Mr Ertegun helped shape American popular music

"He was a marvellous man, very witty, a great raconteur," he said.

"He will be fondly remembered by all who knew him... I will personally miss our warm and long friendship."

Mr Ertegun suffered a head injury when he fell at a Rolling Stones concert at New York's Beacon Theatre in October, and died after slipping into a coma.

'Revered and respected'

Mr Ertegun helped make Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin stars and signed the Rolling Stones in the early 70s.

The founder of Rolling Stone magazine, Jan Wenner, also paid tribute.

"Ahmet was perhaps the most revered, respected figure in American popular music of the modern era," he said.

Mr Ertegun will be buried in his native Turkey, and a memorial service will be held in New York in the New Year, an Atlantic Records spokesman said.

'Mentor'

Obituary: Ahmet Ertegun

Mr Ertegun, a jazz fanatic who came to the United States at the age of 11 when his father was named Turkish ambassador, founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson in 1947.

They quickly turned it into one of the leading independent jazz and rhythm and blues labels signing such names as Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington.

Successes came steadily including the signing of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s.

The label is now part of the Warner Music Group, and includes acts such as Kid Rock, James Blunt and Missy Elliott.