Legendary record producer Phil Spector got sentenced today to 19 years to life for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot to death in Spector's Alhambra California mansion in 2003.
Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler gave him 15 to life for second-degree murder plus four years for personal use of a firearm. The original trial ended in a hung jury.
While there were no actual witnesses to what occurred, Spector had a long history of alcoholism and drug use, general creepiness and threatening people with firearms that undoubtedly contributed to the verdict.
Spector was the first real record producer to actually use production values creatively and come up with a unique sound of his own, dubbed 'the wall of sound.'
He'd do things like having three pianos playing in unison or double track vocal harmonies and drums, and unless I'm mistaken, he was the first person to use the swirly flanging effect on "The Big Hurt.". He's famous for a string of hits( many of which he wrote) with early '60's vocal groups like the Ronettes and Ike and Tina Turner among many others, and produced the Beatle's "Abbey Road" album.
He was a huge influence on contemporary music, but it all faded away and he was pretty much left to act out and play the 'do you know who I am ?' game to anyone who would bother to listen. In the end, I guess it was just another bit of Hollywood craziness that went terribly wrong.
Selah.
separate from ff factual summary of mr. spector's career.
ReplyDeletemr. spector is a dumbass.
if he had risen from his chair in the courtroom, announced that he was a muslim, shot the judge, shot the jury, shot the prosecutor, and his defense attorney, mr. spector could have walked out of court a free man.