Phil Spector
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Harvey Phillip Spector was born December 26, 1939, in the Bronx, New York City. The record producer, and songwriter, is best known for his innovative recording practices in the 1960s along with his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterised by its diffusion of tone colours and dense orchestral sound. 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.
In April 1949, Spector’s father, who was deeply in debt, died by suicide; on his gravestone were inscribed the words “Ben Spector. Father. Husband. To Know Him Was To Love Him.” The aspiring musician moved to Los Angeles while still a teenager. At the age of 19, he co-founded The Teddy Bears and wrote and sang on their 1958 number-one hit “To Know Him Is to Love Him” inspired by the epitaph on his father’s tombstone.
In the 1960s he became known as a musical auteur, who sought control over every aspect of how a record was made through his label Philles Records. He produced acts including The Ronettes, The Crystals and Ike & Tina Turner. Spector co-wrote the Ben E. King Top 10 hit “Spanish Harlem” with Jerry Leiber and also worked as a session musician, playing the guitar solo on the Drifters’ song “On Broadway”.
On September 28, 1963, the Ronettes appeared at the Cow Palace, near San Francisco. Also on the bill were the Righteous Brothers. Spector, who was conducting the band for all the acts, was so impressed with Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield that he bought their contract from Moonglow Records and signed them to his label. In early 1965, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin‘” became a number 1 single.
In 1963 he released a Christmas album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, which remains a perennial festive favourite. Over 50 years since its initial release in December 2018, the album entered the main Billboard 200 albums chart for the first time eventually peaking at No.12 three weeks later. During sessions Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys attempted to contribute piano to “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”, but Spector rejected him for poor playing.
In 1965, the Ronettes were voted the third-top singing group in England behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. They opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour without their lead singer. Spector had forbidden his wife to tour with the Beatles, so her cousin Elaine stood in as a third member. Ronnie alleged in her 1990 memoir that following their marriage, Phil subjected her to years of psychological torment and sabotaged her career by forbidding her to perform. She said he surrounded their house with barbed wire and guard dogs, and confiscated her shoes to prevent her from leaving. On the rare occasions, he allowed her out alone, she had to drive with a life-size dummy of Phil. She stated that Phil installed a gold coffin with a glass top in the basement, promising that he would kill her and display her corpse if she ever left him.
In their 1974 divorce settlement, Ronnie forfeited all future record earnings, alleging that Phil had threatened to have a hit man kill her. She received $25,000, a used car, and a monthly alimony of $2,500 for five years. She later testified that Phil had frequently pulled a gun on her during their marriage and threatened to kill her unless she surrendered custody of their children.
Spector’s final signing to Philles was the husband-and-wife team of Ike & Tina Turner in April 1966. Spector considered their single “River Deep – Mountain High” his best work, but it failed to reach any higher than number 88 in the United States. The record, which featured Tina Turner without Ike Turner, was successful in Britain, reaching number 3.
In early 1970, Allen Klein, the new manager of the Beatles, brought Spector to England. After impressing with his production of John Lennon‘s solo single “Instant Karma!“, Spector was invited by Lennon and George Harrison to take on the task of turning the Beatles’ abandoned Let It Be recording sessions into a usable album. Spector also worked on Harrison’s multiplatinum album All Things Must Pass.
As the 1970s progressed, Spector became increasingly reclusive. The most probable and significant reason for his withdrawal, according to biographer Dave Thompson, was that in 1974 he was seriously injured when he was thrown through the windshield of his car in a crash in Hollywood. Spector was almost killed, and it was only because the attending police officer detected a faint pulse that Spector was not declared dead at the scene. He was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center on the night of March 31, suffering serious head injuries that required several hours of surgery, with over 300 stitches to his face and more than 400 to the back of his head. His head injuries, Thompson suggests, were the reason that Spector began his habit of wearing outlandish wigs in later years.
Spector began to reemerge later in the decade, producing and co-writing a controversial 1977 album by Leonard Cohen, titled Death of a Ladies’ Man. He also produced the much-publicized Ramones album End of the Century in 1979.
Spector remained inactive throughout most of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. In early 1981, shortly after the death of John Lennon, he temporarily re-emerged to co-produce Yoko Ono’s Season of Glass. He attempted to work with Céline Dion on her album Falling into You but fell out with her production team. His last released project was Silence Is Easy by Starsailor, in 2003. He was originally supposed to produce the entire album but was fired owing to personal and creative differences.
Spector was married three times. He married his first wife Annette Merar in 1963, and while still married to her began an affair with Ronnie Bennett of the Ronettes. They married in 1968 and she was widely known as Ronnie Spector for the rest of her life, despite his mistreatment of her. She was held captive until June 1972, when she escaped and fled into the night barefoot, Spector having taken all her shoes.
On February 3, 2003, Spector shot actress Lana Clarkson in the mouth while in his mansion (the Pyrenees Castle) in Alhambra, California. Her body was found slumped in a chair with a single gunshot wound to her mouth. She was working as a hostess at the music venue the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip, which is where she met Spector. Hours later his driver heard a gunshot before Spector exited his house through the back door with a gun. The driver testified that Spector said: “I think I just shot her,” although the producer later claimed that Clarkson had committed suicide when she “kissed the gun.” These claims were dismissed in his second trial after a series of women testified that Spector had a habit of locking his dates inside his home and threatening them with a loaded gun until they did what he wanted. In February 2003 Spector was found guilty and on May 29, 2009, was sentenced to 19 years to life in the California state prison system.
The police who attended the crime scene reported that the mansion was dimly lit with rats and mice running around the rooms. They also stated that some rooms in the mansion hadn’t been occupied for years.
In 2006, a month before he was charged with Clarkson’s murder, Spector married his third wife Rachelle Short. At the time he was 67 and she was 26. He filed for divorce in 2018, complaining that while he lived on an allowance of $300 a month behind bars, she was lavishly spending his fortune on expensive jewellery, two homes for her mother, a Ferrari, an Aston Martin and a $350,000 private plane.
Phil Spector died on January 16, 2021, at the age of 81. He had been an inmate at a prison hospital, the California Health Care Facility, since 2013 but had been moved to San Joaquin General Hospital in French Camp, California, at the time of his death. He was pronounced dead of natural causes, later attributed to complications caused by COVID-19. He was still serving his 19-year sentence for Clarkson’s murder at the time of his death, and would have been eligible for parole in 2024.
Important Dates In The Life Of Phil Spector:
23
Nov
2023
Fanita James died at the age of 85. She was a member of the American girl group The Blossoms. Although the group had a recording career in their own right, they were most famous for being the group to actually record the No. 1 hit 'He's a Rebel' which producer Phil Spector credited to The Crystals. In 1966, they provided background vocals on Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep – Mountain High' and in 1968, they appeared in Elvis Presley’s TV special, popularly known as "the '68 Comeback".
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1
Aug
2023
Annette Williams from the American girl group The Blossoms died. Although the group had a recording career in their own right, they were most famous for being the group to actually record the No. 1 hit 'He's a Rebel' which producer Phil Spector credited to The Crystals.
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12
Jan
2022
American singer Ronnie Spector died aged 78. She co-founded and fronted the girl group The Ronettes, which had a string of hits in the 1960s, including ‘Be My Baby’ (1963), ‘Baby, I Love You’ (1963), ‘(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up’ (1964), and ‘Walking in the Rain’ (1964). She married producer Phil Spector in 1968. Ronnie alleged in her 1990 memoir, Be My Baby, that following their marriage, Phil subjected her to years of psychological torment and sabotaged her career.
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16
Jan
2021
American producer Phil Spector died in prison age 81. Known for his 'Spector Wall Of Sound’ he was a member of Teddy Bears, who had the 1958 US No.1 single 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'. He went on to produce many classic songs including; Ben E King, 'Spanish Harlem', The Crystals, 'Da Doo Ron Ron', The Ronettes, 'Baby I Love You', The Righteous Brothers, 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling', Ike and Tina Turner, 'River Deep, Mountain High'. He also produced albums for The Ramones, John Lennon, (produced the 1970 hit 'Instant Karma!, George Harrison, The Beatles, and Harry Nilsson. The 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home led to his 2009 conviction of murder in the second degree.
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11
Mar
2019
Drummer Hal Blaine, one of the most recorded musicians in pop music history died of natural causes at his home in Palm Desert, California age 90. As a member of the The Wrecking Crew his drumming can be heard on songs such as Presley’s 'Return to Sender,' the Byrds’ 'Mr. Tambourine Man,' The Beach Boys 'Good Vibrations,' Simon & Garfunkel’s 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' and dozens of hits produced by Phil Spector, and the theme songs to 'Batman,' 'The Partridge Family' and dozens of other shows.
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7
Feb
2015
American bass player, songwriter, Joe B. Mauldin died aged 74. He was best known as the bassist for the early rock and roll group The Crickets and later became a recording engineer at Gold Star Studios, the Los Angeles studio which became the "hit factory" for Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and other major 1960s rock performers.
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15
Mar
2013
Friends of Lana Clarkson, the actress murdered by music producer Phil Spector, were protesting at a screening of the film about his trial. The movie, starring Al Pacino, focused on his relationship with his defence lawyer, played by Helen Mirren. But the group against the film said it was too sympathetic towards Spector's defence case. Clarkson's former publicist, Edward Lozzi, called the film a 'slap in the face'.
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5
Feb
2012
American record producer and session musician Al De Lory died aged 82. In the early Sixties De Lory played keyboards for various Phil Spector productions, and The Beach Boys, Glen Campbell including John Hartford's ‘Gentle on My Mind’, Jimmy Webb's ‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’, ‘Wichita Lineman’ and ‘Galveston’. He was also a member of the Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. As a bandleader, he had his own hit in 1970 with an instrumental version of the ‘Song from M*A*S*H’.
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26
Aug
2009
American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer Ellie Greenwich died of a heart attack age 68. With Phil Spector and Jeff Barry she wrote or co-wrote many hits including 'Da Doo Ron Ron', 'Be My Baby' 'Then He Kissed Me', 'Do Wah Diddy Diddy', 'Leader of the Pack, and River Deep – Mountain High'' among others.
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29
May
2009
Phil Spector was jailed for at least 19 years for murdering an actress in 2003. The producer, 69, famed for his Wall of Sound recording technique, was last month found guilty of shooting Lana Clarkson at his California home. Spector had pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder during the five-month retrial in Los Angeles. His lawyers said he would appeal. Spector was given a sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder and an additional four years for personal use of a gun.
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13
Apr
2009
68-year-old US music producer Phil Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson, after a five-month retrial. He had pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder of 40-year-old Ms Clarkson, who was shot in the mouth at Spector's home in Los Angeles. During the five-month retrial, five female acquaintances testified that Spector had threatened them at gunpoint in incidents dating back to the 1970s. An earlier trial was abandoned in 2007 after a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision. Spector was remanded in custody until sentencing on 29 May 09.
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24
Mar
2009
The prosecutor in the Phil Spector murder retrial told the jury he was a 'demonic maniac' when he drinks and 'a very dangerous man' around women. Deputy District Attorney Truc Do urged jurors to find the music producer guilty of murdering Hollywood actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. During her closing argument, she accused Mr Spector of demonstrating a 'conscious disregard for human life'
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11
Feb
2009
Ronettes singer Estelle Bennett died at her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 67. The 60s girl group best known for their work with producer Phil Spector had the 1963 hit 'Be My Baby' which epitomised the famed "wall of sound" technique. The Ronettes opened for the The Beatles on their 1966 US tour, becoming the only girl group to tour with them, before splitting up in 1967
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18
Jun
2008
A Lost Angeles hotel filed a lawsuit against Phil Spector for failing to pay more than $100,000 (£61,000), in outstanding bills for lawyers and expert witnesses in his murder trial. The Westin Bonaventure Hotel claimed that by the time Spector's trial ended with a hung jury, the defendants owed the hotel more than $104,000 (£63,400).
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8
May
2008
American audio engineer Larry Levine died of emphysema in Encino, California at the age of 80. He was known for his work with Phil Spector on the Wall of Sound recording technique. He worked on The Beach Boys influential 1966 album Pet Sounds and received the 1966 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording for 'A Taste of Honey' performed by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. The recording also won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1966.
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12
Dec
2007
Ike Turner, the former husband of Tina Turner died at the age of 76 at his home near San Diego, California. Turner who was a prolific session guitarist and piano player is credited by many music historians with making the first rock 'n' roll record in 1951. After marrying Tina Turner in 1959, the pair released a string of hits including the Phil Spector produced ‘River Deep Mountain High.’
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4
Oct
2007
Producer Phil Spector was set to be retried for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson following the collapse of the first trial in Sept of this year. The first trial ended with the jury deadlocked 10-2 favouring conviction. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler set another hearing for the case on 23 October.
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2
Jul
2007
Lyricist Hy Zaret, who wrote the words for the song Unchained Melody died at his home in Westport, Connecticut, aged 99. The song (which does not feature the word "unchained"), has been recorded over 300 times. Zaret co-wrote the song with film composer Alex North for the 1955 prison film Unchained. The Righteous Brothers' 1965 version was produced by Phil Spector.
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5
Jun
2007
Jurors in the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector were shown the bloody revolver that was found at the feet of Lana Clarkson, the actress he was accused of killing at his home in the early hours of February 3rd, 2003. She had accompanied Spector to his Alhambra, California mansion after meeting him at her job as a hostess at the House of Blues just hours earlier.
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30
May
2007
A coroner told the murder trial of music producer Phil Spector that US actress Lana Clarkson's death was a homicide. Dr Louis Pena said bruising suggested the barrel of a gun may have been forced into Ms Clarkson's mouth before she was fatally shot in 2003. Spector was accused of murdering Clarkson on 3 February 2003 at his home in California.
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5
Feb
2007
Producer Phil Spector won $900,000 (£459,000) after settling an embezzlement claim. Spector said former assistant Michelle Blaine removed $425,000 (£216,000) from his pension and did not repay a $635,000 (£324,000) loan. Ms Blaine claimed the loan was a gift, and the pension funds were for a film aimed at improving Spector's image. As part of the settlement, she dropped a counter-claim of sexual harassment.
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17
Sep
2006
American guitarist Al Casey died aged 69. Casey is noted for his work as a session musician and as a member of the Wrecking Crew and worked with The Beach Boys, Phil Spector, Elvis Presley, Glen Campbell, The Association, The Monkees, Johnny Cash, Simon And Garfunkel, 5th Dimension, Harry Nilsson, The Partridge Family, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra.
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27
Sep
2004
Legendary record producer Phil Spector was formally charged with murder in the February 3rd, 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson. He was convicted in April, 2009 and sentenced to 19 years to life in the California State prison system.
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14
May
2004
Phil Spector was arrested after getting into a scuffle with his chauffeur at his California mansion. The 64-year-old record producer was taken into custody and later released after a court date was set.
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17
Feb
2004
Prosecutors in the murder case of producer Phil Spector demanded that a fingernail overlooked by police investigating Lana Clarkson's shooting should be put forward as evidence. They claimed the fingernail, blackened with gunpowder, could indicate that the 40-year-old actress killed herself at Spector's Los Angeles mansion. Spector, had denied murdering Clarkson.
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21
Nov
2003
Record producer Phil Spector appeared before a California court and was formally charged with murder. B-movie actress Lana Clarkson had been found at his mansion in February of this year with a fatal gunshot wound to her face. Spector pleaded not guilty to her murder during a brief hearing in Alhambra, near Los Angeles and was released on $1m bail.
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18
Oct
2002
After a 15 year court battle, New York State's highest court ruled that the Ronettes, did not have the right to share the money earned by their producer Phil Spector through the use of the group's songs in movies, television and advertising. Citing a 1963 contract signed by the group, the court also substantially reduced the amount they stood to gain from royalties on sales of records and compact discs.
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20
Jun
2000
The Ronettes were awarded $2.6 million (£1.5 million) in back earnings from Phil Spector. New York judge Paula Omansky ruled that the legendary producer had cheated them out of royalties.
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1
Feb
1999
American musician and composer Julius Wechter died. He composed the song 'Spanish Flea' for Herb Alpert and was leader of The Baja Marimba Band. As a session musician he worked for the likes of The Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher and various Phil Spector productions. His vibraphone solo work is featured on the Beach Boys' acclaimed album, Pet Sounds ('Let's Go Away for Awhile'). He died of lung cancer a day after his song 'Spanish Flea' was used in the Simpsons episode Sunday, Cruddy Sunday.
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9
Jun
1998
The Ronettes appeared in the Supreme Court of New York for their lawsuit against producer Phil Spector. The Ronettes, whose hits included 'Be My Baby' and 'Walking In The Rain', claimed that Spector had breached the group's 34-year-old contract by paying the members no royalties since 1963. Although The Ronettes went on to win the case, the New York State Court of Appeals overturned the decision in October 2002, saying that the contract the Ronettes signed with Spector in 1963 was still binding.
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29
Mar
1996
Two former members of the 1950s group, The Teddy Bears filed suit in Los Angeles, California, against producer Phil Spector and several labels. Carol Connors and Marshall Lieb alleged they had not received royalties from re-issues of their 1958 No.1 hit 'To Know Him Is To Love Him'.
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8
Jan
1994
Jamaican reggae/rap (ragga) duo Chaka Demus and Pliers were at No.1 in the UK with their version of Twist and Shout. The song was originally recorded (and produced by Phil Spector) by the Top Notes in 1961 and then covered by The Isley Brothers. It was also covered by The Beatles on their first album Please Please Me.
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1
Nov
1990
American session musician and arranger Ray Pohlman died of heart failure at the age of 60. He is credited with being the first electric bass player in Los Angeles studios in the 1950s. He was a member of The Wrecking Crew, who recorded with Phil Spector and The Beach Boys. He was the musical director of the house band, The Shindogs, on the 1960s television show Shindig!
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28
Mar
1983
American singer Jean King from the Phil Spector produced girl group the Blossoms died
from a heart attack age 44. King had also performed in Ray Charles' backing group the Raelettes and sung backup for Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Nancy Sinatra, and Bill Medley.
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10
Feb
1974
Record producer Phil Spector was injured in a car crash in Hollywood, California. Spector was almost killed, and it was only because the attending police officer detected a faint pulse that Spector was not declared dead at the scene. He was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center suffering serious head injuries that required several hours of surgery, with over 300 stitches to his face and more than 400 to the back of his head.
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2
Apr
1970
Phil Spector completed final editing and mixing for The Beatles Let It Be album, 16 months after the Get Back project had begun. Released a month after the Beatles' break-up, the album topped the US and UK charts. It also yielded the No. 1 US single 'The Long and Winding Road'. Spector's overdubbing of 'The Long and Winding Road' infuriated its composer, Paul McCartney .
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1
Apr
1970
50 musicians recorded the orchestral scores for The Beatles tracks 'The Long And Winding Road' and 'Across The Universe' for the Phil Spector produced sessions. The bill for the 50 musicians was £1,126 and 5 shillings, ($1.914). When released 'The Long and Winding Road' became a US No.1 hit.
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1
Jun
1969
The Plastic Ono Band recorded 'Give Peace A Chance' during a 'bed-in' at the Hotel La Reine in Montreal, Canada. Record Producer Phil Spector, poet Allan Ginsberg and writer Timothy Leary all sang in the song. Released as a single in July 1969 by the Plastic Ono Band on Apple Records, it is the first solo single issued by John Lennon, released while he was still a member of the The Beatles, and became an anthem of the American anti-war movement during the 1970s. It peaked at No.14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the British singles chart.
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7
Mar
1966
Tina Turner recorded her vocal on the Phil Spector produced 'River Deep Mountain High'. It went on to make No.3 in the UK but only No.88 on the US chart. Spector was well aware of Ike Turner's controlling attitude in the studio, and therefore he drafted an unusual contract: the River Deep – Mountain High album and single would be credited to Ike and Tina Turner, but Ike was paid $20,000 to stay away from the studio, and only Tina Turner's vocals would be used on the record. Session musicians who played on the track included Leon Russell (keyboards), Glen Campbell (guitar), and Hal Blaine (drums).
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6
Feb
1965
The Righteous Brothers started a two-week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with the Phil Spector produced 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. The song was also No.1 in the UK for the duo (who were not related in any way).
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4
Feb
1965
The Righteous Brothers were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the Phil Spector song 'You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'. Also a US No.1 at the same time. In 1999 the PRS announced that it was the most played song of the 20th Century.
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18
Jan
1965
The Rolling Stones recorded 'The Last Time' and 'Play With Fire' at the RCA studio in Hollywood, California. Producer Phil Spector played acoustic guitar on 'Play With Fire.'
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10
Jun
1964
The first edition of the official The Rolling Stones book was issued, priced at one and six, (the publication ran for 30 issues). Also on this day, at producers Phil Spector’s suggestion, The Stones recorded 'It's All Over Now', 'I Can’t Be Satisfied' and 'Time Is On My Side' at Chess studios in Chicago. During the day, the Stones got to meet, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy and Chuck Berry.
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25
Jan
1964
Phil Spector appeared as a panellist on this week's UK TV show Juke Box Jury. The series featured celebrity showbusiness guests on a rotating weekly panel who were asked to judge the hit potential of recent record releases. By 1962 the programme was attracting 12 million viewers weekly on Saturday nights.
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31
Aug
1963
The Ronettes first entered the US singles chart with 'Be My Baby' the girl group's only top 10 hit. Lead singer, Veronica Bennett who became Ronnie Spector, took producer and ex-husband Phil Spector to court in the late 1990s for unpaid royalties.
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8
Jun
1963
The Crystals' 'Da Doo Ron Ron' peaked at No.3 on the US singles chart. Produced by Phil Spector, who used a multi-track recording system to build the song layer upon layer to achieve a result that became known as a "wall of sound". Backing musicians include Glen Campbell on guitar, Leon Russell on piano, Hal Blaine on drums and Nino Tempo on sax.
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2
Oct
1961
Phil Spector and partner Lester Sill released the first single on their new label Philles, The Crystals’, ‘Oh Yeah Maybe Baby.’ A little over a year later, they had a No.1 hit with ‘He’s a Rebel,’ and soon after, ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’ and ‘Then He Kissed Me.’
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1
Dec
1958
The Teddy Bears were at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘To Know Him is to Love Him.’ The Phil Spector song was inspired by words on his father's tombstone, "To Know Him Was to Love Him." The record spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart while reaching No. 2 on the UK's New Musical Express chart. The song was resurrected by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris, whose Trio recording topped the US country singles chart in 1987.
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20
Apr
1949
Phil Spector's father committed suicide when Phil was just 9 years old. The title of the song 'To Know Him Is To Love Him,' which Phil Spector wrote for the Teddy Bears, (the only vocal group of which he was a member), comes from the inscription on his father's headstone. The song spent three weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1958.
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