Obituary

Phil Spector, Pop Music Hitmaker Convicted of Murder, Dies at 81

  • His Wall of Sound recordings made him ‘First Tycoon of Teen’
  • Imprisoned after he was found guilty of second-degree murder
Phil Spector during 8th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in 1993.Photographer: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Phil Spector, the music producer who went from the Wall of Sound to the walls of a California prison cell, has died. He was 81.

Spector died on Saturday morning at an outside hospital, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement on Sunday. A medical examiner from the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office will determine the official cause of death. TMZ reported that Spector died from Covid-related complications after being transferred from his prison cell.