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LOS ANGELES -- Phil Spector, the eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed rock music with his "Wall of Sound" method and who later was convicted of murder, has died. He was 81.

California state prison officials said he died Saturday of natural causes at a hospital.

Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his castle-like mansion on the edge of Los Angeles. After a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years to life.

Clarkson, star of "Barbarian Queen" and other B-movies, was found shot to death in the foyer of Spector's mansion in the hills overlooking Alhambra, a modest suburban town on the edge of Los Angeles.

Until the actress' death, which Spector maintained was an "accidental suicide," few residents even knew the mansion belonged to the reclusive producer, who spent his remaining years in a prison hospital east of Stockton.

He looks in that picture like he survived a failed electrocution.

Personally, I would go ahead and replace the ? in the subject line with a great big capital H.

He oversaw some of the greatest records of rock 'n roll, giving us the Wall of Sound, and was a tremendous creative influence on Brian Wilson. Too bad he was also a despicable loony tunes. His treatment of Ronnie Spector alone earns him that H in my opinion, but then mix in that he was a tyrant in the recording booth, employing some extreme intimidation...he once waved a gun around during a recording session with John Lennon..JOHN LENNON!!..Then he tops it off with the, in his words, "accidental suicide", of Lana Clarkson.

I vote H.

He had COVID-19.

T_Bone0806 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:12 am

Personally, I would go ahead and replace the ? in the subject line with a great big capital H.

He oversaw some of the greatest records of rock 'n roll, giving us the Wall of Sound, and was a tremendous creative influence on Brian Wilson. Too bad he was also a despicable loony tunes. His treatment of Ronnie Spector alone earns him that H in my opinion, but then mix in that he was a tyrant in the recording booth, employing some extreme intimidation...he once waved a gun around during a recording session with John Lennon..JOHN LENNON!!..Then he tops it off with the, in his words, "accidental suicide", of Lana Clarkson.

I vote H.

In the excellent movie 20 Feet From Stardom, it's implied (or said outright, I don't recall) that he stole vocals he recorded by talented soloists, and repackaged them under the names of groups. If I'm remembering correctly, that would have included work by Merry Clayton or Darlene Love.

Any music-lover who has not seen this movie needs to. It turned me into a fan of Lisa Fischer, who is the only one of the bunch who didn't crave the spotlight, and who has the best voice of any of them.

Ritterskoop wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:19 pm

In the excellent movie 20 Feet From Stardom, it's implied (or said outright, I don't recall) that he stole vocals he recorded by talented soloists, and repackaged them under the names of groups. If I'm remembering correctly, that would have included work by Merry Clayton or Darlene Love.

One article I read said that two of the songs allegedly sung by The Crystals were actually sung by a different group because the Crystals weren't available at the time.

Ritterskoop wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:19 pm

T_Bone0806 wrote: ↑

Mon Jan 18, 2021 10:12 am

Personally, I would go ahead and replace the ? in the subject line with a great big capital H.

He oversaw some of the greatest records of rock 'n roll, giving us the Wall of Sound, and was a tremendous creative influence on Brian Wilson. Too bad he was also a despicable loony tunes. His treatment of Ronnie Spector alone earns him that H in my opinion, but then mix in that he was a tyrant in the recording booth, employing some extreme intimidation...he once waved a gun around during a recording session with John Lennon..JOHN LENNON!!..Then he tops it off with the, in his words, "accidental suicide", of Lana Clarkson.

I vote H.

In the excellent movie 20 Feet From Stardom, it's implied (or said outright, I don't recall) that he stole vocals he recorded by talented soloists, and repackaged them under the names of groups. If I'm remembering correctly, that would have included work by Merry Clayton or Darlene Love.

Any music-lover who has not seen this movie needs to. It turned me into a fan of Lisa Fischer, who is the only one of the bunch who didn't crave the spotlight, and who has the best voice of any of them.

Darlene Love for sure was one.