Van Dedicates Song To Ahmet Ertegun

At last Friday night's show in Glasgow, when Van and his band were finishing "Gloria", usually the last song of the show, Van called out for Ray Charles' classic "What I'd Say" and dedicated the song to Ahmet Ertegun who had died earlier in the day.

Ahmet Ertegun 1923-2006

"When I first heard Ray Charles, he was a flop artist on a small label in California," Ertegun said on NPR's Morning Edition in 2005. "He hadn't sold any records. And I bought his contract for $2,500."

By 1959, Charles had topped the charts with "What'd I Say," and a major label, ABC-Paramount, came calling with a deal he could not refuse.