Fact #84920
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Al Hazan (songwriter/producer) : I was with Lester Sill at his office on Sunset. We were going over a new song of mine when the telephone interrupted us. It was Phil Spector asking Lester to join him at Harmony Recording Studios in Hollywood. I figured even a musical genius likes moral support and to ask for other opinions once in a while. Since I was with Lester when the call came, he invited me to join him in the studio booth to watch while Phil put the finishing touches on Uptown.
Phil was already a well known producer, so I felt fortunate to be invited to watch him work. There were two musicians in the studio when we arrived and Phil was busy adding flamenco guitar to the record's introduction. I was immediately impressed with his intensity - he knew exactly what he wanted to hear. Once he was satisfied with the guitar work, it only took one take for the percussionist to successfully add castanets.
Flamenco guitar and castanets gave the arrangement a Spanish flavor which impressed me and demonstrated Phil's originality. As I watched him, I remember thinking,"This guy could cut hit records anywhere. He doesn't need to be at Gold Star with Stan Ross or Larry Levine (Stan's cousin) or anyone else." Although he had a slender frame physically, to me he became a giant when he got behind the producer's microphone.
(Source : http://www.alhazan.com/phil-spector.html)
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Phil was already a well known producer, so I felt fortunate to be invited to watch him work. There were two musicians in the studio when we arrived and Phil was busy adding flamenco guitar to the record's introduction. I was immediately impressed with his intensity - he knew exactly what he wanted to hear. Once he was satisfied with the guitar work, it only took one take for the percussionist to successfully add castanets.
Flamenco guitar and castanets gave the arrangement a Spanish flavor which impressed me and demonstrated Phil's originality. As I watched him, I remember thinking,"This guy could cut hit records anywhere. He doesn't need to be at Gold Star with Stan Ross or Larry Levine (Stan's cousin) or anyone else." Although he had a slender frame physically, to me he became a giant when he got behind the producer's microphone.
(Source : http://www.alhazan.com/phil-spector.html)