God, it's almost unforgiveable that I didn't even notice the death of Arif Mardin last week on June 25th. He was one of the greatest record producers. With the massive legacies of Mardin, Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun there's surely a strong case for the importance of the Turkish contribution to rhythm and blues or 'black music'. Distribute that authorship, babee!I love this picture of Mardin in the Atlantic studio with Aretha (and is that spouse Ted?).
Just some of the roll call of artists he recorded: Howard Jones, Carly Simon, The Young Rascals, Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle, Average White Band, Anita Baker, the Bee Gees, Judy Collins, Phil Collins, Culture Club, Roberta Flack, Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, Donny Hathaway, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Melissa Manchester, Manhattan Transfer, Modern Jazz Quartet, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Scritti Politti, Queen, Dusty Springfield, David Bowie, Jewel and Ringo Starr.
I'd be on my knees in sijdah just for Dusty in Memphis and I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You.
Goodbye, Arif.
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