The Sultan’s Story: Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records

FIFTY YEARS AGO, the son of the Turkish ambassador to the United States, then in college, sought to supplement his allowance. He and his partner figured the best way to do this would be to exploit their mutual love for jazz and blues by making and selling records. With this idea (and $10,000 from the ambassador’s dentist), Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson put out the first record on their new label, which they called Atlantic.