Coronavirus: music producer Phil Spector, convicted of murder, dead at 81
- Spector, who worked with the Beatles, Leonard Cohen, the Righteous Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner, was known for his ‘Wall of Sound’ technique
- He was jailed after being convicted for the 2003 murder of Hollywood actress Lana Clarkson
Rock producer Phil Spector, who changed the sound of pop music in the 1960s with his “Wall of Sound” recordings and was convicted of murder for the 2003 murder of a Hollywood actress, has died at age 81 of Covid-19, according to authorities and media reports.
Spector produced 20 top 40 hits between 1961 and 1965 and went on to work with the Beatles on “Let It Be”, as well as Leonard Cohen, the Righteous Brothers and Ike and Tina Turner.
He was diagnosed with Covid-19 four weeks ago and transferred to a hospital from his prison cell, where he had been serving a 19 years-to-life sentence for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, the Daily Mail newspaper said.
In a brief statement, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Spector died of natural causes at an outside hospital, and that his official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner in the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.
Clarkson, 40, was killed by a shot to the mouth, fired from Spector’s gun in the foyer of his mock castle home outside Los Angeles on February 3, 2003. The two met hours earlier at a Hollywood nightclub.