Died On This Date (August 15, 2008) Jerry Wexler / Legendary Producer & Label Head
themusicsover Jerry Wexler
January 10, 1917 – August 15, 2008
Jerry Wexler was best known as a music producer who was responsible for some of the greatest music from the 1950s through the 1980s. He also coined the phrase “rhythm and blues” while he was editor of Billboard magazine before he became a partner of Atlantic Records in 1953. While at Atlantic he either produced or signed some of the all time greats of popular music. That list includes Wilson Pickett, Led Zeppelin, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and the Allman Brothers. He retired from the music business in the late ’90s, and passed away of congestive heart failure in 2008.
Thanks to the Jeff Ballenberg for the assist.
Jon Bergen was a well-liked and respected music industry veteran who held sales and marketing positions at Mercury, Restless, Beyond, and Gold Circle Records, as well as BMG Distribution. Throughout his career, he worked closely with the likes of Blondie, Veruca Salt, Pat Benatar, and John Waite. After leaving the label side of the business, Bergen and partner, Bo Caldwell, formed Bender Music Group where they assisted artists and small labels in bringing their music to retail and marketing. Bender’s clients included Young MC, Richard Butler, Howard Hewitt, and Jon Anderson. Jon Bergen died as the result of a car accident on August 15, 2010. He was 37.
A man of many hats, Tony Wilson is best remembered as co-owner of Factory Records, home the one-time home of Joy Division, New Order and OMD. He also owned The Hacienda, which became the epicenter of the Manchester music scene of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Before his foray into music, Wilson was a journalist and BBC television peronaility, most notably hosting So It Goes and After Dark. Suffering from advance stages of renal cancer, Wilson, age 57, died of a heart attack in a Manchester hospital.
Oystein Aarseth, known to fans as Euronymous, was the founding guitarist of Norwegian black metal band, Mayhem. Formed in 1983, the band went on to become one of the most influential Norwegian bands of the scene. The band was as controversial as it was popular, due in part, to their violent stage show along with the suicide of lead singer, Dead (
