Ertegün, Ahmet Munir (1923–2006)

Turkish-born US recording producer and song publisher. He co-founded Atlantic Records and worked with such bands as the Drifters and the Rolling Stones. Atlantic became one of the most important labels in popular music.

Together with his brother Nasuhi (1917–1989), who became vice-president at Atlantic, he also founded the New York Cosmos soccer team (1971–85), attracting such players as Pelé and raising the awareness and popularity of soccer in the USA.

Born in Istanbul, Turkey, the son of the Turkish ambassador to the USA, he grew up in Washington, DC, and was attracted to American jazz and popular music. Ahmet attended St John's College, Maryland, and studied for a doctorate at Georgetown University, but he abandoned his studies in 1947 with the founding of Atlantic Records. He had a hands-on role in producing many of Atlantic's records, giving technical, financial, and personal support to several generations of emerging musicians.