He's a Rebel: Phil Spector--Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer

by Mark Ribowsky

Book Overview

Phil Spector created the "wall of sound," produced the Beatles' last record, persuaded the Ramones to go "pop," made the Righteous Brothers sound respectable, and was a millionaire by age 21. His... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815410441
• ISBN13: 9780815410447
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Troubled Musical Genius

Author Mark Ribowsky has covered the troubled career of "Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer" quite well in this up-to-date biography of Phil Spector. The suicidal death of his father while Phil was a young boy robbed him of a male role model. Many words can be used to describe Phil. He established his Wall of Sound while recording some of the early hits such as Be My Baby, He's A Rebel, and Da Doo Ron Ron that distinguish the early 1960s. The book covers his relationship with his first wife who he cheated on by romancing and later marrying Veronica Bennett of The Ronettes, Darlene Love, The Righteous Brothers, Lenny Bruce, and others whose life crossed Phil Spector's. He was a perfectionist in his work, and he could be very difficult to work with. His insecurities keep popping up throughout his life as illustrated by his looking to alcohol as a solution to his problems, having temper tantrums by insisting on having things his own way, secluding himself in his home, and his disrespectful treatment of women. Phil Spector undoubtedly is/was a musical genius, but he is a deeply troubled man. This is a good biography, but be prepared to wade through a lot of ghastly situations in the life of Phil Spector.

Rebel he is !

This gave me some insight into Phil's life, as I am now seeing his Murder trial play out on Court TV. He has always had problems with Women, guns,and drinking to much, as well as possible pychotic episodes. A "Madman", he is called that cheated many a singer out of their due. And songs that I remember from the 50's, 60's, along with working on the Beatles album "Let It Be". This is an updated version and refers to the Lana Clarkson Murder Case, for which he is in, at the present time. Joan

Truth Stranger than Life

"Truth is really stranger than fiction. While Phil Spector's murder trial continues in real life (with the TV movie sure to come), you can read the true life story of a rock n'roll legend who is now on trial for his life.

Rock's dreaded Spector

The author updates his 1989 biography of one of rock music's legendary geniuses with additional chapters that lead up to Phil Spector's murder trial this year. Ribowsky provides an inside look at the early days of the rock 'n' roll record industry, when record producers like Spector called all the shots and matched singers with songs until the Beatles kicked down the established formula for stardom. Spector's life was shaped by the early death of his father, being raised and dominated by his mother and sister, and his relentless drive for perfection in the recording studio. He created the so-called "Wall of Sound" and produced some of the best records in rock history, but left a trail of wreckage in his wake. Ribowsky captures the flavor of the music business and takes music fans through the behind-the-scenes stories of records made by the Ronnettes, Crystals, Gene Pitney, Beatles and Tina Turner.

Crazy in Cookstown

Just a short rebuttal to crazycgh, though one hardly seems necessary given his ludicrous -- and clearly absent-minded --citations of the "omissions" in Ribowsky's wonderful biography of Phil Spector. The message is this: Hey, genius, if you'd, uh, like READ the book, you would see that on Page 131 there is a full discussion of "Do the Screw" (which incidentally is NOT the title of that track; it's "Let's Dance the Screw Part 1 and 2"), including the musicians who played on it, the studio where it was recorded, the delicious fact that the only copy of the song ever sent out was to the co-owner of Spector's label, whom he was trying to ease out, as well as a comment from said co-owner, to the effect that the record was Spector's way of saying, "F**k you buddy." One would have to be seriously narcoleptic to miss all that. So now we know a little something about crazycgh.As his other quibbles demonstrate, perhaps crazy could find something to do in Cookstown, anything to get him out of the house more. Or at all.