He's a Rebel

November 1962

I'm realizing more and more that in the early 60s, the girl group genre was truly at the forefront of advancing pop/rock music as an art form. For whatever reason, it seems the best songwriters and producers in the industry were working with these groups—the relatively faceless, interchangeable singers themselves had little personality of their own, but were skilled and adaptable enough to carry these songs. This hit by the Crystals is a great example of just how far this music had come.



The production here is just pure class through and through. Phil Spector's signature sound could make any ol' song sound great—rich, full, pseudo-orchestral. But this isn't just any ol' song, either. From a pure songwriting perspective, this is just a terrifically composed pop song—the chord changes are often unexpected and the melody is slightly tricky, but it all works and sounds totally natural.

I think this kind of thing isn't usually considered "rock," but when you think about it, it basically is. It has a much more lavish production than most rock music of the day, but that rock drum beat is there, unmistakable. And looking at the broader picture, the quality and inventiveness of this, and other contemporary girl-group songs, was certainly very influential on the British rock groups that would soon rise to fame. The very notion that one could write a pop/rock song that was not only catchy, but sophisticated—that idea itself is probably not much older than this very song. I'm sure a young Lennon and McCartney were listening closely, and when their turn came, great as they were, they were standing on the shoulders of giants.

We won't encounter them again on this blog, but the following year, the Crystals released two more top tens, "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me"—both Spector productions, and great songs in their own right—but for my money I'll take "He's a Rebel," in my opinion one of the finest songs in a genre crowded with competition.

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To Know Him Is to Love Him

December 1958

A name you'll be seeing a lot in this blog is Phil Spector, and "To Know Him Is to Love Him" was his very first hit. You could say he was off to a good start, as it spent 3 weeks at #1. Unlike his future work, his involvement in the Teddy Bears was as a singing member (not the lead, obviously).



It's really a sweet song, and I'm gonna go ahead and call it the best song I've covered so far. Not to get too technical but it makes great use of a fairly standard chord progression - something about that transition from the vi to the IV chord just has a tremendous feeling of lift (in the first verse, it falls on "makes my life worthwhile"). It does exactly what a great pop song should do - it takes established norms of songwriting and tweaks them just enough to make something really original.

As for the performance, of course it's a little corny, but you gotta love how singer Annette Kleinbard keeps it subdued for the verses, but then amps it up for the middle eight section. It gives the song a real dynamic feeling.

"To Know Him Is to Love Him" was successfully recorded in the late 80s by the trio of Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris. It's proven to be quite an enduring song over the years, having been covered by artists as diverse as the Beatles and, oddly enough, Amy Winehouse. For me though, the original version is by far the best.

After all the news about Phil Spector in the last few years, it can be a bit eerie listening to this old tune - like looking at old childhood photos of a serial killer. But look into this man's eyes, and you just might see the kindness of his heart:

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