‘Wall of Sound’ creator Spector dies while serving jail sentence
MUSIC producer Phil Spector has died while he was serving a prison sentence for murder.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed yesterday that he died of natural causes in hospital on Saturday.
A statement from the department said: “California Health Care Facility inmate Phillip Spector was pronounced deceased of natural causes at 6.35pm on Saturday, January 16, 2021, at an outside hospital.
“His official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner in the San Joaquin County Sheriff ’s Office.”
In 2009, Spector was jailed for a minimum sentence of 19 years for murdering actress Lana Clarkson. The 40-year-old died of a gunshot fired into her mouth while she was in Spector’s mansion in 2003.
Spector made his name as a
record producer for what became known as the ‘Wall of Sound’ recording technique, layering instruments and arrangements to create a dense, echoing sound.
He worked with some of the biggest names in music including The Beatles, Ike and Tina Turner, and the Righteous Brothers.
He enjoyed a stellar career as a pop innovator behind hits like Da Doo Ron Ron and You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.
Spector was a pioneer of the 1960s girl-group sound and racked up more than 25 US Top 40 hits. He is credited with redefining and revitalising rock ’n’ roll during its early-1960s slump.
When Ike and Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High was a commercial failure, Spector closed down his record label.
He was increasingly out of the public eye but produced The Beatles’ final album, Let it Be, released in 1970. He also worked with John Lennon on Imagine and produced George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.
After 23 years, Spector came out of retirement in 2003 to work with the UK band Starsailor on their album Silence is Easy . He was accused that year of killing Ms Clarkson, before he was jailed six years later.