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.
There's No Other Like My Baby
The Crystals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Bout my baby, how I love him so
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
There's no other, don't mean maybe
No, no, no, no
Walkin' down the street, in a crowd
Looking at my baby, feeling so proud
Woah, oh, oh
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
While at a dance, my baby by my side
He whispers to me, someday I'll be his bride
Woah, oh, oh
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
(Johnny)
No, no, not like my baby
(Billy)
No, not like my baby
(Bobby)
He's not like my baby
I wanna tell you now
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
The Crystals' hit single "There's No Other Like My Baby" is a love song that expresses the singer's passionate devotion to her significant other. In the first verse of the song, she emphasizes the importance of her baby in her life and relates how much she loves him. She states that there is "No other like my baby. No, no, no, no. There's no other, don't mean maybe, No, no, no, no." This line highlights the unique and special role that her baby holds in her life, emphasizing his irreplaceable nature.
In the second verse, the singer talks about how proud she feels to be walking down the street with her baby by her side. She creates a picture of them walking in a crowd, with the singer looking admiringly at her baby. This verse enhances the feeling of deep love the singer has for her baby and how proud she is to be with him.
The final verse is about the couple dancing together, and the baby whispers that he wants to marry the singer someday. The song ends with the singer repeating that there is "No other like my baby." The song showcases the pure, innocent, and head-over-heels love of two people who have found the person they want to spend the rest of their lives with.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a story I want you to know
I have a story that I want to share with you
'Bout my baby, how I love him so
It's about my baby, and how much I love him
There's no other like my baby
There is no one else like my baby
No, no, no, no
Absolutely not
There's no other, don't mean maybe
I am absolutely sure, there is no possibility of anyone else
Walkin' down the street, in a crowd
Walking down the street, surrounded by crowds of people
Looking at my baby, feeling so proud
I feel pride when I look at my baby
Woah, oh, oh
Melodic interlude
While at a dance, my baby by my side
While dancing, my baby was with me
He whispers to me, someday I'll be his bride
He whispers that someday I'll be his bride
Woah, oh, oh
Melodic interlude
No, no, not like my baby
No, definitely not like my baby
No, not like my baby
No, not like my baby
He's not like my baby
He is different from my baby
I wanna tell you now
I want to tell you now
There's no other like my baby
There is no one else like my baby
No, no, no, no
Absolutely not
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LEROY BATES, PHIL SPECTOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@greekatso
There's a story I want you to know
'Bout my baby - how I love him so
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
I wanna tell you now
There's no other, don't mean maybe
No, no, no, no
Walkin' down the street in a crowd
Looking at my baby, feeling so proud
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
While at at a dance, my baby by my side
He whispers to me someday I'll be his bride
There's no other like my baby
No, no, no, no
(Johnny) No, no not like my baby
(Billy) No, not like my baby
(Bobby) He's not like my baby
I wanna tell ya now
There's no other like my baby, oh no
@bobbauldock3846
This song is a snap shot of all the Kid in America in the late 50s and early 60s, We we safer, stronger, and most of us wanted to live each other................Peace BB
@caealy124
This song continues to send chills up my spine.
@lindadee2053
It's one of those special songs that causes chills and goosebumps to appear.
@slightcurvegrin7507
Radio Aztlan brought me here, Firme Fridays Bomb Saturday mornings, Que-No!!! Stay proud Raza!!! ColtonCityLimits.
@dolphins4mary
Still love ALL the old songs and ALWAY will. I am 68 and listen to these everyday !!!
@CecileKnox
Me , my two sisters and mom would sing this while my mom would play the piano....great memories.....
@beefoneeto
That's awesome Cecile.
@leonshaw6417
I think of june fisher
@jacksongondo6166
This is so beautiful. I can't wait to have a family one day with girls of my own ❤
@aljenningscrownandgillig
AWESOME!!