Phil Spector will be allowed jam sessions with fellow prisoners

Phil Spector’s permanent assignment in the state prison system is a massive Central Valley penitentiary with special accommodations for older and disabled inmates. And even behind bars, the man credited with inventing the "Wall of Sound" will still be allowed to create music.

The 69-year-old record producer, serving at least 19 years for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson, arrived on Monday at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison in Corcoran, corrections officials said.

A prison spokesman said Spector is housed in a medium-security “special needs” unit designed for inmates who need extra protection. Those offenders include former gang members, those whose crimes – such as sexual assault – make them targets, and high-profile inmates.



“Mr. Spector is high notoriety,” the spokesman, Stephen Smith, said. Spector will be permitted to have musical instruments in his cell, and inmates in his unit often sing and play music together, Smith said. “The facility he is on now, there are a bunch of inmates that have instruments and they all play together on the exercise yard,” Smith said.

The prison is also a frequent assignment for elderly and inmates and those in wheelchairs because it is on flat land and has handicapped-accessible areas, Smith said. Spector has health problems, including precancerous tumors in his throat and a tremor that he has said at least one doctor suspected was Parkinson’s disease.

Spector’s wife, Rachelle, welcomed the transfer and said it would be an improvement from the Kern County prison where, she said, she was unable to visit her husband or speak to him by phone. “Anywhere is better than that place,” she said.