He's a rebel

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He's a rebel
Cover
The Crystals
publication August 1962
length 2:31
Genre (s) Rock and roll
Author (s) Phil Spector
music Gene Pitney
Label Philles Records

He's a Rebel is the title of a pop song that became a number one hit in the United States in 1962 for the girl group The Crystals . It was composed and written by Gene Pitney .

prehistory

The music producer Phil Spector founded the record company Philles Records in 1961 , most of the singles he also produced himself. He had his first successes with his new label with the girl group The Crystals, which had reached places 20 and 13 in the Hot 100 of the US music magazine Billbord with their first two singles . After their third single was largely boycotted because of the lyrically controversial A-side title He Hit Me , Spector started looking for a new song for the Crystals. He came across the song He's a Rebel, written by Gene Pitney, which was initially intended for the girl group The Shirelles . After these had been canceled, however, the record company Liberty Records planned a recording with Vikki Carr .

production

To forestall Liberty, Spector immediately started preparations for his own production at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. Although he had planned a recording with the Crystals, the group was on a tour in New York. Without further ado, Spector hired Los Angeles-based girl group The Blossoms for his production. The recording was made with the cast of Darlene Love , Fanita James and Gracia Nitzsche. Jack Nitzsche was the arranger, Larry Levine was the sound engineer . The musical accompaniment consisted of a guitarist, a saxophonist and the drummer. On August 14, 1962, Philles Records released the single with He's a Rebel on the A-side (B-side: I Love You Eddie ) under catalog number 106 - with the artist name "The Crystals". Three days later, the version with Vikki Carr appeared on Liberty. The Crystals were completely surprised by this process, but performed the song themselves at later live performances.

content

In the text written by Gene Pitney, a woman is fascinated by her lover. She loves his walk and demeanor, and she is proud of him because he always goes his own way. Even if people say he is a rebel because of it, it is important for them that he is always affectionate to her. She will always stand by him, for her he is not a rebel.

successes

Billboard first included the title He's a Rebel on the Hot 100 on September 8, 1962, where it started at number 98. He appeared in the top 10 on October 20th, and by November 3rd, He's a Rebel hit the top of the Hot 100. The song stayed there for two weeks, in total it was listed in the Hot 100 for 18 weeks, in addition it reached second place in the rhythm and blues chart as the best place. He's a Rebel had a similarly successful course with the competition magazine Cashbox . There the title started a week later at number 79, but later only reached second place twice. Internationally, He's a Rebel took first place in Canada and New Zealand, while in Great Britain it only reached 19th place.

Cover versions

In addition to the version by Vikki Carr, which was published by Liberty on August 17, 1962, there were other timely English-language publications by the following artists:

  • The Gleams, USA
  • The Alice Blues, UK
  • The Breakaways, Canada
  • Wade Evans, New Zealand
  • Dee Dee Clark, Sweden

Later cover versions appeared with Helen Shapiro (1964), Barbi Benton (1976) and Maureen McGovern (1979) , among others .

literature

  • Fred Bronson: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits , Billboard Publications New York 1988, p. 119, ISBN 0-8230-7545-1

Web links