Remembering Phil Q
• Legendary record industry executive Phil Quartararo, affectionately known and loved as “Phil Q,” died Wednesday morning, Nov. 22, at the age of 67 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, according to Billboard. Over the course of his five-decade career, Brooklyn native Quartararo helped break an untold number of artists during executive stints at Island Records, Virgin Records, Charisma Records, EMI Music Distribution, and Rhythm Nation Records, to name a few
As chronicled in Variety, Quartararo began his label career in 1977 in the promotion department of A&M Records. Over the ensuing decade he worked his way up through the ranks at RCA Records to become VP of Promotion at Island Records, where he was instrumental in helping to break U2 to mainstream radio. In 1986, Richard Branson hired Quartararo to help launch Virgin Records America, where his efforts resulted in the Spice Girls becoming global superstars. In 1997, Quartararo left Virgin to become President of Warner Bros. Records, a post he retained until 2002. Quartararo later served as President of EMI Music’s distribution wing, a consultant for Shazam, and from 2016-2019 was President of Janet Jackson‘s Rhythm Nation Records. In 2019 Quartararo joined The Hello Group as President & Chairman, a post he retained until his passing.
Paula Abdul, one of the many artists whose careers were boosted by Quartararo’s talents, issued a statement that reads: “Phil believed in me like no other. His ceaseless support for me during my time at Virgin was unparalleled. I will miss him.”
Bob Catania, Partner in What’s In-Store Music, shares a long history with Phil Q — they initially worked together at RCA, again at Island (where Catania served as VP of Rock Promotion under Quartararo, and later, as Head of Promotion), and ultimately at Charisma Records, where Phil was President and Catania ran promotion. In a Facebook post, Catania said of Quartararo, “His accomplishments are legendary but what I remember most was his kindness to everyone; that he was an incredible Dad to his kids; and always was the light in any room he was in. We saw each other a few times this year and he was so happy with his new ventures and how well his children were doing, and loved his Joanne. I can’t believe my friend of over 40 years is gone… to have just one more lunch… RIP Phil… I loved you and will miss you so much.”
Promo pro John Boulos, who is godfather to Phil’s son, Danielle (Phil was godfather to Boulos’ daughter, Kimberly), said, simply, “I am heartbroken. I lost my best friend in the world. My brother.”
Quartararo is also survived by his stepson Brandon, and his other sons, Philip and Luca.
