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Quick Facts
- NAME: Phil Spector
- OCCUPATION: Murderer, Musician
- BIRTH DATE: December 26, 1940 (Age: 72)
- EDUCATION: Fairfax High School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, New York
- Full Name: Harvey Philip Spector
- AKA: Philip Spector
- AKA: Phil Spector
- ZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn
Best Known For
Phil Spector is best known for writing several No. 1 hit songs, and for being convicted of the murder of Lana Clarkson.
Videos see all videos
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Phil Spector - Family Issues (2:11)
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Phil Spector - Murder Charges
In 2009, Phil Spector was convicted of the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, and received a 19-year prison sentence.
Phil Spector - Family Issues
Phil Spector's many personal issues had taken a large toll on his then wife, Ronnie Spector, and their three children.
Phil Spector - Working with the Beatles
After his career had taken a downturn, Phil Spector got the chance to produce the Beatles final album, "Let It Be" and turned his career around.
Phil Spector - Sonny Bono's Boss
Sonny Bono got his start in the music industry as Phil Spector's right hand man in the studio.
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Play NowPhil Spector. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:59, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973.
Phil Spector. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Phil Spector." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 09:59 http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973.
"Phil Spector," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Phil Spector," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Phil Spector [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973.
Phil Spector, http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Phil Spector. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/phil-spector-9489973. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Phil Spector was born in New York City on December 26, 1940. Spector got his first hit song while still in high school with a group called The Teddy Bears. Spector went on to write and produce multiple number one songs in the US and UK, also developing the "Wall of Sound" technique. In 2009, Spector was convicted of the murder of Lana Clarkson, and received a 19-year prison sentence.
Contents
Quotes
"The gun went off accidentally."
Early Career
Phil Spector was born Harvey Philip Spector on December 26, 1940, in New York City. When Spector was 9 years old, his father committed suicide. His grieving family moved to Los Angeles in 1953.
Spector attended Fairfax High School, where he learned how to play the guitar and started writing songs. During his time at Fairfax, he met fellow students Marshall Leib, Harvey Goldstein and Annette Kleinbard. Together they formed the music group The Teddy Bears, and had a No.1 hit in the United States and the United Kingdom with "To Know Him Is To Love Him." The title of the song was taken from the inscription on Spector's father's grave.
The Teddy Bears seemed destined for fame, but their next single, "I Don't Need You Anymore" only reached No. 91 on the charts. Proceeding singles proved to be even less successful, and the band split up in 1959.
After the group went their separate ways, Spector drifted around a little, then returned to Los Angeles and re-entered the record business to concentrate on producing.
Commercial Success
With the help of independent producers, Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood, Spector went to New York and worked with hit-makers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He became a staff producer for Dune Records, where he produced a string of hits and became an industry sensation. In 1961, Spector and Still formed their own label, Philles Records. The partners signed on the group The Crystals, whose first single, "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" made it to No. 20 on the Billboard chart. Their next release, "Uptown," hit No. 13.
By the age of 21, Spector was a millionaire who was responsible for producing 20 consecutive smash hits. During this time, he started to work on his "Wall of Sound" technique in earnest. The "Wall" approach to production involved a process of overdubbing scores of musicians to make a full sound. The effect created a "roar," which Spector described as the "Wagnerian approach to rock 'n' roll." This style served to make Spector even more famous in the music industry, and many iconic artists would begin imitating this technique in future years, including The Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen.
Seclusion
But life wasn't unfolding exactly as Spector had hoped. In 1966, he produced Ike and Tina Turner's single "River Deep, Mountain High." Spector considered it his greatest production to date. While it placed at No. 3 on the U.K. pop charts, it peaked at No. 88 in the U.S. Embittered, Spector went into seclusion for two years, during which time there were reports of strange, near-psychotic behavior. He did very little for the rest of the '60s.
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Fatally Famous
View groupIt's not just crazy loners who commit heinous crimes; many times, it's stars who are the most brazen killers, believing their notoriety and fortunes will get them off the hook for their violent behavior. Producer Phil Spector was one of the biggest names in the music industry in the 1960s before he was found guilty for murdering actress Lana Clarkson. O.J. Simpson was a star running-back before he stood trial for the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. Follow the rise and fall of these individuals and many more, who were famous—long before they became infamous.
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View groupThe Chaplin. The Fu Manchu. The Van Dyke. The Garlbaldi. These beards, and other creative variations on chin whiskers, have become such a striking reflection of their wearers' personalities that it becomes hard to know whether the people made the facial hair famous, or the other way around. We do know this much is certain: the only rivals to these fabulous beards are the men sporting them.
Fantastic Facial Hair 70 people in this group
