The musicians Phil Spector threatened to kill
It’s not unusual for tension in a studio to build. Being creative is already quite a vulnerable thing to do, as you need to look internally, lay your heart on the line and be judged for it. You want to be working with a good engineer and producer when you’re recording such a vulnerable piece of work, and there are few engineers better at what they did than Phil Spector.
Spector was a pioneer when it came to engineering in the studio; he pioneered the wall of sound recording technique, which is still frequently used by artists today. Contrary to the name, the wall of sound wasn’t about maximising noise; rather, it was about recording instruments in a way that brought out the best in them. It was used by bands such as The Beatles, The Crystals, and Tina Turner, and it was an innovative move in recording.
Regardless of how much of an innovator Spector was, he also wasn’t a good person. He was notoriously hot-headed, bordering on unhinged. This manifested in the worst possible way in 2003 when he murdered the actor Lana Clarkson. He didn’t go to prison until 2009 but eventually died there.
Clarkson wasn’t the first person Spector pulled a gun on; she was the first person he had pulled the trigger on. Allowing the tension of recording and the vulnerability of the creative process to get to him, paired with the fact that he was a pretty horrendous person, meant that a lot of the artists he worked with found themselves, allegedly, on the receiving end of his gun.
Musicians that Phil Spector almost killed:
Leonard Cohen
One of his potential victims was supposedly Leonard Cohen. The two of them joined forces for his album, Death of a Ladies Man, which ended up being a much more appropriate title than Cohen probably predicted. The story goes that after Cohen had finished recording some of the vocal tracks for the record, he left the vocal booth feeling quite pleased with himself but was met by a troubled-looking Spector.
The engineer allegedly came from the corner of the room, a bottle of something in one hand and a gun in the other. The producer was allegedly dressed in a blazer which had marijuana leaves dotted all over, and he pressed the gun into the skin of Cohen. He never pulled the trigger; however, he leaned into Cohen and whispered, “Leonard, I love you.”
Considering his words for a moment, Cohen finally said, “I hope you do, Phil.”
John Lennon
Because of his dab hand in the studio, Spector often found himself in the presence of the greatest musical minds in the world. John Lennon asked to work with him when he was putting together a covers album in 1973. The two worked together on the album, but things got heated one night when Spector’s unhinged side made an appearance.
Allegedly, he had a habit of turning up to the studio high on amyl nitrate. When he was in this state, he wore fancy dress costumes, many of which would clearly display the pistol he carried around with them. One night, he apparently pulled the gun on John Lennon, to which The Beatle replied, “Phil, if you’re going to kill me, kill me. But don’t fuck with my ears, I need ‘em.”
Ramones
Despite the Ramones‘ success and image as one of the pioneering voices of punk, they hadn’t become commercial successes after their first few albums. In a bid to make a record that might appeal to a broader audience, they brought in Phil Spector to apply his commercial sound to the band. Overall, it went well, as the band had their most commercially successful album ever; however, the recording process wasn’t fun.
One night, things reached a real low point when the band found themselves on the receiving end of a self-indulgent Spector and a pistol. “He levelled his gun at my heart and then motioned for me and the rest of the band to get back in the piano room,” wrote Dee Dee Ramone in his autobiography, “He only holstered his pistol when he felt secure that his bodyguards could take over. Then he sat down at his black concert piano and made us listen to him play and sing ‘Baby, I Love You’ until well after 4:30 in the morning.”
