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WE REMEMBER JERRY WEXLER: Famed Atlantic producer worked with Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Picket.
*Jerry Wexler, the man who first used the term rhythm and blues to describe popular music from black artists, died on Friday of congestive heart failure at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 91.
As a reporter for Billboard in the late 1940s, Wexler coined the name R&B and went on to become a record producer who helped lead the genre to mainstream popularity.
In the early 50s, he left the magazine and became a partner at Atlantic Records, overseeing over the 1954 recording session of Ray Charles's breakout hit, "I Got a Woman." While working as a producer for the label, he went on to shape the careers of such artists as Ray Charles, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin.
“Jerry was one of the last great and real record men of the ‘Boomer Age’ and prior to, who represented himself with real class and integrity," Franklin said in a statement. "He was particularly a very conscientious producer who knew how to mix fun with business. He was real and I valued that highly. I spoke with him a few months ago and he said that he was not feeling very well but his voice and spirit were still very strong and in tact. God bless him for the huge contribution he made to my career and I will remember his tender loving care.”
Wexler and Franklin teamed for 14 albums in the late 1960s and '70s under Atlantic, and produced some of her biggest hit singles, including "Respect," "Dr. Feelgood" and "Chain of Fools."
During a recording session with Pickett in the mid-1960s, Wexler was trying to describe a certain backbeat he wanted in the song "In the Midnight Hour" but couldn't explain the rhythm in words. He illustrated it by doing a new dance, the jerk.
“Jerry Wexler was a true music-making pioneer whose work at Atlantic Records created an amazing legacy of R&B, pop and rock," said Recording Academy President/CEO, Neil Portnow. "His life and work have left an indelible mark on the music industry. A three-time Grammy winner who helped shape the careers of iconic R&B legends — Ray Charles and our 2008 MusiCares Person of the Year Aretha Franklin — among others, Wexler’s contributions to our music culture have been immense and immeasurable. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends, and all who were moved by his work.”
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