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.
I WONDER
The Crystals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll find somebody I can call my own
So when the stars are shining bright
I dream about the boy who's gonna hold me tight
And I wonder who he'll be
I wonder if he'll be good to me
I wonder, gosh oh gee
Every night I close my eyes
And there is something that I visualize
I hear a voice, say, "I love you"
I picture all things that we're gonna do
And I wonder who he'll be
I wonder if he'll be good to me
I wonder, gosh oh gee
Wonder if he'll love me forever
Every day I love him more
Than I did the day before
I will try to make him see
Just how much he means to me
We will meet and fall in love
And make a promise to the stars above
We will talk and get home late
Oh I can see it now, I can hardly wait
And I wonder who he'll be
I wonder if he'll be good to me
I wonder, gosh oh gee
Wonder if he'll love me forever
And I wonder who he'll be
I wonder if he'll be good to me
I wonder, gosh oh gee
Wonder if he'll love me forever
I wonder and ever
I wonder forever
I wonder and ever
I wonder forever
I wonder and ever
I wonder forever
The Crystals' song "I Wonder" is a sweet, innocent ballad about a young girl dreaming of finding her true love. She daydreams about the boy who will be her own and wonders if he will be good to her and love her forever. The lyrics are full of anticipation and hope as she envisions a future with this special someone.
The song captures the feelings of young love and the excitement of the unknown. The girl loves him more every day and will do whatever it takes to make him see how much he means to her. She imagines falling in love and making promises under the stars. The chorus repeats the same lines over and over, emphasizing how much she wonders about this future love.
The melody is simple but catchy, with a gentle piano and a light drumbeat. The Crystals' signature harmonies add to the dreamy quality of the song, making it a perfect soundtrack for young love and romance.
Line by Line Meaning
Mama said before I'm grown
I'll find somebody I can call my own
My mother told me that someday I will grow up and find someone who will be mine
So when the stars are shining bright
I dream about the boy who's gonna hold me tight
At night, I imagine about being with the boy who would embrace me tightly amidst the shining stars
And I wonder who he'll be
I wonder if he'll be good to me
I wonder, gosh oh gee
I wonder if he'll love me forever
I have many doubts and questions about the boy I will meet someday, wondering about his identity, behavior, and love for me
Every night I close my eyes
And there is something that I visualize
I hear a voice, say, "I love you"
I picture all things that we're gonna do
In my mind, I imagine hearing the love of my life saying 'I love you', and thinking about all the things we would do together
Every day I love him more
Than I did the day before
I will try to make him see
Just how much he means to me
Every day my love for him grows stronger, and I will make sure to show him how much he means to me
We will meet and fall in love
And make a promise to the stars above
We will talk and get home late
Oh I can see it now, I can hardly wait
I envision the day we meet, fall in love, promise to the stars above, talk for hours, and get home late - I am so excited and can't wait for it to happen
And I wonder and ever
I wonder forever
I always wonder and think about my future with the boy I will meet, and I will keep on doing so forever
Lyrics © Songtrust Ave
Written by: ASWAD W SAMPSON, KENNETH MOORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Glenn Petzold
Good fine , never new the Crystals did it , I only new the Ronettes did this song.
anonyarena
There are also versions of this song by The Butterflies (a group that included former Crystals Mary and Myrna) and a Japanese girl group called Supersnazz also have a version of this song.