Phil Spector

Harvey Phillip "Phil" Spector (born December 26, 1940) is a highly influential record producer who turned out some of the best-known popular music of the 1960s and 1970s. The originator of the "Wall of Sound" production technique, Spector first rose to prominence as one of the masterminds behind the 1960's girl group sound. Later in his career he worked with more varied artists, including The Beatles and The Ramones. In 2003 Spector returned to public awareness when he was indicted for murder.

The Wall of Sound

Spector's trademark during that era was the so-called Wall of Sound, a production technique yielding a dense, layered effect that was very effective and dramatic, and carried especially well on AM radio and jukeboxes. To attain this signature sound, Spector gathered large groups of musicians (playing some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars) playing orchestrated parts — often using many instruments playing in unison — for a fuller sound. Dozens of musicians and instruments would be jammed into Spector's tiny Gold Star studio, with the sound reverberating off the walls adding to the effect.

Related Topics:
Wall of Sound - AM radio - Jukebox - Electric - Acoustic guitars - Unison

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While Spector directed the overall sound of his recordings, he took a relatively hands-off approach to working with the musicians themselves (usually a core group that became known as The Wrecking Crew, including session players such as Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye and future stars such as Mac Rebbennack, Glenn Campbell and Leon Russel), delegating arrangement duties to Jack Nitzsche and having Sonny Bono oversee the performances, viewing these two as his 'lieutenants'.

Related Topics:
The Wrecking Crew - Hal Blaine - Carol Kaye - Mac Rebbennack - Glenn Campbell - Leon Russel - Jack Nitzsche - Sonny Bono

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Spector was already known as a temperamental and quirky personality with strong, often unconventional ideas about musical and recording techniques. Despite the trend towards multi-channel recording, Spector was also vehemently opposed to stereo releases, claiming that it took control of the record's sound away from the producer in favor of the listener. Spector also greatly preferred singles to albums, describing LPs as "two hits and ten pieces of junk".

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After a string of girl-group hits through the early- and mid-1960s, Spector produced "You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin" for the Righteous Brothers in late 1964; the record was a huge success and marked the pinnacle of the Wall of Sound production technique. Spector then became embroiled in record-company wrangles, fighting Lester Sill for control of Philles Records and managing his own Phil Spector Records (under contractual agreement with Sill, this label only issued singles recorded by Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett of the Ronettes). Amidst these conflicts and reports of increasingly eccentric behavior, Spector produced "River Deep - Mountain High" for Ike and Tina Turner in 1966, a recording he considered his best work. A hit in the UK, the song failed to catch on in the US, and Spector announced a self-described "retirement" at age 25. Already something of a recluse, Spector withdrew almost entirely from the public eye, marrying Ronnie Bennett in 1968 and emerging briefly for a cameo as a drug dealer in the film Easy Rider (1969).

Related Topics:
The Righteous Brothers - Philles Records - Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett - Ronettes - River Deep - Mountain High - Ike and Tina Turner - 1966 - Easy Rider - 1969

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