As a founder, songwriter, and producer at Atlantic Records, Wexler was a vast influence on the development of American music in the 1950s through the early 1980s, particularly in the Soul/R&B genre. Aretha Franklin (pictured above), Ray Charles, The Drifters, Ruth Brown, Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and George Michael were just a few of the artists he influenced.
"Well, yeah, the story is that when Otis Redding did it, it was entirely a different song. The sock it to me's were Aretha Franklin's idea where she injected into the song, which connoted a certain idea of social respect, probably the notion of ethnic respect, combined with a little judicious lubricity on her part." - Jerry Wexler
This 1993 interview (audio and text) was conducted by Terry Gross for NPR's Fresh Air...
Roots of R&B: Record producer Jerry Wexler
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