Posts Tagged ‘Jerry Wexler’
Deft Metal…
Since 1977, Christophe Szpadjel has designed over 7,000 logos for black metal bands around the world, including Emperor, Moonspell, Old Man’s Child, and Arcturus. Now he’s applied his creative vision to Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and more…
Browse more of Christolphe’s “translations” at CoDesign’s “11 famous Companies Rebranded as Black Metal Bands.”
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As we reach for a bat, we might recall that it was on this date in 1968 that Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jone, and John Bonham–Led Zeppelin– signed with Atlantic Records. Manager Peter Grant had flown to New York City in October, 1968 with the master tapes of “Led Zeppelin I” to meet Ahmet Ertegun, the label’s owner and founder, and his close colleague Jerry Wexler. Unbeknownst to Grant, Dusty Springfield had already put in a good word for the group to Wexler while recording “Dusty in Memphis” the previous month. (Springfield was a friend of LZ bassist John Paul Jones, who had spent time as a member of her touring backup band.)
Atlantic had been devoted largely to blues and jazz, but had already had success with one former Yardbirds colleague of Jimmy Page’s– Eric Clapton and his group Cream– but Cream was falling apart and the label was looking for a replacement. Ertegun and Wexler loved the tape, and offered a $149,000 advance. Page had financed the album entirely, so had the final say; as it was the biggest deal of its kind ever offered a new band, he agreed.
Rich and richer…
click image above, or here, for larger interactive version
One can use the interactive chart above (which is based on income tax data, and is adjusted for inflation to 2008 dollars) to see how average incomes in the U.S. have grown as between any two years from 1917 to 2008, and how that change was divided as between the richest 10% of the population and the remaining 90%.
The Wall Street Journal reports today that
A newly resilient U.S. economy is poised to expand this year at its fastest pace since 2003, thanks in part to brisk spending by consumers and businesses.
In a new Wall Street Journal survey, many economists ratcheted up their growth forecasts because of recent reports suggesting a greater willingness to spend.
One wonders how… indeed, one wonders how long the dynamic that’s defined the last two decades is sustainable in what is fundamentally a consumer-driven economy.
[TotH to @cshirky for the lead to the tool]
As we ponder the different kinds of heart we might celebrate on Valentine’s Day, we might recall that it was on this date in 1967 that Aretha Franklin recorded “Respect” (with her sisters Carolyn and Erma singing backup). The tune had been written and recorded by Otis Redding two years earlier, and had done well on the R&B charts. But Atlantic Records exec and producer Jerry Wexler thought that the song was especially suited to showcase Aretha’s vocal gifts, and had the potential to be a cross-over hit. He was, of course, right on both counts.
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