A dentist made it possible: he provided the $10,000 in start-up capital that enabled Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson to found Atlantic Records in 1947. None of the three could have imagined that the company would grow into one of the most enduring and influential record labels in the world.
Some people just have a golden ear. Famous is the story of how Eric Clapton came to Atlantic Records: by sheer chance, Ertegun heard someone play guitar at a party, convinced it had to be B.B. King – but it wasn’t. On the spot, he approached the young guitarist, and not long after, Clapton and his band Cream were signed to the label.
That golden ear was a key secret behind Atlantic Records’ success, a label that initially specialized in discovering unknown jazz and R&B artists but was never afraid to branch out into other genres. Just a few years later, its catalog already read like a Who’s Who of the music world. From Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles to the Rolling Stones and Genesis, all the way to Missy Elliott and Tori Amos, it had assembled a remarkable lineup of names that would go on to achieve legendary status far beyond their own eras.
75 Years of Atlantic Records celebrates the label’s immense influence at a quality level remarkable even by this publisher’s high standards. When a package weighing no less than seven kilos arrived at our office, we first assumed Taschen had sent us multiple review copies of the book. Upon opening, however, it turned out to be just one – though its size and heft could easily rival a serious hi-fi component. The monochrome outer carton fits a thick-walled slipcase with millimeter precision, which in turn holds the book itself – larger even than Taschen’s familiar LP-sized format. From the slipcase’s satin-matte finish to the textured cover with silver embossing, right through to the paper stock and print quality, everything here is absolutely gorgeous.
In classic Taschen style, the book takes readers through Atlantic’s history in five chronologically arranged chapters, with detailed captions introducing the featured bands and solo artists. Each chapter is also prefaced with essays by award-winning writers, offering deep insights into the respective musical eras and sharing scene stories like the Clapton anecdote mentioned earlier. The foreword comes from none other than Bruno Mars, one of the label’s most famous contemporary protégés.
This hefty, 462-page volume is a showpiece for browsing and savoring – its visual and tactile quality remains astonishing even months later, while the stellar writing team broadens the reader’s musical horizons almost effortlessly. Taschen has long been known for excellence in design and execution, but with 75 Years of Atlantic Records, the publisher has truly outdone itself.
Reuel Golden (Ed.), 75 Years of Atlantic Records
Hardcover with slipcase, 462 pages, €150
Taschen Verlag
ISBN: 978-3-8365-9205-5 (English)