Doo Wop

Well, actually the recording is of The Blossoms. The music business can be heartbreaking. This golden oldie was written by Gene Pitney for another girl group, The Shirelles , who turned it down. Phil Spector wanted to record it with The Crystals, but they were on tour — and he heard that Vikki Carr was going to record the song. So, to get it out quickly, Spector decided to record it with The Blossoms. The recording included Darlene Love (then Darlene Wright) on lead, with backing vocals by Edna Wright, Fanita James, Gracia Nitzsche, Gloria Jones, Jean King, and Bobby Sheen. Instrumentation was provided by The Wrecking Crew, who were session musicians. Spector gave the credit to The Crystals, though. DJ Murray the K broke the story on the air.

Anyway, the single is a fine example of the Phil Spector “wall of sound,” featuring a wailing saxophone section, slapback echo, 4-handed piano, and plenty of handclaps. The amazing sound, Darlene Love’s delivery, plus Pitney’s wonderful song all combined to put “He’s a Rebel” at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962.

Here are the lyrics to “He’s a Rebel” by The Crystals:

“See the way he walks down the street
Watch the way he shuffles his feet
My, he holds his head up high
When he goes walking by
He’s my guy

When he holds my hand, I’m so proud
Cause he’s not just one of the crowd
My baby, always the one
To try the things they’ve never done
And just because of that, they say:

“He’s a rebel and he’ll never, ever be any good”
“He’s a rebel ’cause he never, ever does what he should”

But just because he doesn’t do what everybody else does
Ah, that’s no reason why I can’t give him all my love

He’s always good to me
Always treats me tenderly
Cause he’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no, to me

(Instrumental Break)

If they don’t like him that way
They won’t like me, I’m sure, today
And I’ll be standing right by his side when they say:

“He’s a rebel and he’ll never, ever be any good”
“He’s a rebel ’cause he never, ever does what he should”

And just because he doesn’t do what everybody else does
Ah, that’s no reason why we can’t share our love

He’s always good to me
Good to him, I try to be
Cause he’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no, to me

Oh! (He’s not a rebel, no, no, no)

He’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no
He’s not a rebel, no, no, no”

For More Golden Oldies Music

The Daily Doo Wop Rec Room has daily featured doo wop, rock and roll, R&B, or rockabilly songs that were hits during the first era of rock and roll (that is, from about 1952 until the British invasion in 1964). After a song is featured, it then goes into the juke box. You are welcome to listen to any of the 40+ selections there. Every weekend, there is a Golden Oldies Juke Box Saturday Night, and the juke box is full of song requests from the 1950s and 1960s.

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