Imagine listening to the world praise the man who killed your daughter. It's unfathomable for most of us, but it’s the unfortunate reality for Donna Clarkson. Her daughter, Lana Clarkson, was murdered by famous record producer Phil Spector on 3rd February 2003.
Despite his crime, to which he practically confessed, a flurry of obituaries celebrated his achievements after his death in 2021. The New York Times said Spector's legacy ‘was marred by a murder conviction’, and Rolling Stone stated his ‘life was upended’. Both were forced to apologise after a huge public backlash.
The man
Brian Wilson called Spector ‘timeless’, and Stevie Van Zandt said he was ‘a genius irredeemably conflicted’ – both generous descriptions given the horrors that followed him around his whole life.
Spector was born in the Bronx on 26th December 1939, but moved to Los Angeles with his mother and siblings after his father's suicide – he was nine years old at the time. He was a talented young musician throughout his teens and formed the American pop group The Teddy Bears shortly after graduating high school. The band enjoyed global success and had a smash hit with To Know Him Was To Love Him, inspired by the inscription on his father's tombstone.
The group eventually disbanded in 1959, and Spector turned his attention to record production instead. His ‘Wall of Sound’ style completely revolutionised rock music, combining a symphony of orchestral instruments and reverberation effects to create a richer, almost otherworldly tone. The technique inspired many of the greats, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and ABBA.
However, the success and admiration he enjoyed professionally didn't extend to his personal life. He had complex emotional issues, including bipolar disorder, plus a string of unhappy, violent marriages. In her memoir Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts And Madness, his second wife, Ronnie Bennett (lead singer of The Ronettes), claimed Spector had imprisoned her and subjected her to ‘years of psychological torment’.
Later, the pair's adopted sons, Gary and Donté, shared similarly harrowing experiences. Gary said he was ‘blindfolded and sexually molested’ by Spector's girlfriend. Donté added, ‘For years, we were just caged animals to be let out for Dad's amusement...I come from a very sick, twisted, dysfunctional family.’
The crime
While on a drunken binge, Spector met Lana Clarkson at the House of Blues in Los Angeles, where she was working at the time. She had enjoyed a semi-successful career in the film industry, starring in several Roger Corman movies, including Deathstalker and Barbarian Queen. However, as she approached 40, the blonde bombshell roles she was typically typecast in started to dry up, and she needed another income.
After chatting for a while, they left the venue and headed back to Spector's mansion. The two went inside while Spector's driver, Adriano de Souza, waited in the car. About an hour later, Adriano heard a loud bang and saw Spector leaving his house through the back door with a gun. Adriano immediately called the emergency services and quoted Spector as saying, ‘I think I killed somebody’.
Spector denied all charges. Instead, he professed Lana had committed accidental suicide, something her mother vehemently denies to this day. ‘She would never do that. She had just gone to the dentist and paid a lot of money. I was surprised they didn't have her dentists up there [on the stand].’
The conviction
In court, Spector's eccentric behaviour whipped the media into a frenzy. He would turn up in elaborate costumes and wigs, not seeming to understand the gravity of the charges. Perhaps he thought his fame and success made him untouchable – incidentally, he was still producing records while on bail.
Spector's televised trial began on 19th March 2007. Six months later, the judge declared a hung jury of ten to two for conviction. The prosecution demanded a retrial, and Spector was charged again on 20th October 2008 with second-degree murder.
On 13th April 2009, Spector was found guilty of murdering Lana. He received 19 years to life in prison. Her mother later told reporters, ‘I miss her every day. And I think about her, and it makes me smile. But it makes me cry at the same time. I just miss not being able to go to lunch and just laugh and do fun things together.’
Phil Spector died in prison in 2021 due to complications of COVID-19. He would have been eligible for parole in 2024.
