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.
-------
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.
The Crystals
The Crystals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not in vain
That I suffered
That I carried this weight
When the lights
Ran around
The edges
Of this place
Where I used to grieve
Without you, my dear
Into my
Crystal Splinters Museum
Swallowing the sun
And it's almost done
The night has come, my time
All I'm left with
Pieces of who I used to be
And when I want to look back, I dream
The corners
Of this place
Where I'm used to hide
Where I'm used to grieve
Without you, my dear
Into my
Crystal Splinters Museum
Wise heart
Kind mind
Mouth full
Crying light
This is my way of fighting back
I rack up, keep safe, recollect
This is the way I feel alive
All my memories blurred like
A super-8, your childhood friends
The bitter end
I tried to swim, you taught me well
And yet I can't
Feel happiness but now I know, joy is not
Made to be
A crumb
And have you
Changed your life?
Have you tried
To stay alive?
I am trying
The lyrics of "The Crystals" by The Crystals convey a sense of pain, suffering, and longing for connection. The singer emphasizes that their pain is not insignificant and shouldn't be trivialized. They have endured hardships and carried the weight of their struggles, hinting at a past filled with emotional burdens.
The mention of lights running around the edges of a place where they used to hide suggests a place of solitude or isolation. In this place, they would grieve and reflect on their pain. The absence of their dear one intensifies their feelings of loneliness and longing, which is represented metaphorically as swallowing the sun. The mention of the "Crystal Splinters Museum" implies that their memories, fractured and fragile like crystals, are preserved in this personal sanctuary.
The singer implies that they yearn for the night, which seems to symbolize a release from their pain. It becomes their time, perhaps suggesting a moment of self-reflection and renewal. Yet, they are left with only fragments of their former selves, as if their pain has altered who they are. The corners of the place where they hide and grieve are now familiar to them, emphasizing the habitual nature of their solitude.
The lyrics then mention a "Wise heart, kind mind, mouth full, crying light," which presents a conflicting mix of emotions. It seems the singer is acknowledging their capacity for wisdom and kindness, yet their mouth is full of tears and they emit a sorrowful light. This could suggest that their pain has served as a catalyst for personal growth and resilience.
In the final section, the singer reflects on their struggle to find happiness despite having been taught how to navigate life's challenges. They question whether their addressee, likely someone dear to them, has managed to change their life and stay alive. The concluding statement, "I am trying," implies that the singer is determined to keep pushing forward, continually striving for a better existence.
Overall, the lyrics of "The Crystals" delve into themes of pain, isolation, and the search for happiness. It portrays the struggle to retain one's true self amidst adversity and the yearning for connection and emotional fulfillment.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't patronize my pain
Please don't belittle or dismiss the pain that I am experiencing
It's not in vain
It is not without purpose or significance
That I suffered
I have endured great hardship
That I carried this weight
I have borne the burden of this heaviness
When the lights
During the moments when life was joyful and vibrant
Ran around
Reverberated and moved swiftly
The edges
The boundaries or perimeters
Of this place
Within the confines of my existence
Where I used to hide
Where I sought shelter or refuge
Where I used to grieve
Where I once mourned or felt sorrow
Without you, my dear
In the absence of your presence
Into my Crystal Splinters Museum
Within the chambers of my shattered memories
Swallowing the sun
Engulfing warmth and light
And it's almost done
Approaching its completion or conclusion
The night has come, my time
Darkness has descended, it is my moment
All I'm left with
Only remnants and remnants remain
Pieces of who I used to be
Fragments of my former self
And when I want to look back, I dream
In times of reflection, I envision
The corners
The recesses or hidden places
Of this place
Within the confines of my existence
Where I'm used to hide
Where I have become accustomed to seeking shelter
Where I'm used to grieve
Where I often experience sorrow or mourn
Without you, my dear
In the absence of your presence
Into my Crystal Splinters Museum
In the chambers of my shattered memories
Wise heart
An intelligent and perceptive core
Kind mind
A compassionate and caring mentality
Mouth full
Expressing oneself openly and honestly
Crying light
Tears that carry a flicker of hope or illumination
This is my way of fighting back
By doing this, I resist and retaliate
I rack up, keep safe, recollect
I gather, guard, and recapture
This is the way I feel alive
This is how I experience vitality and existence
All my memories blurred like
All my recollections are hazy or obscured
A super-8, your childhood friends
Like an old film, memories of your companions from childhood
The bitter end
The unfortunate or unpleasant conclusion
I tried to swim, you taught me well
I endeavored to navigate, and you instructed me effectively
And yet I can't
Despite my efforts, I am unable to
Feel happiness but now I know, joy is not
Experience genuine happiness, but I am aware that joy is not
Made to be a crumb
Meant to be merely a small fragment
And have you
Do you possess
Changed your life?
Altered or transformed your existence?
Have you tried
Have you made attempts
To stay alive?
To continue living?
I am trying
I am making an effort
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid
Written by: Ilario Cusano
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dave9825
I get the sudden urge to take someone out to a restaurant to this song and enter through the kitchen
@1959marc
Love this song si nce i first heard it. I was 12
@piyushmishrasavitri8128
really !! you are so rt. love this song
@mava5485
you too are a union delegate?
@njva17420
Yes! Great song and great scene!
@triciajohansen3027
If you are Ray Liotta, yes!!!!😎
@bigboi5839
“Yes, im here for my first day of vocational school”, “Ah, right this way sir”
@MikeJones-qn1gz
“This notebook and pencil are from Mr. Tony over there”
@wackyway2578
I'm looking for this comments.
@SanthanamSridharan
Give him an A