As the murder trial of Phil Spector goes to the jury, Spector is consistently identified in the press as a musical genius who invented the “wall of sound.” If “Be My Baby” and “Da Do Ron Ron” are your idea of musical genius, so be it.

Fortunately, there are three excellent documentaries about three men who made lasting contributions to modern music.

Ahmet Ertegun, the son of the Turkish ambassador to the United States, started Atlantic Records with his brother, soon adding Jerry Wexler as a partner. Their impact on rhythm and blues, jazz and eventually rock music is legendary.

Tom Dowd became the first recording engineer for Atlantic, back in the days when records were cut directly to wax. There was no mixing. Dowd, after four years working on the Manhattan Project to develop the A-bomb, went on to build the first modern recording consoles. The artists he recorded range from John Coltrane, Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers and Eric Clapton. The film goes into some detail on how “Layla” came to be.

Finally, there’s Les Paul, that rare combination of gifted artist and technical whiz. He’s credited with designing the modern, flat body electric guitar, and multi-track recording. To say he single-handedly changed modern music is an understatement. Now 90 years old, he still plays every Monday at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City.

All three are guilty of making a big imprint on our musical culture.