of an undervaluation.  Jerry Wexler left shortly afterwards, unhappy with the direction he felt Atlantic was now headed (veering towards ‘white’ rock acts) but Ertegun was allowed to run the label unhindered by Warner.  This changed when Warner Bros. became Warner Communications in 1969 and an attempt was made to bring all Warner’s music companies under one umbrella.  Ertegun fought this and won, cementing Atlantic’s autonomy and his own power within the new structure.

Part Three follows….

Atlantic Records History

Atlantic Records is one of those companies with slightly more interesting origins than some.  The Ertegun family were

Atlantic Records logo

Turkish residents in the United States and following the death of their ambassador father, Munir, the remaining members of the family were faced with the choice whether to stay or head back to Turkey.

Two brothers, Nesuhi and Ahmet, decided to stay while their mother and sister returned to Turkey.  During their stay in the United States, Nesuhi and Ahmet had become jazz and blues fans, accruing thousands of 78rpm records.  It was Ahmet who conceived the idea of a records label, persuading some wealthy friends to invest in his new venture and in October 1947 Atlantic Records came into existence.

The company was originally headquartered at The Ritz Hotel in Manhattan until the rent proved prohibitive and a cheaper venue was found.  It was no one-man business right from the beginning and Ertegun, Herb Abramson and Francine Wakschal all contributed to the stability of Atlantic Records in the early days.  Wakshcal in particular gained a reputation for ruthless treatment of artists when it came to advances and the like.  She would remain with the company for the next 49 years.

Ahmet Ertegun (right)

It wasn’t until 1948 that Atlantic released it’s first recordings, two of which were Joe Morris’ ‘The Spider’ and Tiny Grimes ‘That Old Black Magic’; jazz productions that would characterise the first of Atlantic.  Atlantic’s formation also coincided with the American Federation of Musicians announcing a ban on union members undertaking recording.  Atlantic Records responded by recording and stockpiling enough vinyl to last for a year.

A. Nugetre – songwriter

Atlantic Records fist big breakthrough came in 1949 with the re-release of Stick McGhee’s ‘ Drinking Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee’ after McGhee’s original label had gone under.  At the same time however, Ergetun began writing songs under the anagrammatic pseudonym A Nugetre.  He would record them in one of the public recording booths in Times Square before handing them over to the artist or arranger to perfect.

Atlantic Records signing of Ruth Brown was another market on their road to success; the story is an interesting one – on her way from Washington to New York to audition for Ertegun and Abramson, she was injured in a car crash from which she took nine months to recover.  Faith in her ability was so great however that Atlantic Records supported her financially during this period, eventually signing her when the time was right.  She repaid them by becoming arguable the most prolific recording artist on Atlantic’s books during the 1950s, earning the label the name ‘The House That Ruth Built’.  Releases such as ‘So Long’, ‘(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean’ and Teardrops From My Eyes’.  The latter was Atlantic’s first million selling release.

In 1951, Atlantic Records began to press 45 rpm records of which the first release was ‘Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere’ by Joe Morris, one of the labels earliest signings.  1952 brought Ray Charles to the label who provided Atlantic with a string of hits; he was followed by another notable artists such as The Drifters and The Clovers.

Part Two follows…..