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Phil Spector's Wall of Sound

While not a performer himself, Phil Spector may be the most inspired producer to ever walk into a recording studio. In the same way that Bob Dylan changed the notion of what good singing was, Spector changed the notion of what a producer could be, such that the producer could also become a star. Indeed, by the age of 26, his best work was already behind him, something he would barely recover from in the ensuing years, even after working with such luminaries as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones. His legendary "wall of sound", often imitated but never outdone, remains a landmark in the history of popular music, something he will remembered for much more so than the recent homicide of actress Lana Clarkson he’s been accused of, following years of seclusion in his Pyrenees mansion. 

Phil with the Ronettes

Born Harvey Phillip Spector in the Bronx on December 26th 1940, he moved as a child to the West Coast. Not fond of school, he learnt to play and study music, excelling on guitar, piano, bass, and French horn, among other instruments. He made his debut in the music business in 1958 along with The Teddy Bears, named after an Elvis Presley hit. With $40 in borrowed money, he organized a recording session at LA’s Gold Star studio, playing all the instruments and producing a few songs. Utterly poignant, "To Know Him Is To Love Him", a song which Spector wrote as a teenager as an ode to his father who took his own life when he was still a child, became a huge hit. Probably the first number one pop record to be named after an epitaph on a father’s tomb, this song gave the world a hint of Spector’s genius. It had sold over a million copies by Christmas 1958. In the wake of their success, The Teddy Bears signed on Imperial just to disband a few months later.

Spector then moved to New York City where he worked with ace songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, co-writing Ben E. King’s "Spanish Harlem," among other songs. He was also a revered session musician, playing notably on some Drifters recordings. He soon produced hits for The Crystals ("Da Doo Ron Ron") and the Ronettes ("Be My Baby"), before forming his own record label, Philles, in late 1961. His trademark "wall of sound" and sharp artistic vision enabled him to record and produce some of the most memorable artists of the early Sixties. His sometimes eccentric arrangements and sonic wisdom gave popular music new directions to explore. Indeed, he created the perfect teenage symphonies of the era, using the studio to craft brilliant pieces of music, which featured horns, strings and percussion blended together in a unique way. Never over the top, his orchestration possessed a genuine sense of timing, and a mood that evoked a loss of innocence. Utterly knowledgeable about studio techniques, Spector pushed monaural recording to its limit between 1962 and 1966, the halcyon days of his recording genius.  

Phil Spector became a chief influence on Brian Wilson (who went to record his own "pocket symphonies"), The Rolling Stones and dozens of other rock and pop acts. After the British Invasion in 1964, his productions started to lose interest from the buying public, even though he reached new heights with the Righteous Brothers and Ike & Tina Turner's 1966 masterpiece, "River Deep Mountain High", a song he has always considered to be one of his greatest achievements. He prematurely retired to his Beverly Hills mansion, marrying Ronnie Bennet, lead singer of the Ronettes.

Darlene Love, Phil Spector and Joey Ramone

Having befriended the Beatles before they became huge, he was asked to do some post-production on the Fab Four’s ultimate album, "Let It Be". After a falling out with Paul McCartney, he went on to work with John Lennon, producing his best solo LPs, "Plastic Ono Band" and "Imagine". George Harrison also benefited from his genius on "All Things Must Pass" even though Spector’s teenage operas were now long forgotten. 

Reclusive and often paranoiac, he reemerged in the music world only rarely, working with artists like Dion in 1975, Leonard Cohen on "Death Of A Ladies’ Man" in 1977, The Ramones on "End Of The Century" in 1980, Yoko Ono on "Season Of Glass" in 1981 and Eric Clapton on "Crossroads" in 1988. His public appearances became scarce, and his phenomenal works of art from the early Sixties were to speak forever for themselves. 

Phil Spector was inducted into The Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as a non-performer, his "wall of sound" always protecting him against the fierce and intense competition for the throne of the world’s greatest producer.

Copyright Florent Mazzoleni © 2003

Based in Bordeaux, France, Florent Mazzoleni is a young freelance writer primarily interested in music coming from the American South, from New Orleans to Muscle Shoals, Alex Chilton to Charles Brimmer, Geater Davis to Townes Van Zandt. He is currently working on his sixth book, dealing indeed with Southern ghosts, while preparing a ten-volumes serie of Southern Soul compilations. His writings have been published in Vibrations, Les Inrockuptibles, Rock & Folk, Soulbag, MOJO and Teknikart among others. Recent stories include a meeting with Willie Mitchell, an interview with Jonathan Richman, a Cramps overview and a close look at the new wave of Argentine cinema. Michael Hurley, Nino Ferrer, Japanese hip hop, and the Stax opening will be next.

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