2006年VOA标准英语-Entertainment World Mourns Music Pioneer, Recor

By Ed Kowalski
Washington
18 December 2006

The entertainment world has lost a pioneer and founder¹ of one of the most-important record companies in music history. VOA's Ed Kowalski tells us more about the life and career of Ahmet Ertegun, who died in New York Thursday, Dec. 14.

Atlantic Records co-chairman and founder Ahmet Ertegun poses in label's New York offices (file)

You may not recognize the name, but you've certainly heard the result of his work. As the founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun shaped the careers of R&B legends Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and others.

Ertegun was the son of Turkish diplomats². His love of music began in 1932, when nine-year-old Ahmet was taken by his older brother Nesuhi to a London performance of the Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway orchestras. It fired a passion that remained with Ertegun for the rest of his life.

In 1947, Ertegun borrowed $10,000 from the family dentist, and started Atlantic Records in New York City. Within a few years, Atlantic Records had developed a signature sound that mixed aspects of Ertegun's favorite musical genres³; blues⁴, jazz, swing and mambo given sophisticated rhythms and arrangements.

When Nesuhi Ertegun joined Atlantic Records in 1956, the label expanded into jazz, signing some of the emerging artists of the era: John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and The Modern Jazz Quartet.

With the movement of rhythm and blues into the pop mainstream⁵ in the mid-1960s, Atlantic Records became a leader in developing soul music artists, including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. Ahmet Ertegun did not restrict the Atlantic Records roster⁶ to R&B performers.

In the late-1960s, Ertegun signed a British blues/rock band, and introduced Led Zeppelin to U.S. audiences. The company later became the home for recordings⁷ by The Rolling Stones, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and Yes. Ertegun was not flawless in his talent searches. He missed chances to sign Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

Musical historians would note that Atlantic Records was culturally-diverse. Ertegun was a Muslim Turk. Many of his partners were Jewish. Most of the company's performers were black.

Ertegun remained with Atlantic Records after he, his brother and partners sold the company to Warner Brothers-Seven Arts in 1967, for $17 million. The label was sold to the Kinney Corporation conglomerate⁸ two years later. Ertegun was also one of the forces behind the establishment of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ahmet Ertegun was backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in New York on October 29 to mark the 60th birthday of former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Ertegun fell, suffering a brain injury. He had been in a coma⁹ until his death Thursday. He was 83.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 roster   

n.值勤表，花名册

参考例句：

• The teacher checked the roster to see whom he would teach this year.老师查看花名册，想了解今年要教的学生。
• The next day he put himself first on the new roster for domestic chores.第二天，他把自己排在了新的家务值日表的第一位。

7 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

8 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

9 coma   

n.昏迷，昏迷状态

参考例句：

• The patient rallied from the coma.病人从昏迷中苏醒过来。
• She went into a coma after swallowing a whole bottle of sleeping pills.她吃了一整瓶安眠药后就昏迷过去了。