The Phil Spector Trial: We Watch Court TV So You Don't Have To (07/18)

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY? Coming off the momentum of their most successful witness so far, the defense made a complete U-turn, shifting their focus from Lana Clarkson's suicidal tendencies to criticizing police procedure on the night of her death. The move was disastrous: Instead of showing that the police were overzealous, James Hammond of the Alhambra PD testified that Spector was unresponsive, refused to obey orders and behaved so erratically at the crime scene he had to be tasered. In short, Spector acted like someone who just killed someone, and not someone who witnessed a suicide. The defense realized their error in calling Hammond to the stand and wrapped up their questioning quickly.

IS THIS GOOD OR BAD FOR SPECTOR? Bad. And even worse, Judge Fidler told the defense that they could not call former Hollywood madam "Babydoll" Gibson to the stand, who claims Clarkson once worked for her as an escort. Fidler ruled there's little (and possibly forged) evidence to support this.

HAIR & WARDROBE UPDATE: Spector's wardrobe is starting to incorporate metallic-looking garments, as evidenced by his shiny black tie and red shirt.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette | 1973

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter