Read by Ray Porter

Phil Spector, born in the Bronx in 1939, grew up an outsider despised by his peers. Yet after his family moved to California, he learned everything he could about music, formed a band, and had a number-one hit with "To Know Him Is to Love Him." He quickly became the top producer of early rock and roll, originator of such girl groups as the Ronettes, a millionaire by twenty-one, and the owner of his own record label by twenty-two. He scored hit after hit using a new technique called the "wall of sound." But the reign of the boy-man who owned pop culture seemed doomed by the "British Invasion," and he spiraled into paranoid isolation and peculiar behavior. Though he seemed to improve for a time, even returning to the recording studio to work, it didn't last-in 2003 the actress Lana Clarkson was found dead in his home, killed by gunshot. Quote. Authors Note. Chapter 1 Chapter 2. It Was Phillip Who Was Moving Fastest Chapter 3. To Know Him Is To Love Him Chapter 4. On Broadway Chapter 5. A Big Hoot and Howl Chapter 6. :They All Thought He Was s Genius Chapter 7. Building the Wall Of Sound Chapter 8. He Wanted to be Thought of Has Someone Interesting Chapter 9. Little Symphonies for the Children Chapter 10. Going to the Chapel Chapter 11. The Wall of Sound, It Kinda Sounds Tired Chapter 12. The Last Word In Tomorrows Sound Today Chapter 13. Chapter 14. River Deep, Mountain Low Chapter 15. Marriage in Purgatory Chapter 16. 'Out There, But in a Beautiful Way Chapter 17. The Lonely Bird in the Gilded Cage Chapter 18. With the Beatles Chapter 19. These Are Pretty Wild Sessions, They Get Pretty out There Chapter 20. Let's Take Five Chapter 21. Leonard, I Love You Chapter 22. Thank You Folks-Have a Good Life Chapter 23. A Case That No One Can Reach Chapter 24. Between Grief and Nothing, I Will Take Grief Chapter 25. I Honestly Thought He Was Kidding Chapter 26. You Don't Tell Mozart What Operas to Write Chapter 27. Anybody Have a Calculator Chapter 28. He Wanted to Prove He Really Was Human Chapter 29. It's Very Difficult, Very Difficult to be Reasonable Chapter 30. I Think I Killed Somebody Chapter 31. Genius is Not There All the Time "An intimate portrait…Brown's passionate analysis of Spector's body of work elevate what could have been a gossipy tell-all to a gripping anecdotal portrait of a musical genius crippled by lifelong emotional problems." "A remarkable book about, among other things, fame, obsession, genius, money, and madness…This is the definitive study of the man and the myth that engulfed him." "A rare and wonderful mix of dogged research and vivid storytelling. Virtually every page carries a tale of farce or horror, or, more often than not, both." "A fascinating, detailed look at the life and career of one of the biggest names in music. It's a study not just of Spector's mental problems but of how he was able to use his obsessions to create some of the most memorable and influential music in history…It's a great portrait of where genius and madness meet." "Stacked with incredible anecdotes, Brown's entertaining and nuanced portrait lifts the fog of myth and outright falsehood (including Spector's own) that has obscured the celebrity producer through the years." "Brown chronicles the producer's eccentricities, insecurities, perfectionism, and brilliant talent to engrossing effect…Essential for all libraries." "One of the most compelling, memorable rock-'n'-roll biographies in recent memory. Brown's passionate, über-detailed study of pop's scariest visionary is just about as good as a music bio can get." "Porter's reading of Brown's biography does a solid job of hitting the high notes, maintaining an even tone and reading with understated panache." "[Phil Spector's] story is spectacularly captured in Ray Porter's narration of this detailed biography…Porter delivers this portrait in

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