Remembrances continue to pour in for Jerry Wexler, the pioneering producer and record executive who helped build Atlantic Records into an R&B powerhouse. Wexler, who died on Friday at age 91 of congenital heart disease, played a monumental role in the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, and other soul greats. He was also instrumental in furthering the careers of the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin in the early '70s.
"He loved black music, R&B music and rhythm and blues was his foundation," soul legend Solomon Burke told the Associated Press. "He had a feeling for it, he had the knack to keep it going in his heart and recognize the talent that he felt was real. Jerry Wexler didn't change the sound of America, he put the sound to the public. He opened the doors and windows to the radio stations ... and made everybody listen."
Wexler joined Atlantic Records in 1951, and went on to produce or co-produce such seminal hits as "Respect," "Chain of Fools," "I've Got a Woman," and "Son of a Preacher Man." In the mid '60s he helped push the Stax-Volt imprint into the mainstream, and played a vital role in the development of the Muscle Shoals sound, which subsequently become a mainstay of Southern rock.
In 1987 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "No one really knew how to make a record when I started," he said, in a profile on the Rock Hall website. "You simply went into the studio, turned on the mike and said 'play.'"
In a statement to the Associated Press, Jim Henke, vice president and the chief curator for the Rock Hall, hailed Wexler as someone who "played a major role in bringing black music to the masses."
"Beyond that," Henke continued, "he really developed the role of the record producer. Jerry did a lot more than just turn on a tape recorder. He left his stamp on a lot of great music."
Wexler is survived by his wife, novelist Jean Arnold, and his children Paul and Lisa.—Russell Hall