← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · weisbrot
Thread ID: 4769 | Posts: 5 | Started: 2003-02-03
2003-02-03 20:15 | User Profile
Famed producer fulfills potential, psychotically speaking...
[url=http://www.nbc4.tv/entertainment/1953208/detail.html]http://www.nbc4.tv/entertainment/1953208/detail.html[/url] Music Legend Arrested In Connection With Murder Investigation Ramones' Singer: Producer Pulled Gun On Band While Making Album
UPDATED: 11:58 a.m. PST February 3, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame producer Phil Spector, whose revolutionary techniques changed the sound of pop music in the 1960s, was booked for investigation of murder Monday in the shooting death of a woman at a hilltop mansion, deputies said.
Shortly after 5 a.m. Monday morning, Alhambra police officers responded to a call from the 1700 block of S. Grandview Drive (pictured, below) regarding a shooting, according to the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
When the officers arrived they discovered that a female had been shot inside the location, according to authorities. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Spector, 62, was arrested around 5 a.m. at the castle-like estate in this suburb about 15 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles, county sheriff's Sgt. Joe Efflandt said.
The legendary producer was taken to the Alhambra Police Department for questioning, deputies said. Several witnesses were also being questioned, deputies said.
Records indicate he owned the home where he was arrested.
Spector is famous for creating the "Wall of Sound" effect that involved overdubbing scores of musicians to create a full, dramatic sound. The technique combined a variety of instruments, vocals and sound effects and changed the way pop records were produced. It brought fame to singing groups like the Ronettes and the Crystals.
His session players, known as the "Wrecking Crew," included guitarist Glen Campbell, pianist Leon Russell, drummer Hal Blaine and the late Sonny Bono, who learned the producer's trade under Spector.
He produced a string of '60s hits, including the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and "Walking in the Rain," and Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "(Today I Met) the Boy I'm Gonna Marry."
Spector, who produced records for Elvis Presley, Ike and Tina Turner, the Righteous Brothers, the Crystals and Darlene Love, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.
Spector produced the last Beatles album "Let It Be" in 1970.
He later worked with John Lennon on "Imagine" and helped Yoko Ono produce Lennon's work after the singer was killed in 1980. He also helped George Harrison on "All Things Must Pass."
Spector would become reclusive and known for an eccentric lifestyle. He was alleged to have toted a gun and demonstrated some near-psychotic and abusive behavior, according to a 1995 biography by Rolling Stone magazine.
"It had to stop," Spector said of his behavior in a 1977 Los Angeles Times interview. "Being the rich millionaire in the mansion and then dressing up as Batman. I have to admit I did enjoy it to a certain extent. But I began to realize it was very unhealthy."
Spector's second wife was Ronnie Bennett, lead singer of the girl group the Ronettes. They divorced in 1974. He has five children from his marriages.
Spector's last major album was "End of the Century," a 1980 collaboration with the Ramones. During the session, the late bassist Dee Dee Ramone said Spector pulled a gun on the band.
Spector was a 17-year-old student at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles when he wrote and produced his first No. 1 hit for the Teddy Bears, a ballad called "To Know Him Is to Love Him." Its title was taken from the inscription on the gravestone of his father, Benjamin, who committed suicide when Spector was 9 years old.
2003-02-04 17:25 | User Profile
Dee Dee (the goy Ramone) also said that Spector kept drinking Manichewitz wine the entire time, from a golden chalice.
Strange dude. :P
2003-02-04 17:50 | User Profile
Spector is one weird dude.
They say his first nervous breakdown occurred when "River deep Mountain High" which he produced for Ike and Tina Turner flopped. It is a great record and a try for a gain in command that resulted in him flipping out to all intents and purposes permanently. The same thing happened to Brian Wilson when he tried to elevate his game for Pet Sounds. Total, complete burnout. Just a shell is left.
2003-02-04 21:00 | User Profile
I believe this is the victim, [url=http://www.livingdollproductions.com/]http://www.livingdollproductions.com/[/url] , a native Californian from the days when the words "California Girl" meant leggy blonde, not toady Mestiza. What a waste.
2003-02-04 21:01 | User Profile
Originally posted by eric von zipper@Feb 4 2003, 17:50 ** They say his first nervous breakdown occurred when "River deep Mountain High" which he produced for Ike and Tina Turner flopped. **
"River Deep Mountain High" would become a Top 20 hit for the Supremes/Temptations in late 1970-early 1971. Apparently, making that record for Ike and Tina cost a lot of gelt, although it was also reported that the record was supposed to bring Ike and Tina out of the "chitlin circuit" and into the mainstream. I think the failure of Ike and Tina's recording also brought the collapse of his Philles record label almost overnight.