Wilson's Praise For Spector

BEACH BOYS star BRIAN WILSON has hailed accused murderer PHIL SPECTOR as the most important musician of all time.

Spector, 67, is accused of murdering actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra, California mansion, in 2003 but he has denied the charges - claiming her death was suicide. He is facing a re-trial in October (08) after a jury failed to reach a verdict last year (07).

But Wilson insists that despite all of the negative publicity - the legendary producer and songwriter should still be remembered for his massive influence on pop music.

The Surfin' USA hitmaker believes that without Spector - who famously pioneered multi-layer recording which became known as the Wall of Sound - many of the greatest pop albums would not exist.

He says, "The most important person in music of all time is Phil Spector.

"He was someone I'd admired from the start. I loved his records. His work was always better than everyone else's, and even now that's still true. There's no-one like him."