The Phil Spector Trial: We Watch Court TV So You Don't Have To (08/22)

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY? Following another four-day break, the defense team finally came to court at full strength as lawyers Bruce Cutler and Linda Kenney-Baden were back by Phil Spector's side. Rather than continue focusing on Dr. Michael Baden's recent bombshell, the defense meekly rested their case, allowing the prosecution to continue their rebuttal. Devra Robitaille, a former Spector friend and business associate, became the fifth woman to tell the jury that Spector pointed a gun at her after she threatened to leave the famed producer's house without putting out. Robitaille testified that in the late Seventies, Spector, after a night of drinking, locked her in a room and held a gun to her temple, at which point he allegedly said, "If you leave, I'll blow your fucking head off." Following the incident, she disconnected herself from Spector for the better part of a decade, until she saw him again in the 1980s. Once again, a night of catching up ended up with Spector pointing a gun at her.

IS THIS GOOD OR BAD FOR SPECTOR? As with the previous four women who testified about Spector's proclivity for pointing firearms, it was bad. Earlier, the defense only rested their case after they weren't allowed to introduce evidence stating that Lana Clarkson was taking the drug Paxil for depression and not headaches, despite the fact that a headache specialist had written the prescription.

MEANWHILE, BEFORE COURT WAS IN SESSION: Before the defense rested, Judge Larry Fidler asked Spector whether he waives his right to testify. Spector, with a lawyer whispering in his ear, told the judge in a hushed voice "Yes," thus ending any speculation that he'd take the stand in his own defense.

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Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

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