|
Los Angeles, US - Legendary music producer Jerry Wexler, who coined the term 'rhythm and blues' and shaped the careers of stars such as Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, has died at age 91, a record company said.
Mr Wexler, who helped run Atlantic Records in a successful partnership with Mr Ahmet Ertegun from 1953 to 1975, died at his home in Florida, Atlantic said in a statement released on Friday on the Warner Music Group website.
No cause of death was revealed but United States media reported that Mr Wexler had died of congenital heart disease.
During his 22 years with Atlantic, Mr Wexler worked with some of the music world's biggest names, including Charles, Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Willie Nelson, Cher, Dusty Springfield and Bob Dylan.
'The history of Atlantic Records and of the sound of contemporary music would be very different without the impact that Jerry's great ears, uncanny intuition and true genius had on countless artists and their music,' Atlantic said.
Mr Wexler, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, was born in New York in 1917 and served in the US Navy during World War II.
Later, he joined Billboard Magazine as a journalist, where he famously coined the term 'rhythm and blues' before joining Atlantic as a partner in 1953. --AFP
| 
