By the mid-1970s, Phil Spector was on a downward slide commercially. Spector had created hits such as "Be My Baby" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" with his "wall of sound" production technique in the 1960s, and had some success in the early 1970s by producing albums by John Lennon and George Harrison; however, his behaviour became increasingly erratic.
The craziness would escalate when Spector reunited with Lennon to record a rock and roll oldies project called Roots, which would eventually come out in 1975 under the title Rock 'n' Roll. The sessions took place in a chaotic fog of drugs, booze, and hangers-on as the equally troubled Lennon drank his way through his infamous "lost weekend".
In the 2003 book Phil Spector: Wall of Pain, biographer Dave Thompson recounts one famous incident when Spector pulled a revolver and fired it into the studio ceiling. "Listen Phil, if you're goin' to kill me, kill me", Lennon remarked dryly, "but don't fuck with me ears. I need 'em."
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