Phil Spector died

[Rocker]

Music Producer Phil Spector Dead at 81

https://www.tmz.com/2021/01/17/phil-spector-dead-dies-81/

[Pretty Funky]

Report just came in. Unsure how to feel with this one but credit for some great music.

[Cabinessenceking]

Sorry, norwegian news link but I didn't see it yet on the BBC.
https://www.vg.no/rampelys/i/aPj1Qd/phil-spector-81-er-doed

Obviously a very key figure in the development of the Beach Boys sound as a source of inspiration to Brian. Fair to say Phil was an extremely accomplished producer and songwriter who made the wrong choices later in life.

edit: BBC article here https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55697979¨

Was really enjoying his Christmas album just a few weeks back. Helped with the long commutes when Darlene Love's voice comes on "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and who can't think of poor Brian hacking it on the piano for the intro to "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" while the rest of the Wrecking Crew watch on in pain

[marcella27]

I worry this will hit Brian very hard.

[juggler]

I worry this will hit Brian very hard.

I wouldn't want to predict what's in Brian's head, but I'll note that the man is a survivor.  He's endured a lot in his 78.5 years, and while Spector was a huge influence on him musically, the two are not now and never have been personally close.  God rest his soul, but Spector was a violent man and crazy (and not a good kinda crazy).

[marcella27]

I worry this will hit Brian very hard.

I wouldn't want to predict what's in Brian's head, but I'll note that the man is a survivor.  He's endured a lot in his 78.5 years, and while Spector was a huge influence on him musically, the two are not now and never have been personally close.  God rest his soul, but Spector was a violent man and crazy (and not a good kinda crazy).

I completely agree with everything you said.  What I meant is that we know, even just on a simplistic level, it's hard to watch your contemporaries die.  And brian has said Phil Spector was his most important influence ever, so I imagine it will be very sad for Brian.  That's all.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I feel bad for Brian but I do not celebrate killlers

[juggler]

I worry this will hit Brian very hard.

I wouldn't want to predict what's in Brian's head, but I'll note that the man is a survivor.  He's endured a lot in his 78.5 years, and while Spector was a huge influence on him musically, the two are not now and never have been personally close.  God rest his soul, but Spector was a violent man and crazy (and not a good kinda crazy).

I completely agree with everything you said.  What I meant is that we know, even just on a simplistic level, it's hard to watch your contemporaries die.  And brian has said Phil Spector was his most important influence ever, so I imagine it will be very sad for Brian.  That's all.

I hear ya.  Yes, absolutely another reminder of his (and our) mortality.

One of my favorite Phil Spector stories is that back in the Hollywood music-scene "party days" of the early '70s, someone allegedly said, "Why does Spector always go around with a bodyguard?"  To which John Lennon supposedly cracked, "To protect everyone else from him."

[Ninten]

Yeah, my thoughts on seeing this were completely on how Brian would react. I'm a big fan of Spector's work--love the Ronettes and love his work with Lennon and Harrison--but hard to feel sad about this one.

[JK]

How will I remember Phil Spector? Well, I recall hearing The Crystals' "He's A Rebel" when it was at #1 in the US but I don't think the notion of a Phil Spector production dawned on me until around the time of that same group's "Da Doo Ron Ron". My brother bought it and we were both knocked sideways by the curious guitar-led instrumental on the B-side -- "Wow, these ladies can play!"

Unlike Brian, I was underwhelmed by The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and have always regarded "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up”,  "Do I Love You?" and "Walkin' In The Rain" as far superior.

I lost interest in Spec (as Liberty label producer Snuff Garrett used to call him) at the appearance of "River Deep", which I've never liked. As for his connection with Leonard Cohen, well... has anyone here heard Death of a Ladies' Man? His sterling work with The Beatles together and solo drew me briefly back into the fold. But it's his pre-"River" stuff that I will always treasure.

Good night, Uncle Phil.

[SMiLE-addict]

RIP, with complex feelings.

[Emdeeh]

Al Jardine posted a statement on FB, with a link to a vid of the BB's ICHM:

RIP Phil Spector, creator of the "Wall of Sound" and producer/writer (most often with Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry) of such classics as "Be My Baby," "To Know Him, Is To Love Him," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Chapel Of Love," "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," "River Deep - Mountain High," "I Can Hear Music" (covered by The Beach Boys on the 20/20 album) and so many more. It would be nice to remember him only for his songs and production talents--John Lennon called him “the greatest record producer ever” and The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" was the song that inspired Brian to produce The Beach Boys (and other artists) and will always be the greatest record Brian ever heard  [Multiple musical notes]

[Rocker]

The Voices Of Black Women Were Essential To Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound


https://www.npr.org/2021/01/21/959057719/the-voices-of-black-women-were-essential-to-phil-spectors-wall-of-sound?utm_term=music&utm_campaign=nprmusic&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR3wIOazvEnsg-fUbg6g-gPmfYuIchWkdcQ15k334Pbz8ENjZDxPSVQpwqg

[kwan_dk]

There's still a wealth of unreleased and unfisnihed 60s productions by Spector languishing in his tape vault. Sony planned to issue a lot of those during a reissue campaign in the early 2010s which came to a halt - presumably due to differences between them and Spector. He's always been hard to deal with business-wise. The situation may be different and smoother now of course with his estate in charge of the catalog in the future.

I see that a pledge has been started online to release some of these rarities. If you love the wall of sound and would like to hear the combined efforts of all the talented musicians, singers, arrangers, songwriters etc that had a part of Spector's succes, I think you should sign this petition and help share the world. It would be a powerful statement to the Spector estate and Sony - that they need to get going compiling a box set orcompilations of this stuff.

Link to the pledge: http://chng.it/h2SHGXnCm9

[SMiLE-addict]

Some while ago on Youtube I watched a video with an interview with him somewhere in the 60's, well before his accident, and even back then he was a very strange guy - very awkward and seemingly socially very introverted, or something. I guess one of those eccentric genius types.