Bob Mercer RIP

NOW THAT’S WHAT WE CALL SAD

On the eve of the funeral of Peter Lopez, tragedy struck the music business once again on Wednesday with the passing of label veteran Bob Mercer, beloved by artists and fellow label staffers alike. Wrote Bruce Resnikoff, who worked with Bob at UMe: “It is with great sadness that I tell you that our good friend and former co-worker Bob Mercer passed away earlier today, with his wife Margie and son Jackson at his side. Bob had recently been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and had been hospitalized for the past week or two. As those of you who knew Bob would imagine, he fought until the end with the same spirit, passion and courage that he always exhibited. Bob was a big part of the team that created UMe when Universal and PolyGram merged in 1999. He created and led our UTV Records label and for the past few years had been the leader of the partnership that creates and releases the Now branded records. More than that, over the past 40+ years, he was also one of the most vibrant and charismatic people the music industry has ever seen. He was truly one of a kind and will be sorely missed.” (5/6a)