Jerry Wexler, 91, record producer who coined R & B

Former music producer and Atlantic records executive Jerry Wexler and Aretha Franklin celebrated the gold record status of Franklin's ''Spanish Harlem'' recording in 1971. (Popsie Randolph/Atlantic Records)

NEW YORK - Legendary record producer Jerry Wexler, who helped shape R&B music with influential recordings of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and other greats, and later made key recordings with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson, has died, says his coauthor, David Ritz. He was 91.

Ritz, coauthor of Mr. Wexler's 1993 memoir, "Rhythm and the Blues," said he died at his Sarasota, Fla., home about 3:45 a.m. yesterday. He had been ill for a couple of years with congenital heart disease.

Mr. Wexler earned his reputation as a music industry giant while a partner at Atlantic Records with another legendary music figure, the late Ahmet Ertegun. Atlantic provided an outlet for the groundbreaking work of black performers in the 1950s and 1960s. Later, it was a home to rock icons like Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. He later helped Dylan win his first Grammy by producing his 1979 "Slow Train Coming" album.

Mr. Wexler helped boost the careers of both the "King of Soul," Charles, and the "Queen of Soul," Franklin. Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and Percy Sledge were among the other R&B greats who benefited from Mr. Wexler's deft recording touch. He also produced Dusty Springfield's classic "Dusty in Memphis," considered a masterpiece of "blue-eyed" soul.

Among the standards produced by Mr. Wexler: Franklin's "Respect," a dazzling, feminist reworking of an Otis Redding song; Sledge's deep ballad "When A Man Loves A Woman"; and Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour."

Mr. Wexler was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

"No one really knew how to make a record when I started," he said in a profile on the rock hall's website. "You simply went into the studio, turned on the mike, and said, 'Play.' "

In the studio, Mr. Wexler was a hands-on producer. Once, during a session with Charles, the tambourine player was off the beat. Mr. Wexler, in his award-winning autobiography, recalled grabbing the instrument and playing it himself.

"Who's that?" asked Charles.

"Me," Mr. Wexler told the blind singer.

"You got it, baby!" Charles said.

"In the early sessions, I just sat there watching [Ertegun] while I was cowering in fright," Mr. Wexler told The Associated Press in 2001. "But as time went on, we proved to be a very successful team."

At Atlantic, Mr. Wexler collaborated with a virtual "Who's Who" of soul: Charles, Pickett, Redding, Franklin, and Sam and Dave.

Mr. Wexler produced 16 albums and numerous hit singles for Franklin, who switched to Atlantic in the mid-1960s and rediscovered her gospel roots after several unhappy years singing show tunes for Columbia. In 1967, Mr. Wexler and Ertegun sold Atlantic to Warner Bros. for $17.5 million. Although they stayed on to run the company, the pair began moving in different directions.

Mr. Wexler began working with a collection of Southern musicians in the 1970s, including guitarist Duane Allman, Dr. John, and Delaney & Bonnie.

In the 1980s, Mr. Wexler worked with Dire Straits, Carlos Santana, and George Michael.