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Phil Spector recording engineer Larry Levine dies

Larry Levine, the recording engineer who helped Phil Spector re-invent rock 'n' roll music with his "Wall of Sound" technique and won a Grammy for his work with Herb Alpert, died on his 80th birthday, his family said Tuesday.
Levine's wife, Lyn, said he died at his Encino home on May 8. He had suffered from severe emphysema, according to relatives.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Levine recalled meeting Spector in the 1960s and beginning a collaboration that lasted for many years.

"He said to me he had the sound in his head that he wanted to create," said Levine, and the engineer set out to build the lush sound that involved dozens of musicians and instruments as well as echo chambers.

Their first collaboration was on the teen anthem, "He's a Rebel," which Levine helped Spector record in 1962. It would bring stardom to the girl group, the Crystals, just as "Be My Baby" would do for the Ronettes.

Levine was the engineer on such Spector produced classics as "Da Doo Ron Ron" and the Righteous Brothers', "You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling," the song cited by BMI as the most played in the history of U.S. radio.

Levine was born in New York on May 8, 1928, and grew up in Los Angeles. After serving in the Army during the Korean War he learned to be a recording engineer from his cousin, Stan Ross, who was co-owner of Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood.
Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080514/ap_en_ot/obit_levine_2