Music Producer Phil Spector–Confused, Crazy–or Alcoholic?
Phil Spector ”
Confused or Crazy, His Antics are Rooted in Alcoholism
After a gunshot rang through retired music producer Phil Spector’s home on February 3, 2003 at 5 a.m., he walked outside in a daze and told his driver, Adriano DeSouza, “I think I just killed someone.” He didn’t say, “I didn’t kill anyone,” or “I definitely did not kill Lana Clarkson,” or anything else denying culpability for the actress’s death. Yet, if Spector has the disease of alcoholism, he could either have been confused, or culpable.
Spector, 68, turned rock’n’roll into “symphonies for teenagers.” Working with the Beatles, the Righteous Brothers and the Ronettes, he became a multi-millionaire by his early 20s. His main claim to fame until now, the “wall of sound” that combines orchestration with vocal harmonies, is considered revolutionary by the music world. While he didn’t exactly flame out, he essentially retired by his mid-20s and worked only sporadically in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Except for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, Spector was considered a recluse and rarely seen until 2003.
Clues to likely alcoholism can be found early on. Spector married Ronnie Bennett of the Ronettes in 1968 and divorced in 1974. Bennett left him in 1972, asserting she would have died if she’d remained with him. She claimed that on several occasions in 1974 he threatened to kill her unless she signed away all her future royalties in the divorce settlement. John Lennon accused him of pointing a gun at Stevie Wonder in 1973 (“an awkward way to threaten to kill a blind man”) and he reportedly brandished a gun at a number of other acquaintances and friends, including Dee Dee Ramone during recording sessions for the Ramones’ “End of Century” in 1979 and, allegedly, several women after being refused sex. In 1980, his ten-year-old son ran away, citing years of abuse. One girlfriend in the late ’80s described classic Jekyll and Hyde behaviors, saying “he’d turn from a lover into a monster in a split second.” A number of other friends used similar words in describing behaviors that are usually rooted in alcoholism.
Spector was reported to have “curtailed his drinking” in 2000, which indicates that even he finally realized drinking had caused him severe problems (recalling that the addict can self-identify only long after knowledgeable and aware observers diagnose the disease). A long-time friend wrote, “Thankfully, the only beverages offered around Phil this century are diet colas and Sprite, and I’m [now] in no danger of being hit by a stray bullet.” Yet, he went out clubbing on the night of February 2, 2003, when he met actress Lana Clarkson and lured her to his home with a promise of just “one drink.” He reportedly “looked like he was under the influence of something” by a Los Angeles talent manager who was seated near Spector at an Italian restaurant at around 1 a.m., and “he kept getting up and going to the bathroom.” He is said to have left a $500 tip on a $55 invoice after downing at least two rum cocktails. Except for the fact that he wasn’t able to run out of funds with which to fuel his addiction, a 900% tip is reminiscent of James Woods’ tax-shelter salesman character Lenny Brown in the movie, “The Boost,” tipping out his last dollars to a parking attendant who had watched Lenny’s car being repossessed. Addicts always have to be big shots, regardless of the forum.
Following his arrest, Spector called “the actions of the Hitler-like [then] D.A. [Steve Cooley] and his storm trooper henchmen… reprehensible, unconscionable and despicable.” Hyperbole is a behavioral indication of alcoholism, as is a refusal to accept responsibility for one’s misbehaviors. Capriciously hiring and firing in repeated fashion, which he has done with a succession of criminal defense attorneys (including O.J. Simpson’s Robert Shapiro, Eric and Lyle Menendez’s Leslie Abramson and now mobster John Gotti’s Bruce Cutler), is also symptomatic of alcoholism. Unfortunately there is little doubt that Spector, who is on his fourth marriage (this time to a 26-year-old), relapsed sometime before February 3, 2003. Since alcoholics are masterful liars, he may have been lying when he said, “I think I just killed someone.” On the other hand, he more likely lied when he emphatically exclaimed during an interview with Esquire Magazine that Clarkson had “kissed the gun” and then shot herself.