Music producer Phil Spector has died of natural causes in hospital while serving a prison sentence for murder.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed the 81-year-old died on Saturday.

Spector had been serving a prison sentence for the murder of Lana Clarkson since 2009. 

A California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation statement said: “California Health Care Facility inmate Phillip Spector was pronounced deceased of natural causes at 6.35pm on Saturday, January 16, 2021, at an outside hospital. His official cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner in the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

“Spector was admitted from Los Angeles County on June 5, 2009, for second-degree murder. He had been sentenced to 19 years to life for the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson.

“Before his incarceration, Spector was an influential record producer, musician and songwriter best known for developing a music production technique called the ‘wall of sound’.”