Ahmet Ertegun died Thursday at age 83 from head injuries he sustained when he fell at a Rolling Stones concert in October. Ertegun and partner Herb Abramson started Atlantic in 1947, mostly releasing jazz records at first, but eventually putting out hits from R & B artists inlcuding Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, and beefed up its jazz catalogue with John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Charles Mingus. Later, Atlantic extended into rock, distributing several Rolling Stones albums and putting out Led Zeppelin's first five albums and distributing the rest (after the band formed its own Swan Song label). (Source: Hollywood Reporter.)
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