The Crystals
The Crystals was an American girl singing group .
history
The group was the first to sign Phil Spector for his record company Philles Records . They were among the artists who laid the foundation for his legendary reputation as a hit producer.
The girls hit the charts for the first time with the song There's No Other (Like My Baby) , which became the first million seller in 1962 . Just as successful were the 1962 releases Uptown and He's a Rebel , the number one hit penned by Gene Pitney . The track was recorded by the girl group The Blossoms , whose lead singer was Darlene Love , but released under the name of the Crystals. The Blossoms also sang on the follow-up single He's Sure the Boy I Love .
From 1964 onwards, there were no hits and in 1966 the quartet broke up.
In 1965 coverten The Beach Boys song Then He Kissed Me and released their version, entitled Then I Kissed Her on the album Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) . In 1977 Kiss covered the song under the title Then She Kissed Me on their album Love Gun .
Members
- Barbara Ann Alston (December 29, 1943 - February 16, 2018)
- Delores "Dee Dee" Kennibrew (* 1945 as Delores Henry )
- Mary Thomas
- Merna Girard
- Patricia "Patsy" Wright
- Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (born June 20, 1947)
Discography
Albums
- 1962: Twist Uptown
- 1963: He's a Rebel
Compilations
- 1963: Sing the Greatest Hits Volume 1
- 1975: Sing Their Greatest Hits
- 1988: Uptown
- 1989: The Crystals Meet the Shangri-Las (with The Shangri-Las )
- 1992: The Best of the Crystals
- 1995: Phil Spector Wall of Sound, Vol. 3: The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits!
- 1997: He's a Rebel
- 1999: Then He Kissed Me
- 2000: Greatest Hits (released June 6th)
- 2001: The Crystals (released April 24th)
- 2003: Back to Back (release: January 28th)
- 2003: Da Doo Ron Ron (released July 7th)
- 2004: One Fine Day
- 2007: Greatest Hits (released December 15)
- 2011: Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of the Crystals (release: February 22nd)
- 2016: Playlist: Very Best of the Crystals (release: May 27th)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 UK
|
 US
|
R&B
|
|||
| 1961 | There's No Other (Like My Baby) Twist Uptown |
- | - |
US20 (11 weeks) US |
R&B5 (10 weeks) R&B |
|
| 1962 | Uptown Twist Uptown |
- | - |
US13 (13 weeks) US |
R&B18 (3 weeks) R&B |
|
| He's a rebel, he 's a rebel |
- |
UK19 (13 weeks) UK |
US1 (18 weeks) US |
R&B2 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 14, 1962
Lead vocals: Darlene Love and the Blossoms Grammy Hall of Fame + Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Number 267 on the Rolling Stone 500 (2010 list) Author: Gene Pitney |
|
| He's Sure the Boy I Love He’s a Rebel |
- | - |
US11 (12 weeks) US |
R&B18 (6 weeks) R&B |
First published: December 3rd, 1962
Lead vocals: Darlene Love and the Blossoms Authors: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil |
|
| 1963 |
Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home) Sing the Greatest Hits Volume 1 |
DE22 (4 weeks) DE |
UK5 (16 weeks) UK |
US3 (13 weeks) US |
R&B5 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1963
Lead vocals: La La Brooks Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Number 114 on the Rolling Stone 500 (2004 list) Authors: Jeff Barry , Ellie Greenwich , Phil Spector |
| Then he kissed me |
DE46 (2 weeks) DE |
UK2 (14 weeks) UK |
US6 (12 weeks) US |
R&B8 (9 weeks) R&B |
First published: August 1963
Lead vocals: La La Brooks # 493 on the Rolling Stone 500 (2004 list) Authors: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector |
|
| 1964 | Little boy |
- | - |
US92 (3 weeks) US |
R&B32 (6 weeks) R&B |
First published: January 1964
Lead vocals: La La Brooks Authors: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector |
| I wonder |
- |
UK36 (3 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: February 1964
Authors: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector |
|
| All grown up |
- | - |
US98 (1 week) US |
R&B27 (5 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1964
Lead vocals: La La Brooks Authors: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector |
|
| 1974 | Da Doo Ron Ron '74 |
- |
UK15 (8 weeks) UK |
- | - |
First published: October 1974
Lead vocals: La La Brooks |
More singles
- 1962: He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss) (released July 6th)
- 1963: (Let's Dance) The Screw (released January 30th)
- 1963: On Broadway (EP)
- 1965: You Can't Tie a Good Girl Down
- 1965: My Place (release: September)
- 1966: Are You Trying to Get Rid of Me Baby (released February)
- 1982: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (release: October)
literature
- Stambler, Irwin: The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 157f, ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
- Warner, Jay: The Billboard Book of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City, New York: Billboard Books, 1992, pp. 351-354.
swell
- ↑ No receipt! After White, Adam: The Billboard Book of Gold and Platinum Records . 2nd revised edition, London: Omnibus Press, 1990 the title was not awarded a "gold record".
- ↑ For more information on He's a Rebel, see Bronson, Fred: The Billboard Book of Number One Hits . 3rd revised and expanded edition. New York City, New York: Billboard Publications, 1992, p. 119
- ↑ Chart sources: DE UK Billboard Hot 100
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4
- ↑ RS500 Songs (List 2010)
- ↑ a b RS500 Songs (List 2004) ( Memento from June 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )