My fair state can actually convict a celebrity

Legend doesn't mean celebrity.

 

But Phil Spector IS a celebrity. If not for his legendary music career, then at least because he's been in the news for a number of years for his murder trials.

What's your point?

 

I hear celebrity, I think someone famous to a broad range of people. Before the murder trials started, a lot of people had probably never heard of him.

When it comes to music, most people know the person on stage, not the person behind the scenes.

 

And Spector, with the exception of maybe Gordy or Sir George, is the most famous behind the scenes music producer ever. I still don't get your point.

 

I'd say George Martin was far more influential than was Phil Spector. Spector created a unique sound but very few notable producers followed in his footsteps.....Brian Wilson is the only one that comes to mind. Martin, meanwhile, helped to create sounds that influenced pretty much everyone who followed him. But because he was content to more or less remain in the background, he's terribly underrated.

The other thing was, Martin's work benefited his artists. When it came to Spector's work, the sound was the thing and the artists were totally superfluous. Nobody even noticed when he released "He's a Rebel" by the Crystals, when it wasn't actually the Crystals on the record.

 

What, no mention of Timbaland?

[/CradleRobber]

I'll take Rick Rubin for modern times. He has worked with a diverse group of artists, and done well with most.

 

Well, for starters, listen to "Born to Run," which was an extremely deliberate attempt to copy Spector's "Wall of Sound" approach.

Martin's a hell of a producer, but in terms of sheer influence I'm not sure anyone can touch Spector.

 

I'd say Tony Brown's had more impact on music over the past 2 decades than any other producer...I bet's he's produced at least 250 million albums and singles sold.

From Wiki:

After leaving that position, Brown became a producer, producing albums for several artists, predominantly on the MCA Nashville Records label. Among these acts were: Tracy Byrd, Steve Earle, Vince Gill, The Mavericks, McBride & the Ride, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, and George Strait.

 

It worked. That song to me is just like a lot of Spector's productions - okay to listen to, but vastly overrated.

 

Producing a bunch of albums that are all in the same genre doesn't necessarily mean "impact," no matter how pretty and popular he gets them to sound.

Rick Rubin has a slightly more diverse list:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Rubin

 

I agree with you in a sense, but at the same time it's too easy to simply pigeonhole a lot of those artists just because they're all, nominally, country artists. Tracy Byrd, Steve Earle, Vince Gill and George Strait, for instance, sound nothing alike. It says something for Tony Brown's abilities that he can help them all to find their own distinctive sounds.

 

Your run of the mill John Shankses, no. But Phil Spector made an indelible mark on the music industry with some of the innovations he brought to recording, such as the wall of sound.

I definitely consider Spector a celebrity. And, yes, a guilty one.