Thu 2/20 @ 7-9PM
The force behind the creation of the Rock Hall was Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun who in 1983 established the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. (Its main exhibition hall is named after him.)
Ertegun came from a wealthy, powerful Turkish family and came to the U.S. when his father was appointed Turkish ambassador. In D.C. he was exposed to a range of Black music, and even hosted jazz concerts at the Turkish embassy. His immersion in this music led eventually his founding Atlantic Records with partners, including his older brother Nesuhi, who had turned him onto jazz at a young age. During the ’50s and ’60s it was a major breakout label for R&B and blues artists such as Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, and later rock acts such as Led Zeppelin and Crosby Stills and Nash.
The 2021 Turkish film, Leave the Door Open, directed by Umran Safter, tells the unusual story of a man from a privileged background who promoted the careers of Black American artists, through extensive research and numerous interviews with people who knew them (Ahmet died in 2006 at the age of 83 as a result of a fall — backstage at a Rolling Stones concert; Nesuhi died in 1989 at the age of 71).
In a director statement she said, “I was extremely touched and affected after reading an article in the US media about how Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun broke all barriers of racial prejudice and hosted Black musicians at a diplomatic facility during a very dark period of human intolerance. I used the documentary to share and tell this awe-inspiring story through the views, knowledge and personal experiences of people with expert knowledge of the Ertegun brothers, their involvement with Jazz, and the social and political conditions of the time.”
The Rock Hall will be screening Leave the Door Open as part of its 2025 film series. Go here for tickets.