Harvey Philip Spector

Harvey Philip Spector was born in the Bronx, New York, and moved to Los Angeles as a child. In 1958, at age eighteen, he scored a number-one hit as part of the Teddy Bears with "To Know Him Is to Love Him." Co-founding Philles Records in 1961, he revolutionized pop recording by layering dozens of instruments, strings, and echo chambers into dense, orchestral "little symphonies for the kids," a technique known as the Wall of Sound.

Spector produced era-defining hits including "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" by The Righteous Brothers. He later produced The Beatles' final album Let It Be (1970), John Lennon's Imagine, and George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, earning induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. His later years were marred by severe mental instability and gun violence, resulting in his 2009 conviction for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson.