Our label

About our history

Atlantic Records was founded in 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson, both avid music fans and record enthusiasts. Their passion for artist development made Atlantic Records the home of choice for legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, and more.

With over 60 years of recorded music history, our passion for artistry in music continues today as a new generation of incredible artists including Bruno Mars, Coldplay, fun., Jason Mraz, Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa, Janelle Monáe, Skrillex, Trey Songz, Hunter Hayes and more continue to further the Atlantic Records.

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Atlantic was one of great independent labels that sprang up in the late Forties, challenging the primacy of the major labels of the time (RCA, Columbia and Decca) by discovering, developing and nurturing new talent. Atlantic became the nation's premier rhythm & blues label in a few short years and would become one of the great soul labels in the Sixties.

Atlantic set the standard for the "indies" in that they paid their performers fairly, produced top notch records, had talented session men and had knowledgeable staff that included  producer Jerry Wexler, engineer Tom Dowd and arranger Jesse Stone. Atlantic's first stars were Ruth Brown, Joe Turner, the Clovers and the first Drifters.

Atlantic's first releases were jazz oriented jump blues though the labels first big hit was "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" by Stick McGhee. In the late Forties Atlantic went to New Orleans  to look for talent and had some sessions with Professor Longhair, which convinced them to incorporate the New Orleans sound into their recordings.

Atlantic's more sophisticated and jazz orientated session men were unable to recreate the New Orleans Sound, but in the process created the "Atlantic Sound," which supported all the label's singers with, boogie based, sax-led band arrangements that were internal part of the song.