Phil Spector biography

Synopsis

Early Career

Producer, songwriter. Born Harvey Philip Spector on December 26, 1940 in New York City. When Spector was nine years old, his father committed suicide. The grieving family moved to Los Angeles in 1953.

In his teens, Spector attended Fairfax High School, where he learned the guitar and started to write 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 U.S. and U.K. 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 even less successful, and and the band split up in 1959.

After the group went their separate ways, Spector drifted around a little, then returned to L.A. 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.

Collaboration with The Beatles

In 1969, Spector returned to work after he was asked to produce George Harrison and John Lennon's solo albums. After successful results, he was asked to turn a series of The Beatles' recording sessions into a marketable album. The resulting work, Let It Be, topped both the U.S. and U.K. charts, and yielded the No. 1 single, "The Long and Winding Road." For the next several years, Spector continued to produce successful solo albums for Lennon and Harrison. But as the 70s progressed, Spector's behavior vacillated between bizarre and reclusive. After several months of tension between Spector and several members of The Beatles, the two parted company.

In spite of his bizarre behavior, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. He went on to write and produce music until 2003, when he was arrested in connection with the shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. After a panicked 9-1-1 call from Spector's driver, police discovered Clarkson's body at the producer's mansion in Alhambra, California. On November 20, 2003, Spector was indicted for Clarkson's murder.

Conviction for Murder

A year later, Spector was ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles. During the proceedings, Spector would arrive at court wearing various wigs which became a hot topic on internet blogs. The case itself came to a head on September 26, 2007, but jurors could not reach a definite verdict. The murder case was declared a mistrial. Proceedings for a murder retrial began in October of 2008 and Spector was found guilty of second-degree murder in 2009. He was sentenced to 19 years in North Kern State Prison in California. During his incarceration, Spector will not be allowed to wear any type of wig.

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