Mardin has dealt with the technical innovations that have taken us from vinyl LPs to metallic CDs and he's shepherded hit-makers as diverse as Aretha Franklin, The Bee Gees, The Young Rascals, Howard Jones, Chaka Khan and Average White Band. As a producer, his signature work is with divas such as Better Midler, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Jewel and the aforementioned Franklin. No matter the talent, tools or the tastes of the day, though, Mardin thinks he knows what any artist needs in order to be great. The song will always be important.
People like to talk about the good old days.
Mardin is senior vice president and producer at Atlantic Records and was tapped to receive this year's Ertegun Impact Award at the Boston Music Awards on Thursday and be the keynote speaker at the NEMO Music Showcase and Conference on Friday. The award, established last year and named after Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, recognizes outstanding service and dedication to the art of making music. Mardin said he was pleased to get the nod because it gets him back to the city he first came to after leaving his native Turkey to attend Berklee College of Music in 1958. And it's an honor to be associated with the name Ertegun. It's also the first of two awards Mardin is set to receive this spring.