Initially set up as a jazz label, it moved into rhythm & blues in 1949 with the Stick McGhee recording 'Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Doe'. Throughout the 1950s, the company signed a whole crop of important artists, including Ruth Brown, Lavern Baker, Joe Turner, the Drifters, the Coasters, Ray Charles - the list is endless.
In 1953, Jerry Wexler joined the company, bringing his advertising and promotional skills to Atlantic and in a way heralding a new era for the organisation. Producers were handpicked to suit the particular talents of the ever-growing roster of artists.
In the 1960s Wexler in particular did much to promote the Southern soul sound by taking Atlantic artists to Fame and later, Muscle Shoals Sound Studios to record - resulting in some of the most seminal soul of the '60s from the likes of the great Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Joe Tex etc.
Atlantic was also responsible for the distribution of Stax/Volt records and was therefore deeply influential in ensuring nationwide airplay for artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Eddie Floyd. Atlantic was always an eclectic label, even in the early days, and they began to diversify further by moving into rock and 'blue-eyed soul' with such groups as the Young Rascals, Buffalo Springfield and Led Zeppelin. It allowed Atlantic to consolidate itself as one of the major forces in contemporary music, but it was only a matter of time before one of the conglomerates came calling - the label linked up with Warner Bros in 1967 and over the years became completely assimilated into the Time Warners empire.
Ertegun stayed with the company, but for Wexler it was never the same and he moved on. For a while though Atlantic was probably the most important and exciting producer of black music there has ever been, headed up by people with business acumen coupled with vision and a real love for - and commitment to - the music they were generating and promoting. Atlantic was one of great independent labels that sprang up in the late '40s, 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 '60s.
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. In the late '40s 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 an internal part of the song. The name Atlantic wasn't the first choice for the company. It seems every name they came up with had already been taken. Hearing of a label called Pacific Jazz they decided to call themselves Atlantic.
In the '60s, Wexler became the primary producer who linked Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett with house bands in Memphis and Muscle Shoals, Alabalma, to help bring Southern soul to the rest of America. In the '70s, he continued to produce rock acts such as Dr John and Dire Straits. Though he was less directly involved as a producer, Ertegun continued at the helm of Atlantic in the '60s and '70s as the company conquered the realms of soul and rock, from Aretha Franklin to Led Zeppelin, with phenomenal success..
The WEA family of labels, which includes Atlantic, Warner Bros and Elektra, is owned by AOL Time Warner, the corporate parent of CNN. The history of the label has been celebrated in 'What'd I Say: The Atlantic Story'.