The Greatest Movie Producer In The World

Harvey Philip Spector,who was later to be called the greatest music producer in the world, was born December 26, 1940 in the Bronx, New York. His grandfather, a Russian Jew named Spekter, emigrated to the United States and his name was changed to Spector at Ellis Island.
The family was lower middle class. His father Benjamin, because of the family's indebtedness, committed suicide in 1949. In 1953, Bertha Specter, with Phil and his older sister Shirley, moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a seamstress.

With little to interest him in high school he was drawn to music studying guitar and piano. He excelled on the guitar, piano, drums, bass and French horn. Spector was drawn to the local rhythm and blues scene.
Phil soon joined a group of would-be-musicians hanging around the studios where he met Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, two songwriters that were beginning to have some success producing singles for the Robins on the Spark label.

After graduating from Fairfax High school in 1958 Spector began taking courses to become a court reporter. However, he soon decided that this wasn't the direction he wanted.

Next Spector turned to Marshall Leib,They both shared the love of rock and roll music.Another student at Los Angeles City College, Harvey Goldstein, was promised that he could sing bass. Annette Kleinbard, a sixteen year old student at Fairfax High, joined the first two hour session. She was devoted to recording of Spector's "Don't You Worry My Little Pet."

With demo in hand Spector approached his neighbor Lew Bedell, co-owner of Era Records with Herb Newsome. Bedell and Newsome had started Dore Records,with the intention of recording rock and roll, only a month or two before Spector arrived with his demo.

Spector and friends signed a four record deal that offered royalties of a cent and one-half per sold copy.

Dore mailed five hundred copies of the single to radio stations in early August, 1958. The A-side was still "You Don't Know My Little Pet." In September, a dee jay in Fargo, North Dakota, flipped the single and played "To Know Him Is To Love Him." Soon an order came into Dore offices from a distributor requesting eighteen thousand copies.Radio stations across the country began playing "To Know Him Is To Love Him."
The record was reviewed in the music press and was on the national music charts only a week later.The Teddy Bears were invited to appear on "American Bandstand" in October. There was a slight problem as there was no invitation for Harvey Goldstein because Goldstein had been dropped from the group .Goldstein sued Dore and the Teddy Bears eventually settling out of court for a share of the royalties the group would earn over the next ten years.

The Teddy Bears appeared on "Bandstand" and "To Know Him Is To Love Him" became a number one record, selling more than a million copies before Christmas. "Wonderful, Lovable You," their second record was released late in 1959. They appeared on the The Perry Como Show on January 3, 1960 where they sang "To Know Him Him Is To Love Him" and "It's Only a Paper Moon."

Spector had a falling out with Dore over royalties. Spector and the Teddy Bears signed with Imperial Records and their first single "I Don't Need You Anymore" was released in mid-January.
Spector then teamed up with Lester Sill. Sill had started his own company, Trey Records, along with Lee Hazlewood. Sill had Spector come into the studio to record in an attempt to come up with a hit record. but the group couldn't use the Teddy Bear name, so the Trey singles were issued by the Spectors Three. Neither sold and Spector dismissed the other two and called it quits as far a being a recording star.

Kleinbard was involved in an auto accident in September 1959, but recovered and attempted a solo singing career. She had a number of recording contracts, but enjoyed success as a songwriter. She was a co-writer of "The Nights the Lights Went Out In Georgia" a gold record by Vicki Lawrence In 1973 and a country hit for Reba McEntire in 1992. She also co-wrote "Hey Little Cobra" for the Ripchords and "Gonna Fly Now" the theme from the first Rocky movie. She helped write theme songs for Sophie's Choice and Mr. Mom. Over the years she has been nominated for two Academy Awards and four Emmys.

Leib played guitar on a couple of Duane Eddy sessions. He also was musical supervisor for a few low budget films in the 70s. He and Kleinbard worked together on the score for the film "Tulips."

Phil Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Spector went on to be recognized as a genius when it came to record production.

But the recent events in Phil Spector's life has turned his world upside down. He was charged with murder in the shooting death of Lana Clarkson, a 40 year old B movie actress found dead in Spector's mansion in 2003. But the first trial ended in a hung jury and a retrial is set for the 67 year old sometime in 2008.