HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PHILLIPS SPECTOR! Born Harvey Phillip Spector(later changed to Phillip Harvey Spector) on December 26th 1939 in The Bronx, NY. He is an American record producer, songwriter, and the originator of the Wall of Sound production method. His grandfather was an immigrant from Russia (now Ukraine) with the surname Spekter, which he anglicized to Spector after immigrating. Spectors father Ben committed suicide on April 20, 1949. In 1953, his mother moved the family to Los Angeles, California. At the height of his career, Spector was a pioneer of the 1960s girl-group sound, and produced more than twenty-five Top 40 hits from 1960 to 1965, writing or co-writing many of them for artists such as the Ronettes and the Crystals. Following collaborations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, Dion DiMucci, and the Ramones in the 1970s, Spector remained largely inactive. Spector is often called the first auteur among musical artists for acting not only as a producer, but also the creative director, writing or choosing the material, supervising the arrangements, conducting the vocalists and session musicians, and masterminding all phases of the recording process. He helped pave the way for various music genres, with numerous artists later citing his work as a major influence. His Grammy Award-winning co-productions number the Ronettes Walking in the Rain (1964), the Beatles Let It Be (1970), and George Harrisons Concert for Bangladesh (1971). For his contributions to the music industry, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as a nonperformer. In 1997, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The 1965 song Youve Lost That Lovin Feelin, produced and co-written by Spector for the Righteous Brothers, is listed by BMI as the song with the most U.S. airplay in the 20th century. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him #63 on their list of the Greatest Artists of All Time. Spector-produced albums that have ranked within Rolling Stones list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time include Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964), A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (1963), and Back to Mono (1991). In 2009, Spector was convicted of second-degree murder in the 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home. He is serving a prison sentence of 19 years to life. Here is a Spector written song, Dont You Worry My Little Pet ,recorded in 1958 with a group he was then in called The Teddy Bears..... Enjoy!
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 18:05:19 +0000
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