Phil Spector

Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production technique involving a densely textured sound created through layering tone colors, resulting in a compression and chorusing effect not replicable through electronic means. Considered the first ''auteur'' of the music industry, 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 relocated to Los Angeles as a teenager and co-founded the Teddy Bears in 1958, writing their chart-topping single "To Know Him Is to Love Him". Mentored by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, by 1960, he co-established Philles Records, becoming the youngest U.S. label owner at the time. Dubbed the "First Tycoon of Teen", he exerted unprecedented control over recording sessions, collaborating with arranger Jack Nitzsche and engineer Larry Levine. His studio band, later known as the Wrecking Crew, rose to industry prominence through his success with acts like the Ronettes, the Crystals, and Ike & Tina Turner. In the early 1970s, he produced the Beatles' ''Let It Be'' and numerous other albums by John Lennon and George Harrison. By 1980, following one-off productions for Dion DiMucci (''Born to Be with You''), Leonard Cohen (''Death of a Ladies' Man''), and the Ramones (''End of the Century''), Spector entered a period of semi-retirement. He had produced eighteen U.S. Top 10 singles, including number-ones by the Righteous Brothers ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'"), the Beatles ("The Long and Winding Road"), and Harrison ("My Sweet Lord").

Spector influenced the role of the studio as an instrument, the integration of pop art aesthetics into music (art pop), and the art rock and dream pop music genres. His honors include the 1973 Grammy Award for Album of the Year (for co-producing Harrison's ''Concert for Bangladesh''), a 1989 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a 1997 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2004, Spector was ranked number 63 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the greatest artists in history.

After the 1980s, Spector remained largely inactive amid a lifestyle of seclusion, drug use, and increasingly erratic behavior. In 2009, he was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison, where he died in 2021. Provided by Wikipedia