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" β 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 β February 16, 2018) died at a Charlotte hospital in 2018.
Da Do Ron Ron
The Crystals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
Somebody told me that his name was Bill
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
Yeah, my heart stood still
Yes, his name was Bill
And when he walked me home
I knew what he was doing when he caught my eye
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
He looked so quiet but my oh my
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
Yeah, he caught my eye
Yes, oh my, oh my
And when he walked me home
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
(Sax solo)
He picked me up at seven and he looked so fine
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
Someday soon I'm gonna make him mine
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
Yeah, he looked so fine,
Yes, I'll make him mine
And when he walked me home
Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron
The Crystals' hit song "Da Do Ron Ron" is a classic example of 1960s pop music. The song's lyrics tell the story of a young woman who meets a man named Bill and falls in love with him. The opening lines set the scene for the rest of the song, as the woman recounts the moment she met Bill: "I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still, da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron."
Throughout the song, the lyrics alternate between the woman's observations of Bill and her feelings about him. She notes that he looked quiet but caught her eye, and she describes feeling a strong attraction to him. The chorus, which repeats throughout the song, emphasizes her excitement and anticipation about their relationship: "Da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron. When he walked me home, da do ron-ron-ron, da do ron-ron."
Line by Line Meaning
I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still
My heart stopped beating when I first saw Bill on a Monday
Somebody told me that his name was Bill
I found out that the name of the guy whose name made my heart stop was Bill
Yeah, my heart stood still
My heart didn't move, it felt like it stopped beating
Yes, his name was Bill
The guy I saw on Monday, who made my heart stop beating, was indeed named Bill
And when he walked me home
He took me home after we met
I knew what he was doing when he caught my eye
I knew he was interested in me when he looked at me
He looked so quiet but my oh my
He appeared to be quiet but he definitely caught my attention
Yeah, he caught my eye
He got my attention when he looked at me
Yes, oh my, oh my
I was certainly interested in him too
He picked me up at seven and he looked so fine
He came to pick me up at seven and he looked really attractive
Someday soon I'm gonna make him mine
I'm planning to win him over and make him mine soon
And when he walked me home
He took me back home after our date
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Philip Spector
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
SH
"I know something about love
You've gotta want it bad
If that guy's got into your blood
Go out and get him
If you want him to be
The very heart of you
Makes you want to breathe
Here's the thing to do
Tell him that you're never gonna leave him
Tell him that you're always gonna love him
Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him right now"
When lead singer ripped into the first line, the hair stood up on the back your neck. This girl group's name fit them PERFECTLY!!!
ΨΉΨ¨ΩΨ― Abod
I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
Somebody told me that his name was Bill
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
Yeah, my heart stood still
Yes, his name was Bill
And when he walked me home
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
I knew what he was doing when he caught my eye
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
He looked so quiet but my oh my
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
Yeah, he caught my eye
Yes, oh my, oh my
And when he walked me home
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
He picked me up at seven and he looked so fine
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
Someday soon I'm gonna make him mine
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
Yeah, he looked so fine,
Yes, I'll make him mine
And when he walked me home
Da doo ron-ron-ron, Da doo ron-ron
Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah...
Da-doo-ron-ron
Da-doo-ron-ron...
TheOldrecordclub
If anyone would like to see some home movies i made on the island of Mindanao, then follow this Link to one of my other channels https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0hwKbgDOd0sWeUaii08d-A Everyone is welcome... Carl
Rob Tyler
My asawa is from Bacolod so I'm intrigued to see what you've got. Thanks, Carl.
Love your music posts!
Beverley Halterman
A friend of mine was a Priest on Mindanao. Caught in riptide while swimming there and drowned. Story I heard is that Fr. Steve Baumbusch announced when he was 9 years old that he wanted to be a priest and never looked back. Was once hustled out of a town under hay in a wagon just as the Muslims were arriving to kill him. Very dedicated man. Really miss him.
Mary Dean
They don't do with just Natural Talent much anymore..always Sining their Hearts and Souls Out !!ol couple way down in TX
Beverley Halterman
A friend of mine - Fr. Steve Baumbusch - was a priest for PIME doing missionary work in Mindanao with the goal of building a seminary. He was hustled out of the city one time because a group was coming to kill him - they passed them on the way out. He was caught in a riptide and drowned some years ago. Will enjoy checking out your movies.:)
Juliet Reminiec
Carl, could you tell me what make of car is in Ad2079?
( top left corner)
it looks like a Vette coupe , but I can't be sure
erepsekahs
It may be simple, but one of the greatest songs of all time. They were wonderful, and Phil Spector was genius. I still find it thrilling today. The use of the drums and the sax is pure magic.
pam6116
Crazy as a tick but still a musical genius.
erepsekahs
@pam6116 Most genius walks a fine line between here and insanity....some fall over the edge. It is not unusual. I knew one, personally, for many years who became more than internationally famous. He ended up killing himself through his actions. These are wonderful geniuses and we are blessed to have them here at all. My heart goes out to that woman Spector killed, her friends and family. It was a mad thing to do, but then, he was insane....not mad.
pam6116
@erepsekahs thank you for such a thoughtful and thought proving reply.