Phil Spector

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phil Spector (2000)

Harvey Phillip "Phil" Spector (born December 26, 1939 in New York City , † January 16, 2021 in French Camp , California ) was an American music producer .

He became famous in the early 1960s for the particularly full sound (" Wall of Sound ") of the songs he produced. He was the first to underlay songs with intensive background instrumentation , for example with several drums with reverb effects and strong background music for choir and orchestra. This technique was subsequently adapted by numerous musicians.

As of 2009, Spector was in custody; manslaughter, he was in a prison sentence convicted of at least 19 years.

Career

Spector was born into a lower-middle-class Jewish family in the Bronx , New York . He began his career in the music business as a songwriter , guitarist and singer in the trio he founded The Teddy Bears , which had the hit To Know Him Is to Love Him in 1958 - Spector can be heard in the background. He took the title of the song from the text on his father's tombstone. The great success opened doors for him, and within a few years he rose to become a wealthy, albeit eccentric record producer, whose ideas had a decisive influence on pop music for a number of years and gave many musicians impulses that can be recognized in countless productions.

In the recording studio, Spector developed into a master of his craft, working with artists such as the Ronettes , Crystals , The Righteous Brothers , Beatles , George Harrison , John Lennon and the Ramones , among others . Together with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, he wrote some of the popular classics that are still very popular today. The songs River Deep - Mountain High (original performers Ike & Tina Turner ) and Be My Baby (original by the Ronettes) were penned by this trio. Also known was the version of the classic Unchained Melody, edited by Spector, in the version with the Righteous Brothers, with whom he produced many other hits, such as You've Lost That Lovin 'Feelin' . Spector also played guitar and bass when recording the Rolling Stones' song Play With Fire .

In the mid-1960s things had calmed down a bit for Spector. In 1967 he played a record producer in an episode of the television series Charming Jeannie and in 1969 in the feature film Easy Rider a small supporting role as a drug dealer.

In 1970 he experienced a musical comeback when Allen Klein , the manager of the Beatles, commissioned the editing of the album Let It Be . However, between John Lennon and Paul McCartney , there was clear disagreement about Spector's approach; while Lennon appreciated this, McCartney declined the intensive use of strings and background singers. Between 1970 and 1972, Spector recorded several solo albums by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and George Harrison, including Imagine and All Things Must Pass . In 1971 he was also responsible for the concert album Concert for Bangladesh and the single Try Some, Buy Some by his then wife Ronnie Spector (written by George Harrison). Harrison's song My Sweet Lord , which Spector worked on with him, was later ruled plagiarism by a court. Since then, he has been accused time and again that he, the similarity with the song He's So Fine by The Chiffons should have noticed.

Other notable productions in the following years were Dion's album Born to Be with You (1975), Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies' Man from 1977 (with Spector falling out with the singer-songwriter and finally delivering an album completely designed according to his own ideas) and the Ramones album End of the Century (released January 1980). In 1981 he produced Yoko Ono's album Season of Glass . In 1989, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his special achievements . The Rolling Stone listed Spector 64th of the 100 greatest musicians of all time .

Private life and death

Phil Spector in a police photo (2009)

Spector often made headlines with negative incidents from the 1970s onwards. His wife Ronnie (former member of the Ronettes ) filed for divorce in 1972 on the grounds that Spector had frequently abused and mentally tortured her.

On February 3, 2003, Spector's chauffeur called the police to his home in Alhambra , California , where actress Lana Clarkson was shot in the mouth by a revolver. Spector spoke of an "accidental suicide" when Clarkson "kissed the gun". The chauffeur had quoted Spector on his emergency call with the words: "I think I killed someone". Spector was initially released on $ 1 million bail.

The first main hearing from March 2007 ended without result in September; only ten of the twelve jurors voted for a conviction. In October 2008 proceedings began with a new jury; the main hearing took place in March 2009. Five women were heard as witnesses who testified that they had been threatened with a firearm by Spector up to 30 years earlier. In April 2009, the jury Spector was the homicide ( second-degree murder ) guilty. He was arrested and given a sentence of 19 years to life in prison in May 2009.

In June 2009, Spector was transferred to the Drug Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison (SATF-CSP) in Corcoran . He was housed there on a ward for prisoners who were considered endangered (for example because of their prominence). Spector's appeal was dismissed in May 2011; his appeal against this decision failed in August 2011 before the California Supreme Court.

Phil Spector died in January 2021 at the age of 81 in the San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp, where he had been transferred after contracting COVID-19 .

Discography (excerpt)

An excerpt of the albums in which Phil Spector was involved as (co-) producer, musician or composer:

Biographical film

In 2013 the HBO- produced film The Phil Spector Case by David Mamet was released about the above. Process. Spector was played by Al Pacino , other actors were Helen Mirren , Jeffrey Tambor and Chiwetel Ejiofor .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Phil Spector birth certificate in: Christie's December 17, 2004, accessed May 3, 2011
  2. ^ The prosecution calls Phil Spector a "diabolical madman". Spiegel Online, accessed April 24, 2009 .
  3. ↑ www.fernsehserien.de .
  4. ↑ 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone , December 2, 2010, accessed August 8, 2017 .
  5. ↑ CDCR # G63408 http://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/search.aspx
  6. ↑ Phil Spector moved to California prison. on: CNN.com
  7. ↑ Inventor of the "Wall of Sound" convicted of murder in: Tages-Anzeiger from May 3, 2011
  8. ↑ Judges confirm long imprisonment: Phil Spector fails again n-tv article from August 18, 2011
  9. ^ William Grimes: Phil Spector, the imprisoned music legend, spent his last days suffering with Covid. In: The New York Times . January 17, 2021, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  10. ^ "Phil Spector" by David Mamet. filmstarts.de, accessed on July 3, 2013 .
personal data
SURNAME Spector, Phil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Spector, Harvey Phillip (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American music producer
DATE OF BIRTH December 26, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 2021
Place of death French Camp , California