He's A Rebel - The Crystals

He's A Rebel - The Crystals

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF7V2dSvxpo

Gene Pitney

Songfacts

This was written by the Connecticut singer/songwriter Gene Pitney, who scored 16 Top-40 hits in the '60s as a solo artist. His biggest solo hits were "Only Love Can Break A Heart" and "(The Man Who Shot) Liberty Valance," which were both written by the team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

The Crystals did not sing on this. While at Liberty Records as the company's West Coast A&R head in 1962, producer Phil Spector heard Pitney's demo of the song. Knowing it would be a hit, he promptly resigned and his boss, Snuff Garrett, produced a version by Vikki Carr to be released as her first single. Spector assembled his musicians to do HIS version, but the Crystals were 3000 miles away in New York City; so he recruited The Blossoms - Darlene Love, Famita James, and Gracia Nitzschke - to sing "He's a Rebel."

Spector's version of this song, credited to the Crystals but sung by the Blossoms, hit #1. Vikki Carr had to wait three more years before her first chart record in the US ("It Must Be Him").

Spector used the royalties from this to buy out his partners, with the stipulation that his ex-partners would share in the profits of the next two Crystals singles.

Spector used the Blossoms to pose as the Crystals (again) for the #11 hit "He's Sure the Boy I Love"; but the Crystals actually sang on the next single credited to them, entitled "(Let's Do) The Screw" - a five-minute song punctuated with the voice of Phil Spector's lawyer saying "Do the Screw." Only one copy of the 45 was pressed and distributed - to ex-partner Lester Sill. It garnered zero airplay and earned zero royalties. Spector was now sole owner of Philles Records. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL, for all above)

Crystals founding member Dee Dee Kenniebrew in the Daily Express Saturday Magazine August 25, 2007 said: "The Crystal's first hit in the UK was 'He's A Rebel,' but we didn't sing it. When we rehearsed it we hadn't particularly liked it. Also, we'd already had 2 hit records in The States, plus an album, yet we still hadn't been paid. Phil Spector probably thought we were giving him too much hassle about money, so he got a studio group to record the song. Unfortunately, our first manager didn't get us a good contract and Spector was able to use the group's name." (thanks, Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England)

In a 2008 interview with Record Collector magazine, Darlene Love talked about being the voice of this song. Said Love: "Between 'He's A Rebel' and the Christmas album two years later, The Crystals didn't sing on any of their own records, they just went out on tour to promote them. La La Brooks got to sing lead on the re-recording of 'Da Doo Ron Ron,' but the rest of the vocals were by The Blossoms. Another Crystal, Dee Dee Kenniebrew, got really upset, I remember, but I don't think any of the other girls made much of a fuss. I know it used to irritate Dee Dee when fans would compliment her on how great those records were when she never got to sing on them."