Rock Music Impresario Phil Spector (Ramones) Charged With Murder
By
Sefany Jones,
Contributing Editor
Monday, February 3, 2003 @ 12:40 AM
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From CNN.com:
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Music producer Phil Spector, the man behind the famous "Wall of Sound" recordings of the 1960s, has been charged with murder in connection with the early morning death of a woman at his suburban Los Angeles home.
Police found one woman dead inside Spector's home in Alhambra, California, and took the legendary music producer into custody, investigators said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said Alhambra Police received a 911 call at 5 a.m. (8 a.m. ET). Officers responded to the house near the intersection of Grandview and Valley.
It was not clear whether the 911 call came from Spector's home or a neighbor. Neighbors questioned by CNN said they had not heard a shooting.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, Spector created the "Wall of Sound" effect that involved overdubbing scores of musicians to create a massive roar, which changed the way pop records were produced.
Among his session players known as the "Wrecking Crew" were guitarist Glen Campbell, pianist Leon Russell, drummer Hal Blaine and the late Sonny Bono, who learned the producer's trade under Spector.
Spector produced a string of '60s hits, including the Crystals' "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and "Walking in the Rain," and Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "(Today I Met) the Boy I'm Gonna Marry."
Spector married Ronnie Bennett, a member of the Ronettes. They divorced in 1974. He has five children.
Spector's father, Benjamin, committed suicide in 1949. Spector later visited the grave and used the inscription "To Know Him Was to Love Him" as the basis for a hit song.
Spector's last major album was "End of the Century," a 1980 collaboration with the Ramones. During the session, the late bassist Dee Dee Ramone said Spector pulled a gun on the band.
In October, New York's state Supreme Court threw out a $3 million award against Spector in a lawsuit filed by his ex-wife and the other two members of the Ronettes, seeking royalties for the sale of their recordings for use in movies and commercials.
-- CNN Producer Michelle Harrosh contributed to this report.
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