Pop Music
The Teddy Bears were high school friends Phil Spector, lead singer Annette Kleinbard, Marshall Leib, and Harvey Goldstein, who left the group early on. The story goes that The Teddy Bears named themselves after the Elvis Presley song “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear.” This was Spector’s only group of which he was a member.
The song was written by the famous and infamous music industry legend Phil Spector, inspired by words on his father’s tombstone. He was only 19 years old at the time of this record, and he showcases Annette Kleinbard’s lovely voice. “To Know Him is to Love Him” has The Teddy Bears as well as Sandy Nelson on drums. It was a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1958, staying in the top ten for 11 weeks and on the charts for 23 weeks.
There have been numerous covers of the song, including the Beatles (“To Know Her is to Love Her”), Peter and Gordon, Bobby Vinton, Jody Miller, and the trio of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.
After her time with The Teddy Bears, Annette Kleinbard changed her name to Carol Connors and has had a big career in the entertainment business as a singer-songwriter. Among her credits is co-authorship of the “Gonna Fly Now,” the theme song from the film Rocky. She also sang “We Are One” in the film Orca. She has written and performed in many films over the decades.
