ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- At the recent funeral of Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmet Ertegun, U.S. singer Kid Rock was among those paying their respects to the late music mogul.
The BBC reported the "Cowboy" rocker was but one of hundreds of attendees at the funeral in Turkey, all of whom remembered the man who helped make stars out of singers Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles.
"I have met many people, been to many places and seen many things, but he was definitely the best," the 35-year-old singer said of Ertegun, who died last week at the age of 83. "He could not sing but he was music personified."
During his career in music, Ertegun not only launched such singers as Franklin through the label he helped create in 1947, but was instrumental in the careers of jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington.
A spokesman for Atlantic Records said in honor of Ertegun, a memorial service will take place in New York early next year to allow others to celebrate the music icon's life and place in music history.
