Cher Recalls When Convicted Murderer Phil Spector Pulled A Gun On Her After He Released Her Song Without Permission

Decades before he was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009, music producer Phil Spector drew a gun and threatened beloved pop singer Cher, as revealed in the singer’s new book, Cher: The Memoir.

In writing, Cher details how her career began as a backup singer, and she was featured on several records that Spector produced. Cher and Spector went their different ways as Cher pursued a solo career, but in 1974 (after the completion of Cher’s album Dark Lady) Cher’s then-boyfriend connected the two for the possibility of a collaboration on a new album.

At this time, Spector asked Cher and Harry Nilsson to sing backup vocals on some songs for John Lennon’s Rock ’n’ Roll album. He also asked them to record a ‘guide vocal’ for the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas’ song “A Love Like Yours.” Although Spector supposedly promised to pass the audio on to Lennon, he instead violated Cher and Nilsson’s record contracts and released the single illegally in Europe.

Furious, Cher recalled driving to Spector’s house to confront him. She wrote, “I went in and gave him a hug…Then I told him, ‘Phillip, you know you can’t do this. Harry’s on one label, I’m on another, and you put it out under yours. What were you thinking?'”

She remembered, “He became agitated and got kind of smart with me – a little too smart, like he was trying to intimidate me…He told me he could do whatever he wanted. He said our record companies could sue him if they didn’t like it. Then he picked up a revolver that I hadn’t previously noticed…” 

Despite the threat, Cher did not back down. She wrote, “Staring at him in fury, as he twirled it around his fingers, I said, ‘Don’t f— with me, Phillip…You can’t pull that s— on me, you a–hole. This is me, Cher, okay? You’ve known me since I was 16, and you’re going to try to do this with me? Put that f—ing gun down and promise me you’ll never do anything like this s— with my music again, okay?’”

Surprisingly, given his future, Cher confirmed that Spector did apologize to her. She maintained that she didn’t believe he ever would have actually pulled the trigger on her.

Spector shot and killed actress Lana Clarkson in 2003. Despite his claims that it was an “accidental suicide,” he was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009 and died in prison in 2021.

Cher, 78, has been in the news for her relationship with her much-younger boyfriend, Anthony Edwards, 38.

Cher: The Memoir was released on Nov. 19, 2024.

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