Everybody knows that Phil Spector was found guilty for second degree murder the other day for shooting somebody who was in Xena Warrior Princess. But did you know that the prosecution attempted to have him remove his wigs for the trial? Phil refused, telling the judge that the hair was real. For that reason alone I think he should be exonerated. I don't know anybody who likes Phil Spector more than Faris Badwan from The Horrors so this morning I spoke to him about the case. During the course of that conversation he recommended 11 Phil songs to listen to that aren't "Be My Baby." Here they are, with a one-line description from Faris.Darlene Love: "Stumble & Fall" "Darlene Love was in The Crystals. I suppose this song is fittingly titled, given Phil's current circumstances." The Crystals: "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" "Everybody knows this one but it's really hard to get on vinyl. I suppose it's fittingly titled given Phil's…" The Teddy Bears: "To Know Him Is To Love Him" "This is Phil's first hit. I think he was still a teenager when this came out. The song title came from the epitaph on his father's gravestone. Phil suffered from really bad stage fright and realized he'd be more suited to producing after being forced to perform with the Teddy Bears on TV." The Spectors Three: "I Know Why" (If you're a rich chap, you can buy it here)
"He recorded a few demos that that were to be recorded by other artists but that didn't happen. In the end they ended up just putting out the demos on the Philles Records label, which was they label he had with Lester Sill." Ray Peterson: "Corinne, Corrina" "This was his first hit after the Teddy Bears. In 1960 he sort of ditched Lester Sill who had taught him how a studio worked. Then he moved to NY where he got offered the job to produce Peterson's single." Modern Folk Quartet: "This Could Be The Night" "They weren't a particularly good band, but this track was co-written by Harry Nilsson and Phil Spector. They split up not long after this was released. The guitar on this sounds amazing. It's almost like a weird Beach Boys song." The Ramones: "I Can't Make It On Time" "I think the End Of The Century album is a bit patchy, but this is one of my favorites on it, along with "Danny Says." It's got a glockenspiel on it and the lyrics are great. I actually have a mini glockenspiel at home. I used it when I produced the song 'So So Happy Making' by Hatcham Social." The Righteous Brothers: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" "This song has received the most radio airplay out of any song ever in the US, which is pretty amazing. The title was supposed to be a dig at his ex-wife Annette who he had fallen out of love with." The Ronnettes: "Do I Love You?""Apparently Phil and Ronnie Spector played this on the turntable while they were consummating their relationship. It's only 3 mins long so they had to keep getting up and putting the needle back to the beginning."Phil Spector: Silent Night"It's truly unbelievable this one. It's him talking about how great his Christmas album is for two minutes." The Ronnettes: "Walking In The Rain" "The whole lead vocal was done on the first take and it's the only time that ever happened on any of Spector's records. The thunderstorms at the beginning won the song a Grammy for best sound FX." ANDY CAPPER
