Phil Spector dead at 81: Jailed Wall of Sound producer dies of COVID

Music producer Phil Spector has died from COVID-19 related complications at the age of 81 it has been revealed. 

Spector was diagnosed with COVID four weeks ago and was transferred from his prison cell,  where he was serving a 19 years-to-life sentence for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, to a hospital.

He recovered enough to return to jail but he relapsed and struggled with breathing and returned to a hospital where he died Saturday, as per TMZ.

Music producer Phil Spector died Satruday from COVID-19 related complications at the age of 81. Pictured in court in February 2004 in California 

The famed musician developed the Wall of Sound a technique of sound that has a roaring effect, dubbed the ‘Wagnerian approach to rock ‘n’ roll,’ that was popular in the ’60s. 

He also wrote, co-wrote and produced acts for the likes of the Ronettes, the Crystals, and Ike & Tina Turner. 

He started his career by producing his first hit ‘To Know Him is To Love Him’ by the Teddy Bears when he was still in High School. 

From there his career skyrocketed and he produced hits including ‘Be My Baby’ by the Ronnettes and ‘He’s a Rebel’ by The Crystals.

In 1969 he produced the Beatles’ album Let It be and several solo records for John Lennon and George Harrison.

Ronnie Spector of the vocal trio The Ronettes with Phil Spector while recording in Los Angeles, California at Gold Star Studios in 1963

By the 70s he had produced 18 US Top 10 singles for various artists including Leonard Cohen, and the Ramones.

Some of his top songs include ‘The Long and Winding Road’ by the Beatles in 1970 and ‘My Sweet Lord’ by George Harrison in 1970.

In 2009, after three decades in semi-retirement, he was convicted of Clarkson’s murder.

In February 2003 actress Lana Clarkson was killed at Spector’s mansion in Alhambra, California.

The 40-year-old actress who starred in the cult film ‘Barbarian Queen’ was found dead, slumped in a chair suffering a single gunshot wound to the mouth with her broken teeth scattered across the carpet.

Spector told Esquire Magazine in July 2003 that her death was an ‘accidental suicide’ and she ‘kissed the gun.’

Lana Clarkson (right) suffered a single gun-shot to the mouth and her teeth were found scattered over the carpet. Spector (right) said he death was an accident but he was eventually found guilty of her murder in 2009

In an emergency call from Spector’s home, the music virtuoso can be heard saying ‘I think I killed someone’.

His driver, Adriano de Souza, says he saw Spector emerge from the back of the home clutching a snub-nosed pistol, shortly after making the call.

In both of his trials – the first ending in a mistrial – jurors were taken to examine the murder scene.

Spector was eventually convicted of her murder in 2009. He was supposed to be eligible for parole in 2024. 

This is a developing story