Phil Spector Taken into Custody in Connection with Homicide

Written by Ed Driscoll
Published February 03, 2003

Phil Spector taken into custody in connection with a homicide, according to this L.A. NBC affiliate article. Spector produced superstar musical acts such as Ike and Tina Turner, the Righteous Brothers the Ronnettes, as well as Let It Be, the last release by the Beatles, and solo albums by George Harrison and John Lennon.

According to the report:

    Shortly after 5 a.m. Monday morning, Alhambra police officers responded to a call from the 1700 block of S. Grandview Drive regarding a shooting, according to the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

    When the officers arrived they discovered that a female had been shot inside the location, according to authorities. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

    The suspect, identified by authorities as Phillip Spector, 62, was taken into custody and is currently being detained at the Alhambra police station.

Back in October, Spector won a royalty dispute with his former wife Ronnie Spector.

David John Farinella and Eric Olsen wrote this bio of Spector for The Encyclopedia of Record Producers:

    Perhaps it should have occurred to someone that Phil Spector (born December 26, 1940 in the Bronx, NY) had a bit of Midas in him when the first song he ever wrote and produced, "To Know Him Is To Love Him" by his band, The Teddy Bears, sold over a million copies. His investment? Some studio time (at Hollywood's Gold Star) and $40. It was 1958 and a 17-year-old Spector had just launched a career that would take him from the highest of highs in the early-'60s, to the lows of the late-'60s, and the shadows by the early-'70s.

    Spector's career began in '57 (his family had moved to Los Angeles in the early-'50s) as a member of the Sleepwalkers with future-Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, future-producer Kim Fowley and drummer Sandy Nelson. By '58 he was a producer. By the time he was 23, writer Tom Wolfe had dubbed him the "First Tycoon of Teen." By the time he was 34, he had been declared DOA after two car accidents - and survived - within three months of each other. He is the most referred-to name in this book, and his Wall of Sound is either held up as a paradigm to aspire to, or reviled as egomaniacal bombast.

    Spector's legend is notorious, his influence profound, his credit list rightfully admired. Perhaps his career is best summed up by a quote attributed to him circa 1973: "I really believed in what was going on and I did try to change the music - I did try to change it and it was a painful experience, it was hard, basically, because there were not many people to do it with, there was not much help. It really rested on my ability to do things with my music and sounds. I don't know if I was consciously trying to change it, but musically I was definitely trying to do what I really felt was right."

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Phil Spector Taken into Custody in Connection with Homicide
Published: February 03, 2003
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Section: Music
Filed Under: Music: News
Writer: Ed Driscoll
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