Led Zeppelin, Clapton, Jagger to honour Ertegun in New York city

Friends and fans of the late Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun will gather in New York City on Tuesday, April 17th, to honor his life and legacy. Artists including Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones, Stevie Nicks, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young will be at Lincoln Center for an invitation-only event that will include performances and speeches.

According to Reuters, Bette Midler will serve as the evening's host, and Jagger only plans to speak at the memorial, but performances will come from Nicks, Collins, Clapton -- with Dr. John -- CSNY, Solomon Burke, Kid Rock & Sam Moore, Ben E. King, Wynton Marsalis, and the Manhattan Transfer.

Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers is also in New York to pay tribute to Ertegun, and he told us that if it wasn't for Ertegan, we might never had heard him sing: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "Ahmet Ertegun, who was an amazing mentor and an amazing person, brought so much wonderful music to the general public -- you know, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, and on and on. People he discovered and signed up, and who really had a huge part in shaping my career, you know, my style, if you like. Yeah, that music actually saved my life, really, in many respects."

The Atlantic Records founder died in December at age 83 after falling on his head backstage at a Rolling Stones concert in October.
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