In 2009 Phil Spector, the legendary record producer, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of B-movie actress Lana Clarkson. It was an ignominious climax to a life of staggering highs and scarcely believable lows. Wall of Pain, Dave Thompson's biography of Phil Spector, has now been updated to include important details of the seemingly interminable trial. The architect of the Wall Of Sound, Spector's already iconic status in the music world was enhanced by his work with The Beatles. Writer and producer of countless hits, his innovative genius in the studio revitalised music production in the 1960s and changed the way we listen to music forever. But there was always a dark side to Phil Spector. His success became over-shadowed by his reputation for eccentricity and excess, his fractious personality and fascination with handguns eventually proving a lethal combination. Featuring interviews from those closest to him, including former wife Ronnie Spector, Wall of Pain concludes the painful tale of pop's tortured genius.

In 2002, the reclusive and legendary record producer Phil Spector gave his first interview in twenty-five years to Mick Brown. The day after it was published an actress named Lana Clarkson was shot dead in Spector's LA castle. This is Brown's odyssey into the strange life and times of Phil Spector. Beginning with that fateful meeting in Spector's home and going on to explore his colourful and extraordinary life and career, including the unfolding of the Clarkson case, this is one of the most bizarre and compelling stories in pop history.

Phil Spector is a musician, songwriter and producer whose musical ability and visionary foresight as a producer charted the future of popular music and culture of the late 20th century. He revolutionized recording processes and re-shaped the business and marketing approach of the music industry. While he raised the bar for other musicians and producers to follow and gave a voice to groups struggling to achieve equality during the 60s, Spector was, however, a complex character whose need for control brought much damage and confusion into the lives of those around him as well as into his own career and life. Phil Spector: Sound of the Sixties follows the ups and downs of Spector’s career as an entrepreneur and businessman, technical wizard and musical visionary, record label master and collaborator with the biggest bands of the age. Spector left an indelible mark on American pop music, creating an iconic soundtrack that still attracts new listeners today.

This text presents a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work on popular music, from the early 20th century to the present day.

The Music Documentary offers a wide-range of approaches, across key moments in the history of popular music, in order to define and interrogate this prominent genre of film-making. The writers in this volume argue persuasively that the music documentary must be considered as an essential cultural artefact in documenting stars and icons, and musicians and their times – particularly for those figures whose fame was achieved posthumously. In this collection of fifteen essays, the reader will find comprehensive discussions of the history of music documentaries, insights in their production and promotion, close studies of documentaries relating to favourite bands or performers, and approaches to questions of music documentary and form, from the celluloid to the digital age.

This multivolume resource is the most extensive reference of its kind, offering a comprehensive summary of the misdeeds, perpetrators, and victims involved in the most memorable crime events in American history. This unique reference features the most famous crimes and trials in the United States since colonial times. Three comprehensive volumes focus on the most notorious and historically significant crimes that have influenced America's justice system, including the life and wrongdoing of Lizzie Borden, the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, the killing spree and execution of Ted Bundy, and the Columbine High School shootings. Organized by case, the work includes a chronology of major unlawful deeds, fascinating primary source documents, dozens of sidebars with case trivia and little-known facts, and an overview of crimes that have shaped criminal justice in the United States over several centuries. Each of the 500 entries provides information about the crime, the perpetrators, and those affected by the misconduct, along with a short bibliography to extend learning opportunities. The set addresses a breadth of famous trials across American history, including the Salem witch trials, the conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the prosecution of O. J. Simpson.