Jerry Wexler, who as an editor, reporter and writer for Billboard Magazine coined the term “rhythm and blues,” died at his home in Sarasota, Florida. He was 91. The cause of the death was congenital heart failure, according to his son, Paul.

He made his debut in the music industry at Billboard Magazine, where he helped change the name of the black-music charts from “Race Records” to “Rhythm & Blues.”

Gerald “Jerry” Wexler was regarded as one of the key figures who “played major role in bringing black music to the masses, and in evolution of rhythm and blues to soul music,” as Jim Henke, vice president and chief curator for the Hall of Fame, said in an interview with Chicago Tribune.

He helped guide the careers of many artists ranging from LaVern Baker, Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, Solomon burke and the Drifters to Dr. John, Dire Straits, Dusty Springfield, Bob Dylan, and country star Willie Nelson.

“Jerry brought a rare combination of creativity, intelligence, wit, artistic sensibility and business savvy to the evolution of Atlantic from a small independent label into a major industry force,” Atlantic Records said in a statement.

In 1975 Wexler left Atlantic Records for Warner Bros. Records, where he helped bring Dire Straits and B-52’s to that label. Wexler’s efforts at Atlantic helped bring black music to the masses. His efforts built a significant bridge between the races. For him, music was a universal language.

In 1987 Wexler was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He retired from the music business in the 1990s.

Tom Thurman, who produced and directed a documentary about Mr. Wexler in 2000, portrayed Wexler as a “bundle of contradictions,” he knew how to combine business with creativity.