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Ahmet Ertegun's LegacyThe Atlantic Records founder in his own words.

Posted Friday, Dec. 15, 2006, at 1:26 PM ET

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AE: The main thing is that Ataturk saw the desperate condition of the countries that had not had an industrial revolution. Ataturk saw where history was going. He really did in Turkey what we are all hoping somebody will do in [Islamic] countries where fundamentalists thrive, that they get somebody today that has the vision that Ataturk had in 1915.

Slate: Ataturk died in 1936 from cirrhosis of the liver.

AE: He drank a lot.

Slate: Ironic that he was defeated by an addiction that is forbidden in Islam. Did your father or people try to intervene?

AE: I'm sure that a lot of people advised him on that. But you know when people have something they like to do, it's impossible. Look, I used to drink a bottle of vodka a day, every day, for about 40 years and it never occurred to me it'd kill me. If I'd have continued it might have killed me. My doctor said I should stick to wine.

Slate: How do you feel about the U.S.-led Iraq war?

AE: First I was upset because the [Turkish government] wouldn't let the Americans go through the Turkish border with Iraq. That really kind of destroyed a bridge that my father created between Turkey and the U.S. I saw Rumsfeld a few days after that happened, and Donald said, "What happened, Ahmet, where are our friends?" I said, "Look, I think they voted against it to make [Turkey's Prime Minister Tayib] Erdogan look bad. It was purely a local political thing." Anyway, it turned out to be probably better. If Turkish troops had gone in with the Kurds there, God knows what would have happened. There could have been mayhem with two sets of allies fighting each other. Because there's been so much bad blood between the Kurds and the Turks.

Slate: Who is the one artist you wish you had signed?

AE: [laughs] Everybody who didn't make a record for me. Well, I came close to signing Elvis Presley. I offered $25,000 for his contract and they asked for $45,000 and I just didn't have the other $20,000. I should have gotten the Beatles. But one of my lawyers kind of messed up.

Slate: That's quite a big mess-up.

AE: [sighs] It was a big mess-up. However, it was the same lawyer who later got me all the rights to Woodstock six months before it happened. After I sold my company to Warners, one of the things they got was the movie rights to Woodstock, which was a huge feature film.

Slate: Who are the great talents in music today?

AE: There are still many great surviving talents: Stevie Winwood. Another great talent is Stevie Wonder. Another one is Eric Clapton. Another one is Phil Collins. Eminem, Kanye West I like all those people. … But I enjoy all the artists of Atlantic because they are the best! [laughs]