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.
Then He Kissed Me
The Crystals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He looked kinda nice and so I said I might take a chance
When he danced he held me tight
And when he walked me home that night
All the stars were shining bright
And then he kissed me
Each time I saw him I couldn't wait to see him again
I wanted to let him know that he was more than a friend
I didn't know just what to do
So I whispered I love you
He said that he loved me too
And then he kissed me
He kissed me in a way that I've never been kissed before
He kissed me in a way that I want to be kissed forevermore
I knew that he was mine so I gave him all the love that I had
And one day he took me home to meet his mom and his dad
Then he asked me to be his bride
And always be right by his side
I felt so happy I almost cried
And then he kissed me
Then he asked me to be his bride
And always be right by his side
I felt so happy I almost cried
And then he kissed me
And then he kissed me
And then he kissed me
The Crystals' song "Then He Kissed Me" is a classic tale of young love and all its exciting and nerve-wracking emotions. The lyrics describe a girl who meets a boy and falls in love with him. At first, she is unsure about taking a chance with him but is eventually wooed over by his charm when he asks her to dance. As they dance, he holds her tight and walks her home through the shining stars. The song continues to describe their romance, with the girl confessing her love to the boy who reciprocates. He then asks her to be his bride, and she is ecstatic.
The song's lyrics capture the innocence and naivete of youthful love, making it an anthem for generations of young people who have felt the same way. The Crystals' upbeat and catchy tune adds to the excitement of the story, and the crescendo of the music builds up to the climactic kiss. The lyrics' repetition of "And then he kissed me" emphasizes the importance of this moment, and it becomes a symbol of the couple's love.
Notably, the songwriters for "Then He Kissed Me" were Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, and Jeff Barry, who were all prominent songwriters in the 60s. The song was produced by Phil Spector, who is known for his "Wall of Sound" production technique. Darlene Love, a famous singer who worked with Spector, provided the lead vocals for the song. "Then He Kissed Me" was a hit and reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, he walked up to me and he asked me if I wanted to dance
A man approached the singer and asked her to dance
He looked kinda nice and so I said I might take a chance
The singer found the man attractive and agreed to dance with him
When he danced he held me tight
While they danced, the man held the singer closely
And when he walked me home that night
The man escorted the singer back to her home at the end of the night
All the stars were shining bright
The night sky was filled with bright stars
And then he kissed me
The man kissed the singer
Each time I saw him I couldn't wait to see him again
The singer looked forward to seeing the man each time they were apart
I wanted to let him know that he was more than a friend
The singer had feelings for the man beyond just friendship
I didn't know just what to do
The singer was unsure of how to express her feelings
So I whispered I love you
The singer expressed her love for the man in a quiet, private moment
He said that he loved me too
The man reciprocated the singer's feelings of love
He kissed me in a way that I've never been kissed before
The man kissed the singer in a unique and memorable way
He kissed me in a way that I want to be kissed forevermore
The singer was so moved by the man's kiss that she wanted to be kissed in that same way forever
I knew that he was mine so I gave him all the love that I had
The singer was confident in her romantic relationship with the man and gave him all her love
And one day he took me home to meet his mom and his dad
The man introduced the singer to his parents
Then he asked me to be his bride
The man proposed marriage to the singer
And always be right by his side
The man wanted the singer to always be with him
I felt so happy I almost cried
The singer was overwhelmed with happiness
And then he kissed me
The man sealed his proposal with a kiss
And then he kissed me
The man kissed the singer again
And then he kissed me
The man kissed the singer once more
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phillip Spector
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind