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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A millionaire by 21, washed up by 26, Phil Spector has spent most of his life living out an existence as the Orson Welles of rock 'n' roll.

Following his arrest on Monday in the shooting death of a woman at his hilltop mansion in Los Angeles, the 62-year-old producer has returned to the spotlight for the first time in decades.

Tyrannical, reclusive and eccentric, but mostly just a genius, Spector was the brains behind such 1960s tunes as the Crystals' "He's A Rebel," the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling."

In a business where the singer is the star, Spector outshone his clients. The diminutive Bronx native dressed flamboyantly, hid behind dark glasses and bodyguards, threw tantrums, was chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce and held parties in bowling alleys.

He pioneered the "Wall of Sound" -- layering tracks of percussion and pianos and guitars and keyboards and horns on top of each other so that the resulting package hit listeners like a Wagnerian avalanche. He once called them "little symphonies for the kiddies."

Spector "elevated record production to commercial art," former Rolling Stones manager and Spector protege Andrew Loog Oldham wrote in his 2001 memoirs "Stoned."

"In scale and presence he was to the record biz what Orson Welles was to Hollywood. 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling' and 'River Deep Mountain High,' like 'Citizen Kane' and 'Touch of Evil,' could not be created merely by re-creating what had been successful in the past."

Spector was just 17 when he wrote and produced his first No. 1 hit, "To Know Him Is To Love Him" -- a line taken from the inscription on his father's gravestone -- for his high school group, the Teddy Bears. The teen tycoon would go on to produce 17 top-10 U.S. hits in a decade.

EMBITTERED AFTER FLOP

Other credits included Ben E. King's "Spanish Harlem," which he co-wrote with Jerry Leiber, the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" and "He Hit Me (and it Felt Like a Kiss)," and the Ronettes' "Baby I love You" and "Da Doo Ron Ron." He also collaborated with the Rolling Stones, helping them with bookings and playing acoustic guitar on "Play With Fire."

His last Wall of Sound tune was also arguably his finest; the 1966 Ike and Tina Turner nugget "River Deep, Mountain High," which was a No. 3 hit in England but flopped in the United States.

"The people of America are just not born with culture," an embittered Spector would explain. At the age of 26, with his best work behind him, he withdrew from producing for three years.

He helped out the Beatles in 1970 on their "Let It Be" album, controversially putting lavish overdubs on such songs as "The Long and Winding Road" and "Across the Universe." He subsequently worked with George Harrison on his "All Things Must Pass" album and the "Concert for Bangladesh" project, and with John Lennon on such tracks as "Instant Karma," "Jealous Guy" and "Imagine."

LOADED GUNS

But Spector's output was overshadowed during the 1970s by tales of his dark side -- a messy divorce from second wife Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes, gunshots in the recording studio, etc.

One troubled project was his 1977 work on Canadian folk singer Leonard Cohen's "Death of a Ladies' Man" album. According to Cohen biographer Ira B. Nadel, Spector at one stage pointed a loaded .45 pistol at Cohen's throat, cocked it and said, "I love you, Leonard." To which Cohen replied, "I hope you love me, Phil."

In 1979, while producing punk band the Ramones' "End of the Century," Spector pulled a gun on Dee Dee Ramone after the bass player had taken a swing at him.

Spector essentially disappeared in the 1980s, retreating behind the gates of his well guarded Beverly Hills mansion.

"The reason I (went into seclusion) is that I needed to get a focus," Spector told the Los Angeles Times in 1991, his first formal interview in 14 years. "For a long time, I just didn't know how I wanted to spend my life. It was after Elvis died (in 1977) and John (Lennon, in 1980) ... and there was all that disco and you just sort of lose interest for a while."

At that time, Spector was promoting a 4-CD boxed set of his biggest hits, "Back to Mono," which returned the focus to his prodigious output. Two years earlier he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after stumbling through an embarrassing acceptance speech.

In the usual shades and black suit adorned with red AIDS ribbon, Spector was a regular guest at the annual hall of fame bashes. He also hosted frequent parties at a bowling alley in suburban Los Angeles.