The tale of 'gutsy' Phil

Somewhere between the realms of true brilliance and utter insanity lies a thin line. A line that legendary music producer Phil Spector has fought to balance upon for most of his life. But alas, insanity seems to have finally gotten the best of one of rock's most famous madmen. \nOn Feb. 3, Spector was arrested on suspicion of murder. Police were called to his home at 5 a.m. in response to a 911 call reporting shots had been fired. There police found the body of a woman lying in a pool of blood in Spector's foyer. She was killed by a single bullet to the face. Spector was the only one home at the time. He has since been charged with murder and remains the only suspect in the case.\nThe victim is Lana Clarkson, a 40-year-old B-movie actress of "Barbarian Queen" fame. Weeks prior to her death, Clarkson took a job as a hostess at the House of Blues in Hollywood. Spector was known to frequent the club, although it is speculated that Clarkson first met him only hours before he apparently killed her. The two were seen leaving the club around 2 a.m. in Spector's chauffeured Mercedes sedan. They later returned to Spector's house. It was the chauffeur who reportedly called the police in response to the gun shots.\nSince his arrest, many of Spector's friends have spoken out on his behalf, saying that he could not possibly be capable of murder. But a quick look into Spector's past reveals a different side to the story. The fact remains that in his prime, this man was a genius, but he was also a troubled child who never really fit in with others. Spector's father committed suicide when he was 9-years-old. The epitaph on his tombstone reads: "To Know Him Was To Love Him," which inspired the first song Spector ever wrote, the song that made him a millionaire a decade later. The man has been lost in his own egotistical existence since the '60s, has a fragile mental state to say the least and could be capable of murder.\n"I've never forgotten Phil coming towards me with a bottle of Manischewitz in one hand, a .45 in the other and putting his arm around my shoulder, shoving the gun into my neck, cocking it and saying, 'Leonard, I love you.' It wasn't that much fun," remembers Leonard Cohen in a 1993 interview with Rolling Stone magazine. \nThroughout his career, Spector has always been known for his eccentric behavior and reclusive nature. He was huge in the 1960s, producing dozens of hits with his innovative "Wall of Sound" production technique, which consisted of intensely overdubbed vocals and the layering of multiple musicians to create a thunderous musical assault for the listener. He changed the way popular music sounded and took the emotions it conveyed to extraordinary heights -- telling the story not only through the lyrics, but through the instrumental arrangements as well. He was the first to consider production as the real art behind songcraft, and one of the first to see popular music as an art form. He viewed it as creating "little symphonies for the kids." He considered the recording artists he worked with to be merely his pawns, saying that, like instruments, they were tools to be molded at his whim. \nIt was a concept entirely new to popular music at the time, and everyone loved it. He produced numerous hits including "Be My Baby" and "Baby I Love You" by the Ronettes, "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me" by the Crystals, and "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by the Righteous Brothers. With these successes, Spector was on top of the world. Then, in 1964, the British Invasion took America by storm, and moved popular music into an entirely different direction. The world forgot about the musical genius of Phil Spector. In a sense, he was washed up by his late twenties. \nInfamous for being an arrogant, ruthless, egomaniacal and paranoid control freak, Spector was also an extravagant partier, who shared the company of rock's elite and had a severe penchant for firearms. Yes, Spector certainly likes his guns. He reportedly used to coordinate them with outfits. He is rumored to have a ferocious temper, and was quick to draw his gun on anyone, or at the very least, have one of his many bodyguards beat them bloody. Over the years, Spector has become notorious for his abuse of drugs and alcohol, and his violent nature. His second wife, Veronica Bennett, lead singer of the Ronettes, says he pulled a gun on her and threatened to have her killed.\nThroughout the 1970s, Spector went on to produce some of the biggest acts in music history. At the beginning of the decade, Spector went through hundreds of tapes to produce the Beatles' "Let It Be" album and went on to produce the solo projects of John Lennon and George Harrison. He is also said to have been one of Lennon's closest friends during his "Lost Weekend" estrangement from Yoko Ono. Spector has also worked with the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Leonard Cohen and Eric Clapton, to name a few. His last production effort to be released was the Ramones' "End of the Century" album in 1980. During these sessions, Dee Dee Ramone recalls being held hostage in Spector's home for two days. Spector also allegedly put a gun to Dee Dee's head until the Ramones agreed to use horns on one of the tracks that Spector was producing. \nIn 1989 Spector was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and appeared onstage, clearly wasted, in the company of five bodyguards, serving as an example of a man who's obviously eccentric, detached from reality and lacking any sense of security. Since then, Spector has been nothing short of a recluse. He has made few public appearances, retired from producing for the most part, and reportedly quit drinking four years ago. \nFollowing his arrest, Spector refused to talk with police and promptly hired defense attorney Robert Shapiro, of OJ Simpson fame. Police have taken Spector's Mercedes into custody, along with numerous firearms from his home, one of which is specifically believed to be the gun that killed Lana Clarkson. \nSpector is set to attend a court hearing in early March that will further decide his fate. If he is found not guilty, it will be a miracle, but also an injustice. Personally, I'd like to think that Spector didn't do it, but that's just because I like his music. It seems to be a scene that has played out countless times in his extraordinary, yet troubled life, except this time, Spector actually pulled the trigger.