Born in the Bronx, Spector moved, with his mother, to LA after his father committed suicide. In school, Spector learnt the guitar, and started to write songs with Marshall Leib and Annette Bard. They called themselves 'The Teddy Bears', and had a top ten hit in the US and UK with 'To Know Him Is To Love Him', the title taken from the inscription on Spector's father's grave. They seemed destined for fame, then Spector disagreed with the record company, and the band disintegrated.

Spector drifted around a little, then returned to LA and re-entered the record business and concentrated on producing. With the help of independent producers, Lester Sill and Lee Hazlewood, Spector went to New York and worked with hitmakers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. He became a staff producer for Dune Records, producing a string of hits and becoming an industry sensation.

At 21 he was a millionaire and started to work on his 'Wall of Sound' in earnest. In three years, Spector had 20 consecutive smash hits.

Then things started to go wrong. In 1966 Spector produced Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Spector considered it his greatest production to date, but it became a hit only in England. Embittered, Spector went into seclusion for two years, during which time there were reports of strange, near-psychotic behavior. He did very little for the rest of the 60's.

In 1969, Spector returned to remix the Beatles, balancing his Wall style for George Harrison's music with more minimal arrangements for Lennon's.

He went on to write and produce music for film until, in 2003, Spector was arrested in connection with the shooting of an actress in his mansion. The investigation is ongoing.