Jerry Wexler

Gerald Wexler (January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008) was a music journalist turned music producer, and was a major influence on American popular music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He coined the term "rhythm and blues", and was integral in signing and/or producing many of the biggest acts of the time, including Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers, Chris Connor, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Wilson Pickett, Dire Straits, Dusty Springfield and Bob Dylan. Wexler was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and in 2017 to the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

Wexler was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of a German Jewish father and a Russian Jewish mother; he grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. Despite graduating from George Washington High School at the age of 15, he dropped out of the City College of New York after two semesters. In 1935, Wexler enrolled at what is now Kansas State University, where he studied intermittently for several years. After being in the U.S. Army, Wexler became a serious student and he graduated from Kansas State with a B.A. degree in journalism in 1946.

During his time as an editor, reporter, and writer for Billboard Magazine, Wexler coined the term "rhythm and blues". In June 1949, at his suggestion, the magazine changed the name of the Race Records chart to Rhythm & Blues Records. Wexler wrote, "'Race' was a common term then, a self-referral used by blacks. … On the other hand, 'Race Records' didn't sit well. … I came up with a handle I thought suited the music well—'rhythm and blues'. … a label more appropriate to more enlightened times."

Wexler became a partner in Atlantic Records in 1953. Ray Charles, the Drifters and Ruth Brown recorded classic recordings there. With Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun, Wexler built Atlantic into a major force in the recording industry.

In the 1960s, he produced recordings by Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin, and oversaw production of Dusty Springfield's highly acclaimed Dusty in Memphis and Lulu's New Routes albums. He also cultivated a tight relationship, and a distribution deal, with Stax Records founder Jim Stewart, was an enthusiastic proponent of the then-developing Muscle Shoals Sound and launched the fortunes of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. In 1967 he was named Record Executive of the Year for turning Aretha Franklin's career around. In November 1966, Franklin's Columbia recording contract expired; at that time, she owed the company money because record sales had not met expectations. Working with Wexler and Atlantic, Franklin was "the most successful singer in the nation" by 1968. His work in this decade put Atlantic at the forefront of soul music.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.