1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. This is a 2 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:23,080 Speaker 1: story about Christmas. It's a story about guns and about 3 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,960 Speaker 1: pain and control, about how a kid from the Bronx 4 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: made a wall of sound and then made the Holidays 5 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,559 Speaker 1: sound bigger than they ever had before. It's about how 6 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: fame turns to fear and fear turns to violence, and 7 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: it's about the fine line between immortality and infamy. This 8 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: is a story about Phil Spector, so naturally, it's a 9 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:54,160 Speaker 1: story about great music, some of the most groundbreaking and 10 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: influential music of the last sixty years. Unlike that clip 11 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: I played for you at the top of the show. 12 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,640 Speaker 1: That wasn't great music. That was a preset loop from 13 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:08,160 Speaker 1: my melotron called Electric hair Piece MK. 14 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 2: Two. 15 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 16 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: rights to Deep Purple by Nino Tempo and April Stevens. 17 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 18 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:27,080 Speaker 1: Richie Blackmore Inspiring Cheese? Could I afford it? Because that 19 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: was the number one song in America on November twenty two, 20 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,559 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, And that was the day that Phil 21 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:38,840 Speaker 1: Spector released the album A Christmas Gift for You, His 22 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:42,120 Speaker 1: attempt to cement his young legacy on the charts and 23 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: in the minds of millions, only to have his music 24 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: overshadowed by one of the darkest days in American history, 25 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: an omen of the even darker days to come. On 26 00:01:54,600 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: this episode, a wall of sound, guns, fear, violence, great 27 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: Christmas music in Phil Spector. I'm Jake Brennan and this 28 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: is Disgracelam February third, two thousand and three, Alhambra, California. 29 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: Fifty thousand volts of electricity ripped through Phil Spector's sixty 30 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: three year old body. Within seconds, his knees gave up. 31 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: He dropped to the floor. His vision was blurry, but 32 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: he could now feel the cop who just tasered him 33 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:57,080 Speaker 1: cuffing his hands behind his back. This was his house, 34 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:02,519 Speaker 1: his castle, actually the famed Pyrenees Castle, a castle fit 35 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: for a king, or, more accurately, Inspector's case, fit for 36 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: a legendary record producer. Phil Spector lived up on high 37 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: on a hill overlooking the San Gabrielle Valley. Ten bedrooms, 38 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: ten bathrooms, turrets, spires, mirrored walls, crystal chandeliers. It was 39 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: part Gothic, part Romantic, part relic of the past. 40 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 2: But it was his. 41 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: And the police just walked right in like they owned 42 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: the place. And they saw the woman's body slumped in 43 00:03:37,200 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: an ivory brocade chair, and they saw all the blood, 44 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: the teeth scattered all over the floor of the foyer, 45 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: and then they saw Phil Spector standing there, his white 46 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: jacket splattered with blood. 47 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,240 Speaker 2: They told him to put his hands up. He did 48 00:03:53,280 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 2: not comply. 49 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: He hated cops. He hated cops ever since. They made 50 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,720 Speaker 1: life hell for his good friend Lenny Bruce rest in peace. 51 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 2: So fuck you a HUMBERPD. 52 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: That's the moment the cop fired the taser, and that's 53 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: when the pain really set in. 54 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 2: Life was pain. 55 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,240 Speaker 1: Phil Spector knew pain as early as nine years old 56 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: when his father parked his car on the side of 57 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: the road in Brooklyn, pumped in the exhaust through a 58 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,440 Speaker 1: rubber tube in the driver's side window, and suffocated on 59 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:28,000 Speaker 1: the fumes. And then years later, when his own son, 60 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: Philip Junior, died of leukemia, Phil Spector knew the pain 61 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: never really went away, and now faced down on the 62 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,280 Speaker 1: cold floor of his castle, Phil had to push past 63 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,839 Speaker 1: the pain of the taser to realize that he was 64 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:47,919 Speaker 1: being placed under arrest on suspicion of murder. At this point, 65 00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: the cops had found the bloody thirty eight caliber Cobra 66 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: Revolver and the nine other guns Phil kept in the house. 67 00:04:55,160 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: Phil Spector loved guns. Just ask John Lennon, Debbie, Harry Ramone, 68 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 1: Leonard Cohen Cher, or any other musician who'd once had 69 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: a gun pulled on them by one of the twentieth 70 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: century's most consequential figures in popular music. It was true 71 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: Phil Spector loved guns, but there was one thing he 72 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: loved even more than guns, Christmas. As an orchestrated rendition 73 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: of Silent Knight played in his headphones, Phil Spector leaned 74 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: into the microphone Phil's right hand, studio engineer Larry Levine, 75 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: hit record. 76 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:37,159 Speaker 2: The tape rolled. 77 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:42,279 Speaker 1: Phil Spector spoke in his nasal, high pitched voice, Hello, 78 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,719 Speaker 1: this is Phil Spector. It's Christmas, so why don't you 79 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: go fuck yourselves? In reality, it wasn't Christmas, not quite yet. 80 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:56,320 Speaker 1: It was August nineteen sixty three. Outside the walls of 81 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:59,839 Speaker 1: gold Star Studios in Hollywood. The mercury topped one hundred 82 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: three degrees inside, though it was freezing. Philip cranked the 83 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: ac and hopes that it would help the many musicians 84 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: and singers involved in creating his new Christmas album get 85 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: into the holiday spirit. But Phil Spector, for one, may 86 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: have gotten a little too much. 87 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 2: Into the spirit. I made this for you. 88 00:06:18,760 --> 00:06:21,279 Speaker 1: He said into the microphone, as the tape kept rolling. 89 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:26,840 Speaker 1: You caught suckers. Phil began to laugh hysterically. Larry Levine 90 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,200 Speaker 1: had stopped on the tape machine. Come on, Phil, he said, 91 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: you can't say that. And also, this monologue of yours 92 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 1: is already like five minutes long. 93 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 2: You gotta cut it down. 94 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: The monologue that Larry was referring to was Phil's spoken 95 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: word contribution to the final track of the record. It 96 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: was Phil's way of making sure that listeners knew who 97 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,039 Speaker 1: was really the brains behind the operation. Not the Rawnettes 98 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:54,359 Speaker 1: and not the Crystals, but the so called Tycoon of 99 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,239 Speaker 1: teen the self made millionaire who made his bones producing 100 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,960 Speaker 1: hit records for the teenage set. He called them little 101 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:07,359 Speaker 1: symphonies for the kids. At just twenty three years old himself, 102 00:07:07,600 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: Phil Spector was serious about his groundbreaking, overwhelming wall of 103 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: sound style, which, for the first time in pop music history, 104 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: really exploited all the amenities of the recording studio for 105 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: maximum emotional effect. A Phil Spector record was known for 106 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: its layers of instruments, strings and echo, and a collection 107 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: of Christmas songs would be no different. Because this record 108 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: wasn't just a cynical holiday cash grab, It wasn't some 109 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: phoned in Andy Williams bullshit. It was a proof of vision. 110 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 1: Phil Spector was going to make the greatest, most musically 111 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:47,240 Speaker 1: sophisticated Christmas record ever released. He hoped it would be 112 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: as big as Irving Berlin's White Christmas, not only the 113 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: biggest selling Christmas song of all time, but the biggest 114 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: selling song of all time period. White Christmas was immortal, 115 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: Thus Irving Berlin was immortal too. That was the kind 116 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: of immortality that Phil Specter aspired to. So we booked 117 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:12,040 Speaker 1: gold Star Studios for six weeks. He worked fifteen sixteen 118 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: hour days, seamlessly weaving together a joyous tapestry of horns, strings, 119 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: sleigh bells, LA's greatest session musicians, the Wrecking Crew, and 120 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: the voices of beehive hair dude beauties like Darlene Love 121 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: and that one girl he had a crush on, Ronnie Bennett, 122 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: even though Phil himself was a newly led but although 123 00:08:30,120 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: the music was joyous, the ways in which he achieved 124 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 1: that sound were often less, so he demanded take after 125 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: take and get it just right. He punched the talkback button. 126 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:51,520 Speaker 3: Stop take it again from the top. Stop take it 127 00:08:51,559 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 3: again from the top, Stop take it again from the top. 128 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 1: He pushed every player to their limits, and when it 129 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,400 Speaker 1: all got to his head, which it often did, when 130 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: his ego and his ambition made him feel godlike, so 131 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: powerful that even he thought for a moment that he 132 00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,320 Speaker 1: could actually say go fuck yourselves on his monologue for 133 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: the album's final track. He had guys like Larry Levine 134 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: who brought him back down to earth. It was Larry 135 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 1: Levine who said, quote the Christmas album is a period 136 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,360 Speaker 1: I don't remember with pleasure unquote. But Phil Spector didn't 137 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: really care about all that. This record was his statement 138 00:09:34,520 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 1: of purpose, and when it was released in November of 139 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty three, it would blow the Irving Berlins and 140 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: Andy Williams's right out of the water and cement Phil 141 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,400 Speaker 1: Spector as the musical force to be reckored with. 142 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:49,480 Speaker 2: And then. 143 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 4: Here is a bullet them from CBS News in Dallas, Texas, 144 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 4: three shots were fired at President Kennaday's motorcade and downtown. 145 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 4: The first report say that President Kennedy has been seriously 146 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 4: wounded by the shooting. 147 00:10:09,320 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy just so happened 148 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: to coincide with the release of Phil Spector's holiday album, 149 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,320 Speaker 1: A Christmas Gift for You. Retail sales came to a halt. 150 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 1: Radio stations broke format for days, replacing pop music with 151 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,160 Speaker 1: round the clock news, and as a result, the record 152 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,360 Speaker 1: did not sell as expected, but even more crushing for 153 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: its creator, it did not make Phil Spector immortal. Phil 154 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: Spector was instead reminded of his own mortality because he 155 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 1: had failed, and he was now once again in pain, 156 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,800 Speaker 1: so much pain, in fact, that the accepted narrative claims 157 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 1: that Phil pulled all copies of A Christmas Gift for 158 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:54,800 Speaker 1: You from record store shelves across the country. But do 159 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 1: a little digging in, it seems that this is nothing 160 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,360 Speaker 1: but a myth, one that's been perpetuated over the years 161 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 1: by biographers, perhaps out there by Phil himself, in order 162 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 1: to control the narrative about why the record didn't sell 163 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 1: well upon its initial release. Because if you look at 164 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,679 Speaker 1: the data from the trade charts. During December of nineteen 165 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:17,080 Speaker 1: sixty three, The album was number thirteen on Billboard's seasonal 166 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: list and in the top five on cash Box's seasonal survey. 167 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,440 Speaker 1: What Died that weekend wasn't the record so much as 168 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:30,720 Speaker 1: the moment hit radio went silent, Commerce screeched to a halt, 169 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: and by the time America went back to normal, the 170 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: window had nearly closed, and so at Phil Spector's odds 171 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: at achieving immortality. 172 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,320 Speaker 2: But Phil was nothing if not tenacious. 173 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: He knew he would create another opportunity in which he 174 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 1: could take another shot, and this one would be huge, 175 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:55,079 Speaker 1: bigger than Christmas, big enough that the whole world would 176 00:11:55,080 --> 00:12:24,680 Speaker 1: take notice. Big Jim slammed his big fists down on 177 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: the desk, papers went flying, a rotary phone fell onto 178 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: the floor, and Phil Spector, who had just been seated 179 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 1: behind the desk, leaped to his feet and shock. Big 180 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: Jim was not fucking around. He was a thug and 181 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: pleaded khakis. He rolled up his sleeves and started to 182 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: come around to the other side of the desk, obviously 183 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:47,360 Speaker 1: eager to wring Phil Spector's neck. Phil panicked and began 184 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: to distance himself defensively. What the hell do you want, 185 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:54,880 Speaker 1: Big Jim laughed. It's not what I want, It's what 186 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: Joe Scandori wants. And I'm the guy who makes sure 187 00:12:57,679 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: that Joe Scandori gets what he wants. Joe Scandori as 188 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,600 Speaker 1: in the well connected business association of the Genevese crime family, 189 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,040 Speaker 1: who also just so happened to be the manager of 190 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:11,960 Speaker 1: the vocal group The Crystals, who were signed to Phil 191 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:16,360 Speaker 1: Spector's independent record label. Big Jim grabbed both ends of 192 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:18,959 Speaker 1: the desk with his big palms. It looked like he 193 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: was either about to vault over it or toss it 194 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: to the side, and do you know what Joe Scandori wants? 195 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,200 Speaker 1: And Phil thought about making a run for it, but 196 00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 1: he knew that Big Jim would squash him like a 197 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: size fifteen steel toe boot on a scattering cockroach, so 198 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:38,880 Speaker 1: he just stayed where he was opposite his momentary tormentor, 199 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: trying not to look like he was about to piss 200 00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:44,920 Speaker 1: his pants. Joe Scandori wants you to deliver this fucking 201 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:47,080 Speaker 1: single by the Crystals that you owen, and he wants 202 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: you to do it right now, and you'd better do 203 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: it because if you don't I'm going to kill your 204 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: fucking mother, and then I'm coming back here to break 205 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 1: your legs. A few weeks later, in August of nineteen 206 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: sixty two, Phil Spector's record label released The Crystal's latest single, 207 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:07,920 Speaker 1: He's a Rebel. But here's the thing. The girls who 208 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,920 Speaker 1: actually sang on that single, they weren't the Crystals. They 209 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,960 Speaker 1: were The Blossoms, featuring the great Darlene Love on lead. 210 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,800 Speaker 1: For years, this remained a secret, and the reason that 211 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: it happened in the first place was because Phil Spector 212 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 1: was terrified that Joe Scandori's muscle Big Jim, was going 213 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: to make good on his promise to maim and kill 214 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:32,120 Speaker 1: if Phil didn't release something by the Crystals, and since 215 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: he had a recording of the Blossoms already in the cam, 216 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: putting that out under the Crystal's name seemed the easiest 217 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:39,640 Speaker 1: and swiftest way to avoid. 218 00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:40,800 Speaker 2: Big Jim's bloody retribution. 219 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: And despite the discrepancy between the name on the label 220 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: and the voices in the record's grooves, He's a Rebel. 221 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: The song became the second single produced by Phil Spector 222 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:56,120 Speaker 1: to hit number one. The Crystal's next single, which actually 223 00:14:56,280 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: was performed by The Crystals. This time the Du Run 224 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: Run hit number tis, and then the Rawnettes excellent be 225 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: My Baby made it to number two. Both of those 226 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: songs in nineteen sixty three. Be My Baby, in particular, 227 00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:13,680 Speaker 1: was the helen of Troy of early sixties pop, the 228 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,800 Speaker 1: song that launched one thousand ships, as it were, or 229 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,440 Speaker 1: more accurately, the song that inspired upstarts like The Beach Boys, 230 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:23,240 Speaker 1: Brian Wilson and The Beatles John Lennon to. 231 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 2: Reach new creative heights. 232 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 1: The next time Phil Spector would see one of his 233 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: productions hit the top of the pop chart, however, was 234 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: with the Righteous Brothers nineteen sixty four single You've Lost 235 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:38,160 Speaker 1: That Loving Feeling, a number one smash in both the 236 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: United States and the UK. 237 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 2: You've Lost That Loving Feeling, be My Baby, the Do 238 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 2: Run Run, and. 239 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: He's a Rebel all shared the same thing, Phil Spector's 240 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 1: unmistakable wall of sound, which was achieved by doubling or 241 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: sometimes tripling instruments like an acoustic piano and electric piano 242 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: and harpsichord, all playing the same parts simultaneously. 243 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 2: The resulting sound. 244 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:08,000 Speaker 1: Was massive, as big and expressive as the dramatic melancholy 245 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: of nineteen sixties teenage life, and it exploded from jukeboxes 246 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,760 Speaker 1: in car radio speakers. In nineteen sixty six, the wall 247 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: of sound grew bigger than ever at the gold Star 248 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: session for Phil's production of Ike and Tina Turner's version 249 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,640 Speaker 1: of River Deep Mountain High. Four guitars, three bass players, 250 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: three pianos, two drummers, multiple percussionists, close to two dozen 251 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: musicians in total played in that room together at top volume, 252 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: and after Tina Turner matched to the musician's energy level 253 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:41,960 Speaker 1: with a performance so feverish and sweaty that she stripped 254 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,480 Speaker 1: down to her bra and after the final product had 255 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: been drenched in that patented wall of sound echo, River 256 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: Deep Mountain High was undeniably a masterpiece. 257 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 2: A Phil Specter masterpiece. 258 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: But the decade was changing fast. The teenagers Phil made 259 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: his music for were moving on. Beatlemania had completely rearranged 260 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:11,400 Speaker 1: the musical landscape, and the British invasion was all the rage. 261 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:15,160 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty six, during a summer which stripped down 262 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 1: songs by the Rascals, the Mamas and the Papas and 263 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: the Rolling Stones dominated the pop chart, the overstuffed River 264 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: Deep Mountain High stalled at number eighty eight. It was 265 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 1: the worst charting single of Phil Spector's now eight year career. 266 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: The failure was a gut punch. This was the Christmas 267 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,439 Speaker 1: album of fiasco all over again. Maybe it was complicated 268 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,120 Speaker 1: by the fact that he tried to sign The Rolling 269 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:45,639 Speaker 1: Stones to his record label, Phil Less Records, but was 270 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:49,480 Speaker 1: stonewalled by the chairman of their UK label. Either way, 271 00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:53,720 Speaker 1: this time Phil Spector took it personally. In an interview 272 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,200 Speaker 1: with The New York Times that very year, he said 273 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:00,399 Speaker 1: he'd lost interest in the record business. It's like a 274 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: fish saying that he's lost interest in water. With that 275 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: sudden disinterest came an equal and opposite strong interest in 276 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:13,720 Speaker 1: one Ronnie Bennett, the Spanish Harlem girl with the hair 277 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:15,840 Speaker 1: and the face and the dark eyes and the red 278 00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: lips and the whole thing. Phil didn't tell her he 279 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:21,679 Speaker 1: already had a wife when they began dating, and Ronnie 280 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: didn't suspect anything because Phil wasn't acting like a married 281 00:18:25,280 --> 00:18:30,040 Speaker 1: man would act. One time, Ronnie left gold Star Studios 282 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: with Phil's gopher, a pre famed Sonny Bono, to go 283 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 1: grab some burgers, and Phil's jealousy ran so hot that 284 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:39,160 Speaker 1: he turned the studio upside down while she was gone. 285 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:40,560 Speaker 2: Even ripping tape off the reels. 286 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,400 Speaker 1: Another time, Ronnie went out dancing with Sonny's girl Chare 287 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: at the Purple Onion, only to have Phil show up 288 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 1: in a rage and drag Ronnie from. 289 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 2: The dance floor. 290 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,480 Speaker 1: Ronnie saw Phil freak out many a time, but never 291 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 1: more than when his friend, the comedian Lenny Bruce, was 292 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,199 Speaker 1: found dead of an overdose. Phil couldn't get over the 293 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,679 Speaker 1: injustice of it all. Lenny had been arrested, humiliated, vilified, 294 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:11,680 Speaker 1: all for a couple of dirty words. Phil saw Lenny 295 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:14,679 Speaker 1: a kindred spirit, someone who was just as much a 296 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:17,480 Speaker 1: rebel as he was, especially when it came to the 297 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,520 Speaker 1: kinds of rules that their respective industries wanted to impose 298 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,679 Speaker 1: upon them. With Phil, it was the expectation that he 299 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:27,000 Speaker 1: would make hit records like they had always been made. 300 00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: With Lenny, it was the expectation that he'd play it clean. 301 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:33,840 Speaker 1: And when they both broke the mold, like true rebels, 302 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,199 Speaker 1: this is what they got for it, rejected by the 303 00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: general public. With poor Lenny here naked on his bathroom floor, 304 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: a syringe of junk his only companion. During his last breath, 305 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,480 Speaker 1: Phil was so upset about Lenny that he forbade Ronnie 306 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: from leaving him. She couldn't even go on tour with 307 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: the Beatles, who had invited the Rawnettes to open their 308 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: American dates for them, so her cousin Lane went in 309 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:01,800 Speaker 1: Ronnie's place, and by Christmas of nineteen six, when the Ronettes, 310 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: like many other girl groups of their ilk, called it 311 00:20:04,359 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: quits for good, it was Ronnie's turn to grieve because 312 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: she had been denied those last few months with the 313 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:14,680 Speaker 1: group that bore her name. Phil said he'd make it 314 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: up to her. He was going to return to the 315 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,640 Speaker 1: record business that had forsaken him in order to make 316 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: her a bona fide pop star. Ronnie hoped that Phil 317 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,800 Speaker 1: was telling the truth, turning a corner even and for 318 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:31,879 Speaker 1: that she was elated. But Ronnie couldn't see what was 319 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:34,600 Speaker 1: going on inside of Phil, who she would eventually marry 320 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty eight. Phil Spector was not turning any corners. 321 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: Phil Spector was now a man defined by his pain, 322 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,760 Speaker 1: a man frustrated by what he perceived to be a 323 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:50,560 Speaker 1: disdainful public reaction to his genius, A man increasingly out 324 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:52,840 Speaker 1: of time. He was a man living in a world 325 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:56,200 Speaker 1: that had moved on without him. The Beatles, the Stones, 326 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: the Mamas and the Papas, the rascals. They were running 327 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: laps around him, while he found himself paying increasing attention 328 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,679 Speaker 1: to the devil on his shoulder, and also to the 329 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:10,800 Speaker 1: devil on his other shoulder and inside Phil Spector, those 330 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: devils waged a war through all that pain. 331 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 4: We'll be right back after this. We're We're, We're. 332 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: Nineteen seventy nine, the Hollywood Hills. Deede Ramone was tired 333 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: of waiting around. This wasn't New York City. This wasn't 334 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 1: fifty third and third. This was the cold and sterile 335 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: home of Phil Spector, the first of assumed to be 336 00:21:43,119 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: notorious mansions. This one nestled in the sunburnt brush, high 337 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,720 Speaker 1: above the Sunset Strip. It's not like the basis for 338 00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: the Ramones couldn't wait. If he had good reason to. 339 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:56,679 Speaker 1: Dede could wait on his man for some of that 340 00:21:56,800 --> 00:21:59,920 Speaker 1: Chinese rock, no problem. He just didn't like waiting on 341 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,879 Speaker 1: this man, or the man if this dinosaur of a 342 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 1: record producer was to be believed who, according to d 343 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: d's bandmate Johnny Ramone, was doing everything ass backwards. Johnny 344 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,280 Speaker 1: was the one usually calling the shots. And when Johnny spoke, 345 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:20,520 Speaker 1: you listened. He thought like he played, He talked like 346 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:25,359 Speaker 1: he played. He strategized like he played, which was fast, loud, 347 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 1: and very brief. Johnny didn't waste notes, and he didn't 348 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 1: waste your time. When you made a record, According to 349 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,640 Speaker 1: the wisdom of Johnny Ramone, you got in, you got out, 350 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:40,800 Speaker 1: you got it over and done with. Making records was 351 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:46,080 Speaker 1: an occupational hazard, an inconvenience at best. But the Ramones 352 00:22:46,119 --> 00:22:48,920 Speaker 1: were making a record with Phil Spector, who was as 353 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:52,399 Speaker 1: laborious and methodical as the leather and denim clad punks 354 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,880 Speaker 1: were quick and dirty. Phil made Johnny play the same 355 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: fucking chord over and over again. It felt like some 356 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: sick joke. And so now Dedey found himself just wanting 357 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 1: something to do, something besides all this sitting and waiting 358 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,680 Speaker 1: with his dick in his hands, And where was Joey? 359 00:23:10,800 --> 00:23:13,400 Speaker 1: The Ramones lead singer, had been whisked away by Phil 360 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:15,400 Speaker 1: hours ago to work on a cover of an old 361 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:19,640 Speaker 1: Ronette song. Dede stood up and began to wander through 362 00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:22,440 Speaker 1: the rooms in the hallways of Phil's mansion, shouting. 363 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 2: Joey, Joey, the fuck are you. Let's get the hell 364 00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:25,760 Speaker 2: out of here man. 365 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 1: Suddenly, Phil Spector appeared from out of the shadows, wearing 366 00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:36,880 Speaker 1: all black, long black hair, black goateee, black shades, A big, 367 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,720 Speaker 1: gaudy crucifix hung from his neck, and in his hand 368 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: he held a revolver. What's the matter, Dede? Dedee nearly laughed, 369 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaker 1: Phil looked ridiculous. Instead, Dede just shook his head, dismissed 370 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 1: this crazy motherfucker standing before him with a wave of 371 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:57,639 Speaker 1: his hand, and told Phil that he was leaving. Phil 372 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,880 Speaker 1: stepped forward until he was in arm's length from Dede. 373 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: He raised the revolver and pushed it squarely into the 374 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:10,280 Speaker 1: bass player's chest, and then he spoke, dide, you. 375 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:11,120 Speaker 2: Ain't going nowhere. 376 00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: Dede and the rest of the Ramones were quickly discovering 377 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: what others before them already knew that the producer, Phil 378 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:25,439 Speaker 1: Spector was fucking nuts. Their friends and Blondie knew it, 379 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: and just a few years earlier, Phil invited them back 380 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 1: here to his mansion after a show at the Whiskey 381 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,879 Speaker 1: and then held them at gunpoint, even at one point 382 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:36,879 Speaker 1: sticking the butt of his forty five down Debbie Harry's boot. 383 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,600 Speaker 1: Leonard Cohen knew it when Phil pulled the piece on 384 00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: him while they were making the album Death of a 385 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,600 Speaker 1: Ladies Man. Actually, Phil grabbed Leonard's neck and then stuck 386 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: the butt of a gun against the singer's head and said, Leonard, 387 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 1: I love you. Cher knew it when she confronted Phil 388 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,239 Speaker 1: over some of her recordings he had legally released, and 389 00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 1: he responded by twirling. 390 00:24:58,520 --> 00:24:59,720 Speaker 2: A revolver on his finger. 391 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: George Harrison never saw it while he and Phil made 392 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: All Things Must Pass, one of the greatest solo records 393 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:09,760 Speaker 1: by a Beatle, but George's friend John Lennon sure did. 394 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,000 Speaker 1: Phil showed up at a session for john solo album 395 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:15,960 Speaker 1: Rock and Roll, dressed like a surgeon and wildly fired 396 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 1: his pistol at the studio ceiling. And all this, of 397 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,320 Speaker 1: course after he caused it, typically stoned and docile Paul 398 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,640 Speaker 1: McCartney to fly off the handle and compose the angriest 399 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: letter of his career when Phil molested the master tapes 400 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:33,720 Speaker 1: of the Beatles' final album Let It Be. But perhaps 401 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,360 Speaker 1: no one knew about Phil Spector better than his wife, Ronnie. 402 00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:42,320 Speaker 1: Phil rarely let Ronnie leave the house. He locked her 403 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:44,439 Speaker 1: in the closet when he had company over, and on 404 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:46,360 Speaker 1: the rare occasion when he did allow her to leave, 405 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:49,359 Speaker 1: he placed an inflatable man doll in the front passenger 406 00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:51,639 Speaker 1: seat of her car, so it appeared that he was 407 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: driving around with her. And perhaps there was no better 408 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,360 Speaker 1: example of the extent of his fucked upness than when 409 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:01,480 Speaker 1: he bought a solid gold coffin fur him his wife, Ronnie, 410 00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,440 Speaker 1: and then showed it to her, making sure to point 411 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:06,919 Speaker 1: out that it was equipped with a glass top so 412 00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:09,439 Speaker 1: that he could keep an eye on her even after 413 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:13,320 Speaker 1: she was dead. And by the time Phil was working 414 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:16,720 Speaker 1: with the Ramones, Ronnie had long since done what she 415 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,280 Speaker 1: had been afraid to do for a long time. Afraid 416 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:25,080 Speaker 1: because she knew about Phil's insane jealousy, about his anger volatility, 417 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:28,119 Speaker 1: and about how that mixture, along with some alcohol and 418 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 1: a house full. 419 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 2: Of loaded firearms, could prove deadly. 420 00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 1: But she was able to leave unscathed, and as the 421 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,320 Speaker 1: nineteen seventies flew by and punk rock broke, Ronnie came 422 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 1: to expect those monthly alimony checks from Phil, the ones 423 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: that were always stamped with the words. 424 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 2: Fuck you on the back. 425 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:50,320 Speaker 1: Juvenile. Yes, but she'd take it over the way he 426 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: used to pay her twelve hundred dollars delivered entirely in 427 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 1: nickels by a couple of heavies carrying shotguns. 428 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:57,400 Speaker 2: But I digress. 429 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:05,119 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy nine, five years after his split with 430 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: Ronnie was made official, Phil Spector needed. 431 00:27:07,800 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 2: A new target. 432 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:13,440 Speaker 1: Unfortunately for them, it became the Ramones, and like I said, 433 00:27:13,840 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 1: Punk may have broken, but Phil was doing his best 434 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:21,920 Speaker 1: part to break punk by remaking the band and his image. Obviously, 435 00:27:21,920 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: the Ramones were aligned with the lineage of girl groups 436 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:26,680 Speaker 1: like the Ronettes, but it was as though Phil was 437 00:27:26,720 --> 00:27:29,840 Speaker 1: stuck in the past and hell bent on dragging the boys. 438 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,240 Speaker 2: Back there with him. 439 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:35,080 Speaker 1: That said, the resulting album, End of the Century is 440 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: pretty fucking awesome, even if it's not a true Ramones 441 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,360 Speaker 1: album in the sense that Phil brought in other drummers 442 00:27:40,359 --> 00:27:43,840 Speaker 1: and guitar players for some songs, as well as a keyboardist. 443 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 2: And a saxophonist. 444 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:48,280 Speaker 1: It took them three weeks to make the album. Joey 445 00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:52,600 Speaker 1: said it was interminable, with the exception of his minor 446 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,639 Speaker 1: involvement on Yoko Ono's album Season of Glass in the 447 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 1: nineteen eighties, not to mention a failed attempt at working 448 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,720 Speaker 1: with Celine Dion in the nine two tracks for a 449 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,399 Speaker 1: Star Sailor album in the two thousands. The Ramones record 450 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:08,920 Speaker 1: was the last full album of new material Phil Spector 451 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:13,159 Speaker 1: ever produced. For decades, he was largely absent from the 452 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,359 Speaker 1: musical landscape. He was a relic in an industry that 453 00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: was constantly moving forward. He became a fetish of so 454 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:24,400 Speaker 1: called audio purists, synonymous with that back to Mono slogan 455 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,320 Speaker 1: which campaigned for a heyday that had been lost just 456 00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,520 Speaker 1: as quickly as it had been defined. But to show 457 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:33,520 Speaker 1: him that he mattered, at least as an important notch 458 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:37,440 Speaker 1: on the timeline of twentieth century popular music, that same 459 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:40,560 Speaker 1: industry inducted Phil Spector into the Rock and Roll Hall 460 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,160 Speaker 1: of Fame in nineteen eighty nine. 461 00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 2: It was recognition. 462 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:47,240 Speaker 1: It was a plaque on a wall somewhere in Ohio, 463 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: but it wasn't eternal. It wasn't White Christmas. And that's 464 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 1: what Phil Spector had always wanted to be remembered for eternity. 465 00:28:58,720 --> 00:28:59,840 Speaker 2: And so he went in. 466 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:02,840 Speaker 1: He got what he wanted, but he had to do 467 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: something else in order to get it, because to truly 468 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: grasp an eternity, to hold it in his hands, he 469 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:13,520 Speaker 1: had to also take infamy along with it, which is 470 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: what he did. And when it long last, he seized 471 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: eternity and infamy, he did it with a gun. Hey guys, 472 00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,960 Speaker 1: Earlier in this episode I mentioned an incident in which 473 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: Phil Spector shot his gun into the ceiling while making 474 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 1: a record. 475 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:42,800 Speaker 2: Was John Lennon. 476 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:46,000 Speaker 1: The whole story around Phil and John's relationship is much 477 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: crazier than that little nugget there, I believe it or not, 478 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,120 Speaker 1: and we simply didn't have time to get into it 479 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: in this episode. 480 00:29:52,240 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 2: No problem. 481 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: That's why we have many episodes and you can hear 482 00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,880 Speaker 1: that story about the wild Shenanigans of Phil Spector and 483 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:01,960 Speaker 1: John Lennon, which is full of debauchery and brazen theft 484 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: and near death. You can hear all about it in 485 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,600 Speaker 1: a brand new mini episode, Like I said, of Disgraceland, 486 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:10,480 Speaker 1: available right now. Our mini episodes are created exclusively for 487 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: our All Access members. So to hear this mini episode 488 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,120 Speaker 1: and hear every mini episode each week, just go to 489 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: disgracelandpod dot com to sign up. 490 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 2: All right now, back. 491 00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:24,880 Speaker 1: To this story about Phil Spector in the wee hours 492 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 1: of February three, two thousand and three, at the age 493 00:30:27,680 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: of sixty three years old, Phil Spector still thought of 494 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,560 Speaker 1: himself as a rebel, just like the one in That 495 00:30:33,600 --> 00:30:39,040 Speaker 1: Blossom Crystal's song. Only this time his rebellion wasn't taking 496 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,520 Speaker 1: place inside a recording studio as it had four decades earlier. 497 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,240 Speaker 1: This time he was rocking that rebel attitude by going 498 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: in the wrong door at the House of Blues on 499 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. This was the door you 500 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 1: went through if you were somebody. You had to be 501 00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:58,680 Speaker 1: worthy to go through that door. Phil Spector wasn't on 502 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,160 Speaker 1: the House of Blues VIP list that night, but that 503 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:03,840 Speaker 1: didn't matter to him. He was a VIP in the 504 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:08,120 Speaker 1: larger cultural sense, at least in his own mind. At first, 505 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:11,320 Speaker 1: the club's staff told him he wasn't allowed in the room, 506 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: but then one of the waitresses did recognize him, and 507 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: suddenly everyone's tune changed. Suddenly Phil was being led to 508 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:20,720 Speaker 1: a seat and poured a stiff glass of Bacardi. 509 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:21,120 Speaker 2: Who won fifty one. 510 00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,800 Speaker 1: He could hear Judas priest rob Halford wrapping up his 511 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: set in the performance room there at the venue, But 512 00:31:27,840 --> 00:31:31,920 Speaker 1: all that hell bent for leather shit that wasn't for Phil. Besides, 513 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,080 Speaker 1: Phil was too busy making eyes at one waitress, in particular, 514 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: the six foot tall blonde with piercing eyes and legs 515 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: for days. Lana Clarkson was a forty year old struggling 516 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,240 Speaker 1: actress who had never quite reached the Hollywood dream. She'd 517 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: spent her adult life chasing B movies Roger Corman productions, 518 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: films with titles like Barbarian Queen. This was what she'd 519 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: come to expect as her lot in life. Eyed hustles 520 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,960 Speaker 1: like this House of Blues gig were necessary to keep 521 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:05,719 Speaker 1: the lights on, and the work wasn't as risky as 522 00:32:05,760 --> 00:32:08,600 Speaker 1: the work she'd allegedly done a decade earlier as a 523 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:13,080 Speaker 1: call girl who commanded upwards of one thousand dollars an hour. Now, 524 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: maybe Lana Clarkson had heard of Phil Spector before. It's 525 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: hard to know, But after Phil made repeated advances during 526 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: his brief stay there at the House of Blues that night, 527 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 1: Lana eventually accepted his invitation to go home with him 528 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 1: to his castle on a hill some fourteen miles away 529 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,080 Speaker 1: in nearby Alhambra. The pair climbed into the backseat of 530 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:38,440 Speaker 1: Phil's black Mercedes limousine and his driver, Adriano Desuza, put 531 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:39,040 Speaker 1: it in drive. 532 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 2: There was two thirty in the morning. 533 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 1: The bright lights of Los Angeles receded in the distance, 534 00:32:47,360 --> 00:32:51,480 Speaker 1: and now was all strip malls, single stories, bungalows. Now 535 00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:55,880 Speaker 1: Hambro was fast asleep. A little over an hour passed, 536 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,560 Speaker 1: and soon Lana Clarkson could see the huge iron gates 537 00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:04,360 Speaker 1: that created a physical and metaphorical barrier around Phil's otherworldly castle. 538 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,560 Speaker 1: Adriano pulled the limo up to the house. Phil and 539 00:33:08,640 --> 00:33:10,960 Speaker 1: Lana got out, and then they walked up the eighty 540 00:33:10,960 --> 00:33:14,640 Speaker 1: eight stone steps to the castle's front door. Lana didn't 541 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,959 Speaker 1: even think to wonder if that number eighty eight was intentional, 542 00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:20,920 Speaker 1: done on purpose to match the number of keys on 543 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:25,200 Speaker 1: a piano. Was it mere coincidence, just like her presence 544 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,720 Speaker 1: here right now. Had this all been planned in advance, 545 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:32,880 Speaker 1: Was it in the cards cosmically speaking, or was it 546 00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:36,479 Speaker 1: as completely random as it seemed like? 547 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 2: I said. 548 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: She wasn't thinking these things because her mind was racing 549 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:43,040 Speaker 1: to simply take in what she was seeing as they 550 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,680 Speaker 1: walked through the enormous front door and into the ornate foyer, 551 00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:52,240 Speaker 1: the marble flooring, the crystal chandeliers, the white piano in 552 00:33:52,280 --> 00:33:56,000 Speaker 1: the decorative suit of armor, and an ivory brocade chair. 553 00:33:57,560 --> 00:33:58,120 Speaker 2: Outside. 554 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:01,200 Speaker 1: Adriano had pulled the limo around back where he was 555 00:34:01,240 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 1: now waiting because technically he was still on the clock. 556 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,320 Speaker 1: The soft meditative purr of the engine was suddenly rattled 557 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:12,920 Speaker 1: by a loud crack coming from inside the castle. Adriana 558 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,680 Speaker 1: was startled. He threw open the driver's door and jumped 559 00:34:15,680 --> 00:34:17,880 Speaker 1: from the limo just as his boss, Phil Spector, was 560 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,400 Speaker 1: coming out of the back door. Phil was holding a 561 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:23,360 Speaker 1: revolver in his hand. Phil stood there in the early 562 00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:26,239 Speaker 1: morning darkness and the sun just beginning to push up 563 00:34:26,239 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 1: against the cold horizon, and with a blank stare on 564 00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:33,279 Speaker 1: his face. Phil Spector looked at Adriano and said, I 565 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:41,080 Speaker 1: think I killed somebody. Minutes later, Alhambra PD discovered Lana 566 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 1: Clarkson's dead body slumped in that ivory brocade chair with 567 00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:48,640 Speaker 1: a single gunshot wound to her mouth. Phil Spector would 568 00:34:48,680 --> 00:34:51,280 Speaker 1: go on to claim that Lana Clarkson had drunkenly played 569 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,399 Speaker 1: around with the thirty eight Colt Cobra revolver that killed her, 570 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: even kissing it in the moment before she accidentally shot herself, 571 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: but the evidence otherwise, and after two trials and after 572 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:07,040 Speaker 1: a jury deliberated for thirty hours, Phil Spector was found 573 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:10,800 Speaker 1: guilty of second degree murder on April thirteenth, two thousand 574 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:18,760 Speaker 1: and nine. He got nineteen years to life. Eight months later, 575 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:22,239 Speaker 1: on December twenty third of that same year, Darlene Love, 576 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,200 Speaker 1: formerly of the Blossoms, one of the groups shepherded by 577 00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,360 Speaker 1: a young Phil Spector, appeared as the musical guest on 578 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: The Late Show with David Letterman. As was Letterman's tradition 579 00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:36,120 Speaker 1: since nineteen eighty six, every December, right before the holiday, 580 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:38,959 Speaker 1: Darlene would come on the show to perform her song 581 00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:42,799 Speaker 1: Christmas Baby, Please Come Home, one of the highlights from 582 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:47,400 Speaker 1: Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift for You album. This year, however, 583 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:51,920 Speaker 1: Phil Spector's name was not mentioned on the televised broadcast. 584 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:58,240 Speaker 1: This was Darlene Love's song. This was Darlene Love's moment, 585 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,680 Speaker 1: and for all the studio audience knew, hell for all 586 00:36:02,719 --> 00:36:04,080 Speaker 1: the world new as they. 587 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:04,759 Speaker 2: Watched from home. 588 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:10,239 Speaker 1: Phil Spector had nothing to do with this. This Christmas 589 00:36:10,239 --> 00:36:13,439 Speaker 1: album was once the thing that Phil Spector hoped would 590 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:18,160 Speaker 1: make him remembered for eternity. But now all Phil Spector 591 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: was known for was being a disgrace. I'm Jake Brennan 592 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:46,799 Speaker 1: and this is Disgraceland. All right, guys, thanks for checking 593 00:36:46,800 --> 00:36:50,320 Speaker 1: out this episode of Disgraceland. This week's question of the week, 594 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:51,960 Speaker 1: I want to know from all of y'all, what are 595 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,840 Speaker 1: you listening to? What are your go to Christmas songs? 596 00:36:54,920 --> 00:36:55,920 Speaker 1: Christmas albums. 597 00:36:55,960 --> 00:37:00,319 Speaker 2: I'm hoping to hear some out there kind of unique. 598 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: Sek esoteric recommendations from you guys. I want to get 599 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,840 Speaker 1: turned on to some Christmas music that I'm not currently 600 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:07,960 Speaker 1: aware of that I'm not listening to. We love Christmas 601 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:09,880 Speaker 1: music in the house, we got to play constantly, but 602 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:13,640 Speaker 1: I want your Christmas tune recommendations, all right, hit me 603 00:37:13,719 --> 00:37:15,880 Speaker 1: up six one seven nine oh six six six three eight. 604 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:18,680 Speaker 1: You might hear your voice on the next bonus episode, 605 00:37:18,719 --> 00:37:21,200 Speaker 1: the Afterparty episode of Disgrace, and you can also text. 606 00:37:20,920 --> 00:37:21,680 Speaker 2: Me at that number. 607 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:24,719 Speaker 1: Hit me at disgracelampod on the socials. You guys, want 608 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 1: exclusive content from Disgraceland, you want ad free listening, you 609 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,759 Speaker 1: want that mini episode. Go to disgracelampod dot com and 610 00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:32,520 Speaker 1: become an all access member today. 611 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:34,880 Speaker 2: Our guys, here come some credits. 612 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:38,960 Speaker 1: Disgracelam was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 613 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,400 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 614 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:45,720 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 615 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:49,000 Speaker 1: Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, 616 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:53,280 Speaker 1: and Facebook at disgracelampod and on YouTube at YouTube dot com, 617 00:37:53,320 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 1: slash at disgracelampod. 618 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:56,840 Speaker 2: Rock a Roller. 619 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:02,680 Speaker 3: He's a bad, bad man.