Obituary; Part Two

Mishmash Bookshop we have long been in the habit of placing a small sign in the window when one of our heroes dies. The declaration of our good wishes will help pave their way to heaven, we hope; people might come in and feel they have found a kindred spirit; and it might bring us some karma, or kudos.

It’s been noticeable in the past few years that many of those ‘retiring after a good innings’ have been the cultural innovators who inspired the baby-boomer generation. In 2006, Joseph Barbera followed his partner William Hanna to the cartoon studio in the sky at a time when animation has the cinematic respect it deserves. The Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown as he called himself, died a few days ago, a man who genuinely did create a new music. No JB; No funk. That simple.

But I wanted to single out one creative genius for you to bless; Mr. Ahmet Ertegun. The owner of Atlantic Records, he presided over two influential periods in American music.

Firstly, Stax/Atlantic Soul was the only stable of musicians that could look Motown in the eye. Sam and Dave, Aretha Franklin, and Big Joe Turner recorded for him through the 50’ and 60’s; Booker T Washington’s MG’s were the de facto house band.

Secondly, he personally signed the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin; AC/DC and Stone Temple Pilots recorded for him. He gave the green light to arguably the two best rock albums of all time; Back in Black, and Four Symbols. He died after slipping and injuring himself back stage at a Stones gig; Jimmy Page gave the world the sad news himself.

Oh, and he brought soccer to the USA by creating the New York Cosmos, because he loved football so much.

Andrew Mishmash