Co-founder of Atlantic Records, Wexler had an astonishing ear for talent. In 1966, He signed a struggling pop singer away from the major label that had given her a couple minor hit records, and let her loose. After embracing the freer, emotionally raw, more gospel inflected style pioneered by another Atlantic artist named Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin quickly became the Queen of Soul. Her first album for Atlantic is the finest female soul record ever recorded, with such unimpeachably great singles as "Respect", "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man", a powerful version of Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come", and the inimitable title track, "I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You", and Wexler put all the pieces in place.
But this is a tribute to Wexler, and Aretha was not his only accomplishment. He oversaw and produced the 8th best record of 1969, Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis, and with late business partner Ahmet Ertegun, Wexler also signed such legends as Ray Charles, Cream, and Led Zeppelin. In the era when independent labels first started to threaten the sales dominance of the more tightly controlled majors, Wexler's Atlantic was one of the very best.
