Spector, Phil (1939-2021), was an influential American rock music producer. He produced songs by some of the greatest rock artists of the 1960’s and 1970’s. These included the American “girl groups” the Crystals and the Ronettes, the American singing duo the Righteous Brothers, and the British group the Beatles . Spector became famous for what he called his “wall of sound” production technique, which consisted of blended recordings of multiple guitars, drums, and other instruments behind the group’s vocals. He won a Grammy Award in 1972 for producing the album The Concert for Bangladesh by the former Beatle George Harrison .
Harvey Phillip Spector was born on Dec. 26, 1939, in the Bronx borough of New York City. At age 12, after his father died, Spector moved with his mother to Los Angeles. He learned to play guitar and piano while in high school and played with local jazz combos as a teenager. In 1958, with his friends Marshall Leib and Annette Kleinbard, Spector formed a group called the Teddy Bears. The trio had a top-10 hit in the United States and the United Kingdom with their first release, “To Know Him Is to Love Him,” written by Spector. In the early 1960’s Spector worked as a session musician and a songwriter. He co-wrote the song “Spanish Harlem” (1960) with Jerry Leiber, of the songwriting duo Leiber and Stoller. It became a hit for the singer Ben E. King. In the early 1960’s, Spector produced hits for such artists as Curtis Lee, the Paris Sisters, and Gene Pitney.
In 1961, Spector founded the record label Philles Records with producer Lester Sill. In 1962, Spector became sole owner of the company. The label produced a string of hits between 1961 and 1966, including “There’s No Other (Like My Baby),” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “He’s a Rebel,” and “Then He Kissed Me” by the Crystals; “Be My Baby,” “Baby, I Love You,” and “Walking in the Rain,” by the Ronettes; “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” “Unchained Melody,” and “Ebb Tide,” by the Righteous Brothers; and “River Deep – Mountain High,” by Ike and Tina Turner . The label ceased operations in 1967. In 1970, Spector produced the Beatles’ Let it Be. He later produced records for such artists as Cher and the Ramones .
Spector was married to Ronettes singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector) from 1968 to 1974. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Many of the performers Spector produced have also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2009, Spector was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for the shooting and murder in 2003 of Lana Clarkson, a struggling actress, at his mansion in a Los Angeles suburb. He died in prison on Jan. 16, 2021, from complications of the respiratory disease COVID-19 .
See also Rock music (Independent producers) .
