Billy Brady Remembers Ahmet Ertegun

"I would take a great song that is poorly recorded over a poor song that is greatly recorded any day." —Ahmet Ertegun

It was because of Ahmet Ertegun's passion for exploring new musical trends that I was fortunate enough to cross paths with him. As a Pop singer and writer I was clearly not part of one of those trends but he listened to my demo anyway and really liked it. As a result I was signed to Atlantic Records as a solo artist by Ahmet personally.

It was 1985 and Go-Go music, a precursor to Rap and Hip-Hop, was emerging from Washington DC. A lot of these singles were hitting the charts in England and Omega Recording Studios, where I was the chief engineer, had a substantial amount of studio credits on these recordings, although not by me specifically. The trend was Go-Go and it was our studio that piqued Ahmet's curiosity.

So the day after the Grammys, on his way back to New York, he flew to DC to meet with all of us just to get a feel for what was going on. While he was there I handed him a demo of some songs I had been working on for the past 2 years. I was the writer, singer, engineer and producer of the demo. I was no stranger to the business as I had already engineered numerous albums and had been involved in 2 other major production deals as an artist. Regardless, my voice and music were nowhere close to what Ahmet had come to DC to explore and I figured he would just throw my tape out of the limo window as soon as they turned the corner. I'm so glad I was wrong. The phone rang 2 days later and there he was....

Ahmet Ertegun. He told me that he really liked my voice and kept asking me about little details and nuances in my songs as if he had listened to them for hours. I was stunned.

I specifically remember barely being able to breathe let alone talk and hold an intelligent conversation. I must've sounded like an idiot although I'm sure he was used to that kind of reaction. Just 2 days earlier it was enough of a thrill just to meet this great man and now he was asking me if I could come to New York as soon as possible to discuss working with him personally and signing a recording contract with Atlantic Records!

I was speechless. Could it get any better than that? I would think not...but it did.

The next 5 years were amazing. Ahmet quickly hooked me up with Janice Roeg who became my manager and 2 years later with Shane Keister and Kenny Cummings who became my producers. They were all fantastic. Janice knew the business inside and out which was no surprise since she was working very closely with Ahmet on a daily basis and both Shane and Kenny were great producers who had an impressive list of notable credits. They could bring any song to life and make it sparkle. They were each separately working with Ahmet on several projects other than mine. So it's no surprise that I placed all of my trust in this core group. In the beginning, I would engineer other bands all day at the studio and then write and record songs for Atlantic at night and on the weekends.

I would send a new song to New York about once every 3 weeks. It was grueling but invigorating at the same time. Janice would take these recordings directly to Ahmet and if he liked them he would present them during the weekly meetings at Atlantic. It was clear that to Ahmet and Atlantic, great songs were everything and essential to a great album. For the next several years we wrote songs, searched for songs, and recorded every chance our schedules would allow. At this point, most everything was being done in New York and some of the best writers in the business were throwing tunes our way. We were focused on making a great album and even though Atlantic was committed to release 2 albums, none of us wanted to release an album just for the sake of releasing it. That was never discussed and it never crossed our minds. We knew what we needed to do and it had to be great or it wasn't going. Well it never went. Five years had passed and although we had finished about two thirds of a very good album we still had a considerable way to go. By that time we were all drifting in different musical directions.

Although it was a lot of hard work, there were also some incredibly rewarding times. It was always thrilling to discuss the album with Ahmet but it was also great fun to talk with him about other things and especially musical things. Ahmet loved to tell stories about his musical experiences so it was quite surreal when he would share personal anecdotes about things that the rest of us would regard as pop history. He thrived on that. At one dinner he told us stories that just floored us all. The Ray Charles deal, how he discovered Eric Clapton, his poolside exchange with Stevie Nicks, and many other stories. His serious comments about music where also just as fascinating since it was a given that they came from his profound understanding of the business. Here are 3 comments that Ahmet made to me that left a lasting impression on me.

We were talking about songwriting and engineering when Ahmet said, "I respect you as a writer and engineer so don't take this the wrong way but...I would take a great song that is poorly recorded over a poor song that is greatly recorded any day."

On another occasion when we were in his limo with the radio playing in the background he said, "The kind of song that you've gotta write is the kind of song that would make us stop talking right now, to turn and listen to the radio...that's a hit record."

And one time when we were in the studio and he was talking about one of his notable sessions I asked him. "Of all the things you've done, what is your most memorable moment?" Without hesitation he quickly replied, "Right Now."

One of the things that impressed me the most about Ahmet was how considerate he was of the people around him. Just when you thought you were the furthest thing from his mind, the phone would ring. Ahmet himself said that he was proud of the fact that he maintained close relationships with most of the artists and musicians he had worked with. Through the years I was very careful not to abuse my friendship with him and when I did call he would most likely pick up the phone or if I sent a letter he would respond. One of the more recent letters I sent him was to express my gratitude for all he had done for me. Of all of the songs we recorded, one of Ahmet's favorites was a song that's been running through my mind ever since I heard that he had passed. The lyrics have nothing to do with our friendship, however the title now seems quite appropriate -- "Life Goes On." The music industry has lost one of the greatest of all time... —Billy Brady (Bluetunes@aol.com)