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Harvey Phillip Spector, Phil Spector, (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939 - January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterized for its diffusion of tone colors and dense orchestral sound, which he described as a "Wagnerian" approach to rock and roll. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in pop music history and one of the most successful producers of the 1960s.
Born in the Bronx, Spector moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and began his career in 1958 as a founding member of the Teddy Bears, for whom he penned "To Know Him Is to Love Him", a U.S. number-one hit. In 1960, after working as an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller, Spector co-founded Philles Records, and at the age of 21 became the youngest ever U.S. label owner to that point. Dubbed the "First Tycoon of Teen", Spector became considered the first auteur of the music industry for the unprecedented control he had over every phase of the recording process. He produced acts such as the Ronettes, the Crystals, and Ike & Tina Turner, and typically collaborated with arranger Jack Nitzsche and engineer Larry Levine. The musicians from his de facto house band, later known as "the Wrecking Crew", rose to industry fame through his hit records.
In the early 1970s, Spector produced the Beatles' Let It Be and several solo records by John Lennon and George Harrison. By the mid-1970s, Spector had produced eighteen U.S. Top 10 singles for various artists. His chart-toppers included the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road", and Harrison's "My Sweet Lord". Following one-off productions for Leonard Cohen (Death of a Ladies' Man), Dion DiMucci (Born to Be with You), and the Ramones (End of the Century), Spector remained largely inactive amid a lifestyle of seclusion, drug use, and increasingly erratic behavior.
On February 3, 2003, Spector shot actress Lana Clarkson in the mouth while in his mansion (the Pyrenees Castle) in Alhambra, California. Her body was found slumped in a chair with a single gunshot wound to her mouth. Spector told Esquire in July 2003 that Clarkson's death was an "accidental suicide" and that she "kissed the gun". The emergency call from Spector's home, made by Spector's driver, Adriano de Souza, quotes Spector as saying, "I think I killed somebody." De Souza added that he saw Spector come out of the back door of the house with a gun in his hand.
Spector remained free on $1 million bail while awaiting trial.
The retrial of Spector for murder in the second degree began on October 20, 2008, with Judge Fidler again presiding; the retrial was not televised. Spector was once again represented by attorney Jennifer Lee Barringer. The case went to the jury on March 26, 2009, and 18 days later, on April 13, the jury returned a guilty verdict. Additionally, Spector was found guilty of using a firearm in the commission of a crime, which added four years to the sentence. He was immediately taken into custody and, on May 29, 2009, was sentenced to 19 years to life in the California state prison system. Various attempted appeals were unsuccessful, in 2011, 2012, and 2016.
Spector died in an outside hospital on January 16 at the age of 81, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He would have been eligible for parole in 2024.