1) The Crystals were one of the most… Read Full Bio ↴Two artists exist by this name:
1) The Crystals were one of the most successful girl groups of the early 60s, Known for their association with producer Phil Spector, they had several well-remembered hit singles such as "He's A Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron", and "Then He Kissed Me". They were also trailblazers for many later African-American pop artists.
2) The Crystals was also the name of an obscure doo-wop group organised by the enigmatic Sun Ra in the mid-50s. Little is known about them. However, their tune "Honey In The Bee Box" was featured in the compilation album 'Interplanetary Melodies' on Norton Records, an album which has received critical acclaim.
3). If you are here for the Italian progressive rock band Crystals, they are not "The Crystals". Refer to the Crystals band page for more information and please fix your tags.
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In the late 50s, Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Delores "Dee Dee" Kennibrew, Merna Girard and Patricia "Patsy" Wright formed a singing project called "The Crystals" in high school. Under the leadership of Alston's uncle, Benny Wells, they wanted to aim for the big time. Soon, the quintet signed with Phil Spector's label Philles Records. Spector then chose Alston to be the group's lead singer, which made her very uncomfortable since she had a fear of singing in front of audiences.
Their first hit was 1961's "There's No Other Like My Baby". This song's B-side "Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby" (featuring Wright on lead) and the following single "Uptown" were topical and socially-aware pieces about growing up in the ghetto. After the success of "Uptown", a pregnant Girard was replaced by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks. The next single was 1962's "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)", still widely remembered though only rarely played on the radio due to the touchy subject matter of spousal abuse. Sales were sluggish.
Soon after "He Hit Me" flopped, Phil Spector began recording singer Darlene Love and her backing group The Blossoms under the name "The Crystals". Legend has it that the real Crystals were not able to travel from New York to Los Angeles fast enough to suit the LA-based Spector, who wanted to quickly record and release "He's a Rebel" (written by Gene Pitney) before anyone else had a chance to cover it and have a hit with it. The Crystals were unavailable, but Love and the Blossoms were also based in LA, so Spector recorded them and put the record out under The Crystals' banner.
"He's A Rebel" is perhaps the Crystals' most well-remembered and beloved songs, and one of the most enduring of the girl group genre. It was also their only US #1 hit. The follow-up Crystals single, "He's Sure the Boy I Love", in actuality also featured Love and The Blossoms.
The next single credited to The Crystals is one of the rarest -- and also possibly the strangest -- in rock music history. Reports vary as to the actual motivation behind the recording, but most agree that Phil Spector was looking for a way to annoy former business partner Lester Sill. What he came up with was a nearly six-minute song called "Let's Dance The Screw - Part I", which would be unplayable on 1963 radio. The record featured simple instrumentation (very much unlike Spector's famous Wall of Sound production style), repetitive lyrics, and Spector himself intoning the lyric "Dance The Screw" numerous times in a deadpan monotone. (The B-side, Part II, was more of the same.) The Crystals sang the song's repetitive verses, though it is unclear if these singers were the 'real' Crystals or The Blossoms.
The single was never commercially released, and only a few copies are known to exist (all marked D.J. COPY - NOT FOR SALE). The record was apparently only created to be a bizarre sort of joke at Sill's expense, as a single copy was specially delivered to him in early 1963.
Though it's unclear as to the level of their participation in "Let's Dance The Screw", the 'real' Crystals definitely began recording again under their own name in 1963. However, Thomas had departed to get married which reduced them to a quartet, and Alston stepped down from the lead spot giving it to Brooks.
After "Let's Dance The Screw", the group's next release was the classic "Da Doo Ron Ron." According to Darlene Love, the track was originally recorded by The Blossoms, with Love on lead vocal. Prior to release, Spector erased Love's lead vocal and replaced it with a vocal by LaLa Brooks, although he kept the Blossoms' backing vocals in place. The song was a top 10 hit in both the US and the UK, as was the follow-up single "Then He Kissed Me" — the first Crystals single since "He Hit Me" to feature all members of the Crystals as a definite group.
Both "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me" were penned by Spector with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich.
Despite the steady flow of hit singles, tensions between Spector and the Crystals mounted. Already unhappy with having been replaced by Love and company on two singles, The Crystals were even more upset when in 1964, Spector began focusing much of his time on rival girl group The Ronettes. Two failed Crystals singles followed, before the band left Spector's Philles Records for Imperial Records later in 1964. 1964 also saw the departure of Wright who was replaced by Frances Collins; toward the end of that year Alston departed leaving the group a trio. They disbanded in 1966. They reunited in 1971 and toured widely in varying incarnations on the oldies circuit; they still occasionally perform today. Kennibrew is the only original Crystal who remained active throughout their touring from the seventies to the present.
Lead singer Barbara Alston (September 28, 1943 – February 16, 2018) died at a Charlotte hospital in 2018.
Uptown
The Crystals Lyrics
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And he goes downtown
Where everyone's his boss
And he's lost in an angry land
He's a little man
But then he comes uptown
Each ev'nin' to my tenement
Uptown where folks don't have
To pay much rent
And when he's there with me
He can see that he's everything
Then he's tall, he don't crawl
He's a king
Downtown he's just one of a million guys
He don't get no breaks
And he takes all they got to give
'Cause he's got to live
But then he comes uptown
Where he can hold his head up high
Uptown he knows that I am standing by
And when I take his hand
There's no man who could put him down
The world is sweet
It's at his feet when he's uptown
Whoa oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Let me tell ya now
Uptown where he can hold his head up high
Uptown he knows that I am standing by
And when I take his hand
There's no man who could put him down
The world is sweet, it's at his feet
When he's uptown
Whoa oh oh oh, oh oh oh
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Let me tell ya now, uptown
The Crystals' song Uptown is a story about a man who spends his days downtrodden and struggling in the city center, where he is just another face in the crowd, constantly obeying and serving his various employers. However, when the day is over, he heads uptown to a different world, where residents are less preoccupied with status and money. Here, he meets the singer, who is supportive, non-judgmental, and empathetic towards him. She provides him with an escape from his reality and brings out the best in him. When he's with her, the man is transformed and sees himself as worthy, confident, and powerful. He is no longer the "little man" that he feels like downtown but is made to feel like a "king" when he is uptown with the singer.
The lyrics of this song seem to focus on the idea that people's circumstances can be shaped and influenced by their environment. The man in the song is not a different person when he is uptown with the singer, but the setting and the people around him help to bring out the best in him. It is a subtle reminder that no matter how bad things may seem, there is always hope for something better. The song is also significant for its message of acceptance and unconditional support, which the singer embodies with her character in the story. Overall, the lyrics can be interpreted as an uplifting and empowering anthem for anyone who struggles to find their place in society.
Line by Line Meaning
He gets up each morning
Every morning, he wakes up
And he goes downtown
Then he travels to the central part of the city
Where everyone's his boss
Where people control his every move
And he's lost in an angry land
And he feels helpless in this violent environment
He's a little man
Because he is powerless in this situation
But then he comes uptown
But when he comes to the more affluent part of the city
Each ev'nin' to my tenement
Every evening, he comes to my small apartment building
Uptown where folks don't have
Where people don't have to
To pay much rent
pay a high amount of money for housing
And when he's there with me
And when he's spending time with me in my apartment
He can see that he's everything
He can realize his worth and value
Then he's tall, he don't crawl
Then he gains confidence and stands tall, no longer timid
He's a king
He feels like a powerful ruler
Downtown he's just one of a million guys
In the central part of the city, he is just another average person
He don't get no breaks
He doesn't receive any special treatment or good fortune
And he takes all they got to give
He accepts all the hardships and challenges that are thrown at him
'Cause he's got to live
Because he needs to survive
Where he can hold his head up high
Where he can be proud and confident
He knows that I am standing by
He knows that I am supporting and encouraging him
And when I take his hand
And when I offer my hand to him as a gesture of love and support
There's no man who could put him down
No one can bring him down or make him feel inferior
The world is sweet
The world seems wonderful and full of possibilities
It's at his feet when he's uptown
Everything feels achievable when he's in the more affluent part of the city
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind