Phil Carson is an English former record label owner and London-based Senior Vice President of
Atlantic Records from 1968 to 1985. He is known for his association several rock bands, including Led Zeppelin,
Yes,
AC/DC, and
Twisted Sister
Twisted Sister was an American heavy metal band originally from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey, and later based on Long Island, New York. Their best-known songs include " We're Not Gonna Take It" and " I Wanna Rock", both of which were associated with ...
.
Born in London, he was playing bass guitar in a school band eventually being tapped to play bass for
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...
. Gravitating toward the business side of music, Carson started at Swedish record label Olga Records.
Nesuhi Ertegun
Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.
Early life
Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi ...
hired Carson to run Atlantic in the UK. He cites the Ertegun brothers as mentors, particularly Ahmet, eventually co-producing the Honey Drippers album with
Ahmet Ertegun.
Carson spent a great deal of time on the road with bands under his purview, most notably
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
. He is one of only a handful of people to have jammed onstage with them and the only person to appear onstage with both Led Zeppelin and
AC/DC. Carson’s deep connection to AC/DC can be underscored by the fact that he is the only record executive thanked by name on original pressings of “Back in Black” and “For Those About to Rock”.
After leaving Atlantic records, he started a management company with clients who have included
Jimmy Page,
Robert Plant,
Paul Rodgers,
Yes,
Motorhead,
Bonham, Asia,
Foreigner,
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...
,
Bad Company
Bad Company are an English rock supergroup that was formed in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Boz Burrell. Bad Company ''AllMusic'' Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, a ...
, and others. This is where Carson assembled
The Firm the super group featuring Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers.
Carson moved to the US in 1989 to run JVC’s Victory Music. He then headed up the music department at
The Shooting Gallery an independent film studio. Here Carson curated the soundtrack for some award-winning films.
Carson was also the responsible for the reformation of the progressive rock band
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
in 1991, which had been disbanded since 1979.
In the mid-1990s Carson retired but kept a few clients in his management roster including Foreigner and
Dee Snider.
References
English businesspeople
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
{{UK-music-bio-stub