Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Life of Phil Spector

Harvey Phillip Spector (December26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer,musician, and songwriter who is best known for his innovativerecording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followeddecades later by his two trials and conviction for murder in the2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style thathe described as a Wagnerian approach to rock and roll. He is regardedas one of the most influential figures in pop music history and oneof the most successful producers of the 1960s.

Born in the Bronx, Spector moved to LosAngeles as a teenager and began his career in 1958 as a foundingmember of the Teddy Bears, for whom he penned "To Know Him Isto Love Him", a U.S. number-one hit. In 1960, after workingas an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller, Spector co-founded PhillesRecords, and at the age of 21 became the youngest ever U.S. labelowner to that point. Dubbed the "First Tycoon of Teen",Spector became considered the first auteur of the music industry forthe unprecedented control he had over every phase of the recordingprocess. He produced acts such as the Ronettes, the Crystals, andIke & Tina Turner, and typically collaborated with arranger JackNitzsche and engineer Larry Levine. The musicians from his de factohouse band, later known as "the Wrecking Crew", roseto industry fame through his hit records.

In the early 1970s, Spector producedthe Beatles' Let It Be and several solo records by John Lennon andGeorge Harrison. By the mid-1970s, Spector had produced eighteen U.S.Top 10 singles for various artists. His chart-toppers included theRighteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'",the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road", andHarrison's "My Sweet Lord". Following one-offproductions for Leonard Cohen (Death of a Ladies' Man), Dion DiMucci(Born to Be with You), and the Ramones (End of the Century), Spectorremained largely inactive amid a lifestyle of seclusion, drug use,and increasingly erratic behavior.

Spector helped establish the role ofthe studio as an instrument, the integration of pop art aestheticsinto music (art pop), and the genres of art rock and dream pop. Hishonors include the 1973 Grammy Award for Album of the Year forco-producing Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh, a 1989 induction intothe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a 1997 induction into theSongwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, Spector was ranked number 63 onRolling Stone's list of the greatest artists in history. In 2009,after spending three decades in semi-retirement, he was convicted forthe 2003 murder of the actress Lana Clarkson and sentenced to 19years to life in prison. He died in prison in 2021.

Biography

1939–1959: Background and theTeddy Bears

Harvey Phillip Spector was born onDecember 26, 1939, to Benjamin and Bertha Spector, a first-generationimmigrant Jewish family in the Bronx, New York City. Benjamin'sfather arrived in the United States from Russian Empire in 1913; heanglicized his last name from 'Spektor' to 'Spector' in1927 on his naturalization papers. Bertha's father had alsoanglicized his name to George Spector when completing hisnaturalization papers in 1923, and the papers of both men werewitnessed by the same person, an Isidore Spector. The similaritiesin name and background of the grandfathers have led to speculation bySpector that his parents were first cousins.

In April 1949, Spector's fathercommitted suicide; on his gravestone were inscribed the words "BenSpector. Father. Husband. To Know Him Was To Love Him". In1953, Spector's mother moved the family to Los Angeles where shefound work as a seamstress. Spector attended John Burroughs JuniorHigh School (now John Burroughs Middle School) on Wilshire Boulevard,then in 1954 transferred to Fairfax High School. Having learned toplay guitar, Spector performed "Rock Island Line" ina talent show at Fairfax High. Also at Fairfax, he joined aloose-knit community of aspiring musicians, including Lou Adler,Bruce Johnston, Steve Douglas, and Sandy Nelson. Spector formed agroup, the Teddy Bears, with Nelson and two other friends, MarshallLeib and Annette Kleinbard.