Phil Spector: To Know Him Is To Love Him

Rather than discuss the sad circumstances of his mental deterioration and murder conviction, let us take a moment to celebrate some of the high points of the beyond-over career of songwriter, producer, arranger & visionary Phil Spector, one of a handful of rock musicians who is routinely and universally called a genius.

Teddy Bears: "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (1958)
Phil wrote and produced his first hit at age 18, inspired by the inscription on his father's gravestone. That needle-nosed nebbish on guitar? That's Phil.


The Ronettes: "Be My Baby" (1963)
One of those songs that's so simple and so great, it's hard to imagine it not existing. Ronnee of the Ronettes was married to Phil for many years, and not surprisingly, was routinely abused both physically and mentally. Luckily, she got out of there alive. Also the favorite song of mentally disturbed yet gentle genius Brian Wilson.


Ike & Tina Turner: "River Deep, Mountain High" (1966)
This awesome, strange song was Phil's production to top all productions, and Phil considered it his best work at the time. A huge hit in Europe, it only made it to #88 on the US charts. YouTube has a bunch of great live versions of Ike & Tina doing their thing on this track, like this one.


Phil also worked extensively with The Beatles, coming in to tidy up the abandoned Let it Be project in 1970 and producing George Harrison's epic emancipation All Things Must Pass and John Lennon's first two solo masterpieces John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. Interestingly, both of the Lennon albums were sonically miles away from his famous "Wall of Sound" sound.

Here are fellow short-tempered egomaniac geniuses Spector and Lennon laying down backing vocals on "Oh, Yoko!" If there was any doubt that Phil was mentally imbalanced, here he is taking production orders from Yoko Ono.