During his time as an editor, reporter, and writer for
Billboard Magazine, Wexler coined the term "
rhythm and blues". Wexler became a partner in
Atlantic Records in 1953.
Ray Charles,
the Drifters and
Ruth Brown recorded classic recordings there. With
Ahmet and
Nesuhi Ertegun, Wexler built Atlantic into a major force in the recording industry. In the 1960s, he recorded
Wilson Pickett and
Aretha Franklin, and oversaw production of
Dusty Springfield's highly acclaimed
Dusty in Memphis and
Lulu's
New Routes albums. He also cultivated a tight relationship, and a distribution deal, with
Stax Records founder
Jim Stewart, was an enthusiastic proponent of the then-developing
Muscle Shoals Sound and launched the fortunes of
Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. In 1967 he was named Record Executive of the Year for turning Aretha Franklin's career around. In November 1966, Franklin's Columbia recording contract expired; at that time, she owed the company money because record sales had not met expectations. Working with Wexler and Atlantic, Franklin was "the most successful singer in the nation" by 1968. His work in this decade put Atlantic at the forefront of
soul music. In 1968, he and
Ahmet Ertegun signed
Led Zeppelin to
Atlantic Records on the recommendation of singer
Dusty Springfield who had worked with
John Paul Jones and from what they knew of the band's guitarist,
Jimmy Page, from his performances with
the Yardbirds. With its strong catalog, Atlantic Records was purchased by
Warner Bros. Records in 1968. Prior to the sale, Wexler persuaded
Jim Stewart to sign a contract (that he didn't read), unknowingly giving Atlantic ownership of 97% of the
Stax master recordings, without compensation. In 1975, Wexler moved from Atlantic to its parent Warner Records. In 1979, Wexler produced
Bob Dylan's controversial first
"born again" album,
Slow Train Coming at Muscle Shoals; a single from that album, "Gotta Serve Somebody", won a
Grammy Award in 1980. When Wexler agreed to produce, he was unaware of the nature of the material that awaited him. "Naturally, I wanted to do the album in Muscle Shoals—as Bob did—but we decided to prep it in L.A., where Bob lived," recalled Wexler. "That's when I learned what the songs were about: born-again Christians in the old corral.... I like the irony of Bob coming to me, the
Wandering Jew, to get the Jesus feel... [But] I had no idea he was on this born-again Christian trip until he started to evangelize me. I said, 'Bob, you're dealing with a sixty-two-year-old confirmed Jewish atheist. I'm hopeless. Let's just make an album. In 1983, Wexler recorded with English singer and songwriter
George Michael. The outcome of these sessions would prove to be an early version of "
Careless Whisper", recorded in Muscle Shoals. In 1987, Wexler was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He retired from the music business in the late 1990s. For most of the 1990s, Wexler lived on David's Lane in
East Hampton, New York where he shared living space with a
Chinese family who aided him with daily functions and kept him company. ==Portrayals==