AMERICAN MASTERS
\nThirteen\/WNET New York
\nTCA Press Tour, January 2007
\n________________________________________________
\nSusan Lacy
\n(3 Minutes)<\/p>\n
Good afternoon, and welcome. I’m Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of AMERICAN MASTERS.<\/p>\n
It’s wonderful to be back at press tour. But it’s with a heavy heart that I join you here today – a day I’d hoped to share with Atlantic Records founding chairman Ahmet Ertegun. I know he was looking forward to being with so many of his old friends on stage and doing what he loved best – talking music.<\/p>\n
As most of you know, Ahmet passed away December 14. I consider myself blessed to have spent so much time with him over the last four years, as AMERICAN MASTERS worked on the upcoming film on Ahmet and his astonishing 60-year career with one of the most influential labels of our time – Atlantic Records.<\/p>\n
No matter who we called during filming – Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin or David Geffen – they were more than eager to share their stories about Ahmet. He led an incredible life. Born in Turkey, Ahmet brought a unique blend of Old World charm, European sophistication and American enthusiasm to everything he did. As Bette Midler said: “Ahmet was Mr. Stork Club, but at the same time he was also Mr. Cotton Club.”<\/p>\n
And by the time he was 47, Ahmet Ertegun was the greatest rock-and-roll mogul in the world. The powerhouse “Atlantic Sound” he helped create reflects the very best of American music, from jazz and blues to rock and R&B. Our 90-minute film, scheduled to air this May on PBS, will show how one immigrant’s passion for African-American music influenced the entire direction of contemporary music – and still does.
\nHow do you possibly sum up a great man’s life? It’s impossible. But with this film, we hope to strike at the core of what drove Ahmet Ertegun. It was, simply – beautifully – his love of music.<\/p>\n
Here’s a clip of what is sure to be a highlight of the upcoming 21st season of AMERICAN MASTERS which, I might add, is being honored with a duPont-Columbia “Silver Baton” for excellence in broadcast journalism for No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.
\n[lights, 4-minute Atlantic Records reel]
\nI’m sure that somehow, some way Ahmet is getting a kick out of all the familiar faces gathered here today — each of whom played a substantial part in the success of Atlantic Records. Please join me in welcoming producer extraordinaire Phil Carson and our Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to the stage.<\/p>\n
Ben E. King is well known for his many hits with The Drifters and jukebox classics like “This Magic Moment.” He also had a hit with “Don’t Play That Song” – co-written by Ahmet Ertegun. And, of course, he’ll always be synonymous with the timeless standard “Stand By Me,” written by the celebrated songwriting team of Leiber & Stoller.<\/p>\n
As Phil says, to call Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller songwriters is like saying William Shakespeare was a playwright. They are rightly credited with some of the most spirited R&B songs of our generation, including “Spanish Harlem” and a long list of Elvis Presley hits, like “Jailhouse Rock” and “Hound Dog.”<\/p>\n
With his flowing cape, Solomon Burke was dubbed “The King of Rock and Soul.” A mainstay of Atlantic Records’ “soul clan,” he enjoyed such hits as “Cry to Me” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love.” His latest CD is the critically-acclaimed “Nashville.”<\/p>\n
To list Phil Carson’s accomplishments is to cite a part of rock and roll history: he ran Atlantic Records outside the US for 18 years and helped usher in the careers of such mega-bands as Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. He’s also known for playing bass for Dusty Springfield and jamming with Led Zeppelin, Genesis and AC\/DC. But most of all, Phil was Ahmet’s very close friend and long-time Atlantic colleague.<\/p>\n
I’d now like to open the floor up to your questions.
\n[Q&A]
\nThank you all.
\n— End —
\nSeptember 2, 2009<\/p>\n
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