The Last Sultan: The Life and Times of Ahmet Ertegun

I've always been drawn to businessmen that have come from rather humble beginnings to being the best of the best. How did they get there? What was the tipping point in their careers? The Last Sultan, his real name Ahmet Ertegun, grew up the son of a high-ranking Turkish diplomat, would end up changing the record business forever through his record label Atlantic Records.When he first moved to the US he used to sneak out and listen to black-roots music in the local clubs when no white record exec would dare do so. He ended up falling in love with this music and would later start a record label to bring it to the masses. Over the next five decades as different genres faded and others took shape, Ahmet was usually the visionary leading the charge. He signed some of the biggest music legends in history including: Big Joe Turner, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin, Sonny and Cher, Nash & Young, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Bette Midler, and Kid Rock.The most interesting theme of the book were the comments artists had about Ahmet Ertegun. Even early on in his career before he was a legend, artists had a deep respect for Ahmet's innate ability to hear, modify, and help create #1 records. Because of Ahmet's active social lifestyle, he found it very easy to connect with artists on multiple levels. Both the The Rolling Stones and Kid Rock were amazed that Ahmet could out drink and out socialize even them, not get any sleep, and be alert, well dressed, and well versed for a business meeting hours later. And Ahmet was always the best-dressed person in the room.Ahmet Ertegun's life was one part music visionary, one part businessman, and two parts the show "Mad Men". And this is exactly why several major tv networks have tried to produce a series around Ahmet's life. The book is also a rock and roll history lesson that takes you from the late 1940's through present day. I enjoyed the book and you will to, although I guarantee your life will seem very boring after you read about "The Last Sultan".

A great read about one of my favorite Record Label ExecutivesI even got to Work With Tom Dowd the Engineer from Atlantic. He was a really great man! I was very fortunate to work in the real recording industry in the Late 80's and 90's up until the music business fell apart from the computer age. These old guys did not understand the computer age and they died before it was what it has become today.If Ahmet was alive today he would have had a better set up then itunes you would have downloaded direct from the labels this computer company selling records is horses***!

This is an excellent book about the life of Ahmet Ertegun. Who would have thought that an immigrant family from the Middle East would revolutionize the American music and shape our listening habits for good and forever. Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun brothers did not touch a leaf upturned, every genre included except maybe classical. Robert Greenwood does an incredible job of explaining all this in what should be considered a mandatory reading for all popular music fans.

This post-humous tale reads like it was cribbed from other publications & well known industry stories. Having heard the stories myself, I was looking foward to finding out exactly why and how Ahmet was so legendarily cool. Alas, I still don't get it. Yes, he hung with royalty, made a ton of money on his artists & was a notorious playboy . . . so? How different this book is from Greenfield's excellent biography of Bill Graham, with its exclusive interviews of a hardworking man who gave everything he had to bring counterculture music to the masses. In that bio, you really got to know Graham as a man. In Ahmet's case, I'm afraid we'll never know.

ALTHOUGH IT'S BEEN SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE, THIS BOOK IS ONE THAT IS VERY HARD TO PUT DOWN AFTER YOU GET STARTED. IF YOU'VE EVER WANTED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ATLANTIC RECORDS AND AHMET ERTEGUN, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. WRITTEN BY ROCK JOURNALIST ROBERT GREENFIELD, WHO ALSO GAVE US THE GREAT BIO OF BILL GRAHAM.

I was born in 1952. Along with the Beatles, Stax/Volt and Motown, this man made the background music to my life. Thank You Ahmet Ertegun and thank you Robert Greenfield for bringing us this excellent and wonderful biography. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys American music. It can be argued that Ahmet Ertegun's vision changed the world's music forever.

From page one of this book to page 354 I was gripped by Greenfield's writing and had a difficult time putting it down. For anyone who is a fan of Atlantic Records and its amazing roster of recording artists this book is a must read. Greenfield did extensive research in writing this bio about the co-founder of Atlantic Records. As the son of a Turkish diplomat in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, Ahmet Ertegun spent time in Turkey, Switzerland, France and England before landing on America's shores when he was 12 years old. As an ardent music fan, he amassed a record collection of some 20,000 78 rpm jazz and blues pressings. After borrowing $10,000.00 from his Turkish dentist Ahmet started the Atlantic Records label with his partner Herb Abramson. The book really takes off after the two men started signing artists such as Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin & Bobby Darin to name a few. Atlantic Records not only changed the musical landscape by introducing "Race Music" to the masses, the label was also able to stem the ever-changing musical tide by updating its roster in the late 60's and 70's and signing artists like CSN&Y, The Rolling Stones, and their biggest score Led Zeppelin. Unlike other music industry parasites (Walter Yetnikoff, Clive Davis) Ahmet was a jazz and blues aficionado who felt a kinship to the acts that he signed and formed deep friendships with the musicians on his label. Ertegun was also a songwriter in his own right, penning hits for Ray Charles (Mess Around) Big Joe Turner (Chains of Love) and B.B. King (Sweet Sixteen).I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to all who love jazz, blues and rock 'n' roll music and are interested in reading about the heyday of the music industry and Atlantic Records in particular.

Read so many books on David Geffen that this mans influence and help gave him a great start with ASYLUM so i thought id be mentored by his story and i can honestly say this man is such a brilliant humble and charismatic individual that without meeting him other than through the pages in this book i have felt his magnetism and charisma from it! Great, great job by Robert Greenfield!

A great book, a fascinating story. It's great to be able to take a peek at the life of one of the taste makers and the original "moguls" in the busines. Came well packaged, and delivery to Bulgaria was fast and very reasonably priced. Thank you!

What a great inside view into the Rock'n'Roll Business.Incredible what some guys have experienced.It's only Rock and Roll but he liked it.

Great book. Great title subject

Great

A great book ..keeps you turning the pages .

good product good service

Brilliant insight of the reord industry

Excellent

Yes

Brilliant. Bought second copy for a mate,also a soul lover.

Robert Greenfield's book is a very complete portrait of the man who founded Atlantic Records back in the 1950s and takes an important place alongside Charlie Gillett's "Making Tracks" and the Jerry Wexler/David Ritz book "Rhythm and the Blues". If you enjoy reading the stories behind those great Atlantic hits, this book will certainly be of interest.Greenfield describes Ertegun's early years in Turkey and his growing up in a comfortable environment provided by the Turkish diplomatic service for which his father worked. The move to Washington with the family provided the impetus for Ahmet's interest in jazz, an interest which he shared with his brother. The story goes on to describe the establishment and growth of the record company with its many ups and downs and Ahmet's role in that story.I especially found the latter part of this book very enlightening as it sheds a great deal of light on the complicated development of the company and the way in which Ahmet managed to survive the twists and turns of corporate in-fighting. In the end, as an elder statesman of the company, Ahmet's role may have been mostly decorative but he provided that important link in an impressive history.I much enjoyed this book and can strongly recommend it.

Este libro sobre Ahmet Ertegun es fascinante y muy interesante, y incluye cosas que yo no sabia en muchos contextos como por ejemplo Frank Zappa empleo el nombre Ahmet por uno de sus hijos. Muy recomendado....

As a teenager growing up in the 60's , music was a great part of my life. As an adult who loves listening to and reading about the artists who created that music, it was a real surprise to find this book and read about the people who helped shape the music industry with their creative genius. A great addition to any music lover's library.

This a well researched and well written biography of Ahmet Ertegun.If you're interested in the history of the music business and of Atlantic Records, this is a very worthwhile book