LOS ANGELES – Phil Spector was seen as a man with two distinct personalities: The late music producer was seen as a rock ‘n’ roll musician who rose to prominence with his “Wall of Sound” style in the 1960s. and created hits for several big names from the Beatles to Tina Turner.
But while Spector made his mark as a revolutionary music producer, the stories about him firing guns at recording artists and convicting him of murder overwhelmed his art.
California state prison officials said Spector died Saturday at age 81 of natural causes at a hospital. He was convicted of killing actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 at his mansion-like castle on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Following a trial in 2009, he was sentenced to 19 years life.
The response to Spector ‘s death raised some mixed feelings about his life and legacy.
Some lamented his early actions in rock music, while others struggled to forgive.
Beach Boys musician Al Jardine said it would be “good to remember him only for his songs and production talents.” He said the Ronettes song “Be My Baby,” which produced and co-written by Spector, inspired by his brother Brian Wilson.
Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band Stevie Van Zandt called Spector “a very controversial genre.”
“The last example of art was always to be better than the artist,” Zandt said on Twitter. He added that Spector made “some of the greatest records in history based on the salvation of love while still being incapable of giving or receiving love for the rest of his life.”
Meanwhile, Drew Carey, guest of “The Price is Right”, targeted Spector, calling him a “murderer and abuser.” ”
“I wish he could get the mental health help he so clearly needed, but he didn’t,” the comedian said on social media. “So instead of just (star) (star) shooting guns at people in anger or for fun, he killed one of them. A good ear for music tho, I’ll give you that. ”
Spector’s ex-wife, Ronnie Spector, remembered Sunday as “a brilliant producer, but a lousy man.” She was the lead singer of the Ronettes.
“Unfortunately Phil was unable to live and work outside the recording studio,” she wrote on Instagram. “Darkness has entered, a lot of life has been ruined. I still laugh whenever I hear the music we played together, and always will. The music will be forever. ”
But Darlene Love, who sang some of Spector’s beats from “He’s a Rebel” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” took a different approach despite her troubled relationship with the producer. She was saddened to hear of Spector ‘s death from her son.
“He was saddened by what Spector did, the amazing music he created, and spent nearly 20 years of his life in prison,” said Love, who admitted that Spector tried to “control it”. on my talent ”during her singing course. She said Spector had a dangerous temper at times, but tried to remember the positives.
“I hope people don’t only remember the reason he spent those years in prison, but more or less what he did for rock ‘n’ roll,” she continued. “It changed the sound of rock and roll. That’s what made me sad. ”
Spector was cited as a vision for directing Wagnerian ambition into the three-minute song, creating a 1960s “Wall of Sound” that united strong vocal harmony with large orchestral arrangements to monuments make a pop like “Da Doo Ron Ron.” Be My Child ”and“ He is a Rebel. ”
Bruce Springsteen and Wilson openly reiterated his grandiose recording styles and broad romance, and John Lennon named him “the greatest recording producer ever. ”
But the many stories about Spector shaking guns at artists came to record in the studio and threatened women to come back to choke after Clarkson ‘s death.
Clarkson, the star of “Barbarian Queen” and other B movies, was found to death in the opening of the Spector mansion in the hills overlooking the Alhambra, a small suburban town on the edge of Los Angeles.
Until the actress’ death, which Spector claimed was “an unintentional suicide,” many residents didn’t even know it belonged to the re-producer. improved was the mansion, which spent the remaining years in a prison hospital east of Stockton.
Spector became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. But eventually, his recording artists began working with him and musical styles passed him by.
“He committed suicide in the most horrible way,” said David Thomson, author of “Wall of Pain: A Biography of Phil Spector,” which was released in 2004. “But we have to separate the two. There are so many people who were once honored and we find that they did something terrible. It erases their achievements. I disagree with that. ”
Thompson said Spector ‘s biography was one of the most difficult to write, as he wanted to focus on music alone. But while working on the book, he found out about Spector’s conviction.
“That was a hard balance,” he said. “I wanted to write about music, just what he did, what he created and what he gave us. But you had to balance him with the terrible things he did. “