TOM DOWD receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. On October 27th, he passes away from emphysema in Florida.

BONHAM, for their first full-length performance since 1980. Also paying homage to the late Atlantic founder are FOREIGNER, PAUL RODGERS, BILL WYMAN, KEITH EMERSON, CHRIS SQUIRE, ALAN WHITE, SIMON KIRKE, MAGGIE BELL, and Scottish singer/songwriter PAOLO NUTINI.

JAY-Z releases The Blueprint 3 via his own Roc Nation with distribution from Asylum Records and Atlantic Records. The album enters the Billboard 200 at #1 - the superstar's eleventh US #1 album, breaking the record he had previously shared with ELVIS PRESLEY.

The 40th Montreux Jazz Festival is highlighted by two special concerts celebrating Atlantic Records. Among the artists paying tribute to AHMET and NESUHI ERTEGUN are ROBERT PLANT, BEN E. KING, SOLOMON BURKE, STEVE WINWOOD, KID ROCK, STEVIE NICKS, CHIC, CHAKA KHAN, LES MCCANN, ORNETTE COLEMAN, STANLEY CLARKE, GEORGE DUKE, and new Atlantic signing PAOLO NUTINI. NUTINI was the final artist signed by AHMET.

Atlantic wraps up its 60th Anniversary in grand style as the #1 label in the music industry for 2008, with the biggest market share of any label by a wide margin.The company makes industry history by becoming the first label to earn more than half of its total music sales in the U.S. from digital releases.

In May, PBS television premieres the American Masters documentary The House That Ahmet Built and Atlantic releases Atlantic 60th Anniversary: R&B Classics Chosen By Ahmet Ertegun, featuring tracks personally selected by Ahmet prior to his passing.

FLO RIDA's 'Right Round (Feat. KESHA)' proves the rapper's second #1 single, remaining atop Billboard's 'Hot 100' for six consecutive weeks while breaking the record for first week sales - an achievement it held for more than six years. The 7x platinum track stands as one of the best-selling singles of the digital era with over 12 million certified sales to date...

Atlantic Records parent company Warner Music Group is sold by AOL Time Warner to a group of private investors led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr., becoming a stand-alone music company. Atlantic is merged with the venerable Elektra Records, creating the new Atlantic Records Group.

In a single week in April, the Atlantic Records Group scores four out of the top ten albums in the country (DAY 26, PANIC AT THE DISCO, DANITY KANE, FLO RIDA), including - for the first time in 25 years - three out of the top five

Canvasback Music inks worldwide partnership with Atlantic, its roster eventually growing to include such diverse modern artists as GROUPLOVE, alt-J, FRIGHTENED RABBIT, BRISTON MARONEY, and others…

AHMET ERTEGUN is named a 'Living Legend' by the Library of Congress, one of only 78 Americans chosen for this prestigious honor.

Producer JIMMY IOVINE founds Interscope Records in partnership with Atlantic. The label's first release is GERARDO's 1991 hit, "Rico Suave," followed by albums from 2PAC, PRIMUS, NO DOUBT, and MARKY MARK & THE FUNKY BUNCH.

1991 Atlantic acquires Big Beat Records, the independent dance label founded by DJ/producer CRAIG KALLMAN. A passionate music fan, record collector, and forward-thinking entrepreneur, KALLMAN moves up the company's ranks and is eventually named Atlantic Records Chairman and CEO.

Controversy surrounding Interscope Records' relationship with influential gangsta rap label Death Row Records leads to Atlantic parent company Time Warner selling off the label's 50% stake in Interscope.

AHMET ERTEGUN joins forces with a number of fellow music industry giants to found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, established on April 20th.

Discussions with RUTH BROWN prompt AHMET ERTEGUN and ATLANTIC to donate the seed money, $1.5 million, to establish the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted the historical and cultural preservation of R&B music. More significantly, the Foundation provides financial support, medical assistance, and educational outreach to support R&B artists from the 1940s through the 1970s.

The Erteguns' New York: New York Cabaret Music is released, compiling the music of cabaret singers and musicians recorded by AHMET and NESUHI ERTEGUN during Atlantic's first four decades. Among the nightclub legends included are BOBBY SHORT, MEL TORME, MABEL MERCER, CARMEN McRAE, and BARBARA CARROLL.

On July 15th, industry icon NESUHI ERTEGUN passes away in New York City.

Atlantic Records celebrates its 40th anniversary with an all-star concert at New York's Madison Square Garden on May 13th. Among the artists performing are a reunited LED ZEPPELIN, GENESIS, FOREIGNER, YES, THE RASCALS, THE SPINNERS, CROSBY, STILLS & NASH, ROBERTA FLACK, WILSON PICKETT, BEE GEES, and RUTH BROWN.

Manager DAVID GEFFEN brings singer/songwriter JACKSON BROWNE to AHMET, who tells him, 'If he's so good, start your own label.' GEFFEN agrees and founds Asylum Records, with Atlantic handling manufacturing and distribution.