Music Producer Jerry Wexler Who Coined The Phrase ‘Rhythm And Blues’ Dies At 91
Posted August 15, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Unless you were really into music, you might not know the name Jerry Wexler. But without him, the soundtrack of the last 50 years might never have been quite so sweet.
He died early Friday morning at his home in Sarasota, Florida after an incredible life of producing some legendary music.
Wexler was the man who was the heart and soul of Atlantic Records, one of the most influential and most legendary record labels in the history of popular soul, R&B and rock and roll.
The artists Wexler handled and directed read like a who’s who of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
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Aretha Franklin,
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Ray Charles,
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The Drifters,
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Dire Straits,
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Dusty Springfield,
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Sam and Dave,
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Wilson Pickett,
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Percy Sledge,
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Duane Allman,
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Carlos Santana,
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Willie Nelson,
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George Michael,
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Bob Dylan,
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Led Zeppelin and
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The Rolling Stones
Just to name a few.
When Wexler was working for Billboard Magazine, the music industry ‘Bible’, he almost single handedly got rid of the odious label “race music” that had become attached to black artists. He rechristened it “rhythm and blues” and the term is still in use today.
And it was Wexler who helped give many of those once rejected artists their first big shot at commercial success.
Some of the songs he produced have since become classics. “Respect” by Aretha Franklin; “When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge and Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour.”
His partnership with Atlantic’s Ahmet Ertegun spawned some of the best signings in the business.
His influence and talent was so great, he was named to the Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland in 1987 ( You can see his page here.)
“No one really knew how to make a record when I started,” he said in a profile on the Hall’s website. “You simply went into the studio, turned on the mike and said, ‘Play.”
And they’ve been playing ever since.
Jerry Wexler was 91.
To see the long list of artists, albums and songs in his discography, click here.
