© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Arif Mardin, a Smooth Music Visionary

Arif Mardin poses backstage at the Grammy Awards in 2003, when he won the award for producer of the year, non-classical, one of his 12 Grammys.
Mark Mainz
/
Getty Images
Arif Mardin poses backstage at the Grammy Awards in 2003, when he won the award for producer of the year, non-classical, one of his 12 Grammys.

The legendary music producer Arif Mardin, has died. In a long and varied career, Mardin worked with performers ranging from Aretha Franklin to the Bee Gees, and from Chaka Khan to Norah Jones.

In a fickle business where hits and hit-makers come and go like the seasons, Arif Mardin was a rarity: a music producer who kept churning out chart-topping songs for more than four decades.

Mardin's streak began in 1966 with his first hit, "Good Lovin'" by the Rascals.

Born in Turkey, Mardin came to the United States to study music. With Atlantic Records and later EMI, his career was distinguished for its longevity, variety and its success -- even in his later years.

Mardin died Sunday. He was suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.