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'''Lester Sill''' (January 13, 1918 – October 31, 1994) was an [[United States|American]] [[record label]] executive who rose to become the president of Screen Gems-Columbia Music, a director at ASCAP and consulting president for Jobete Music (the publishing arm of Motown Records).<ref name="Dec 25, 1976 Billboard p. 27"/> As an independent producer in the 1950s and 1960s, he was a moving force behind Hadda Brooks and B. B. King.<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1994"/> He formed independent labels around composers like Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Lee Hazlewood and Phil Spector. Rostered artists included Duane Eddy, The Coasters, The Paris Sisters, and The Crystals.< ref name="AllMusic Lester"/>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lester-sill-mn0000273082/biography|title=Lester Sill's biography|publisher=AllMusic|author=Jason Ankeny|accessdate=February 16managed the talent that went on to become The Wall of Sound, 2016}}</ref><ref name="AllMusic Lester Sill Dies at 76 Billboard"/>{{cite book | title=Billboard | publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Incand The Wrecking Crew. | issn<ref name=0006-2510 | url=https:"Paulson 2012"//books.google.com/books?id=aAgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 | language=de | access-date><ref name="Feldman 2021-07-16 | pages= 10-28}}<"/ref>
Sill's partnership with Lee Hazlewood launched the career of Duane Eddy and many of the studio musicians supporting the act went on to be core members of The Wrecking Crew.<ref name="Paulson 2012"/><ref name="Feldman 2021"/> Sill hired Phil Spector as an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller and eventually partnered with Spector in the Philles label, the name being a combination of both men's informal first names. In return for his support and generosity (Spector lived in Sill's home for several years),<ref name="Ribowsky 2000 p. 57 Spector in Sill's home"/> Sill was never repaid for his investment in Philles Records and The Wall of Sound.<ref name="AllMusic Lester"/> Following this, as a record executive, Sill worked under Don Kirshner where his responsibilities included acts like The Monkeys, The Partridge Family and Carol King.<ref name="King 2012 p. ">{{cite book | last=King | first=C. | title=A Natural Woman: A Memoir | publisher=Grand Central Publishing | year=2012 | isbn=978-1-4555-1259-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6O9Onmu9_cC | language=fr | access-date=2019-11-07 | page=}}</ref><ref name="Lester Sill Dies at 76 Billboard"/>
<ref name="Los Angeles Times 1994">{{cite web | title=Lester Sill; ASCAP Director and Promoter for Blues Performers | website=Los Angeles Times | date=1994-11-07 | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-07-mn-59691-story.html | access-date=2021-07-16}}</ref>
<ref name="AllMusic Lester">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/lester-sill-mn0000273082/biography|title=Lester Sill's biography|publisher=AllMusic|author=Jason Ankeny|accessdate=February 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Lester Sill Dies at 76 Billboard">{{cite book | title=Billboard | publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. | issn=0006-2510 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aAgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10 | language=de | access-date=2021-07-16 | pages= 10-28}}</ref>
<ref name="Ribowsky 2000 p. 57 Spector in Sill's home">{{cite book | last=Ribowsky | first=M. | title=He's a Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer | publisher=Cooper Square Press | series=G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-8154-1044-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jsQRwiwtlN0C&pg=PA57 | access-date=2021-07-18 | page=57}}</ref>