Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records who helped shape the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and many others, died Dec. 14 at the age of 83.
Ertegun, who remained connected to the music scene until his last days, had been in a coma since Oct. 29, when he suffered a brain injury after falling backstage at New York’s Beacon Theatre during a Stones concert in honor of former President Bill Clinton’s 60th birthday.
Ertegun was buried in a private ceremony in his native Turkey; a memorial service will be held in New York after New Year’s.
Full sories here: http://billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003522799
And here: http://bmi.com/news/200612/20061215b.asp