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.
gee whiz
The Crystals Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gee whiz, how they hypnotize
He's got everything a girl could want
Man, oh, man, what a prize! Oooh ooh
Gee whiz, he's all the joy
Gee whiz, I could find in a boy
He's awful nice, its paradise
I hope I'm not he's decoy
Heaven up above knows how much
I love that gentle soul
Angels sing of a love like this
I hope our love will grow and grow
Oh, gee whiz, I love that guy
Gee whiz, my, my, oh my
There are things we could do
I could say I love you
But all I can say is
Gee whiz!
The Crystals' "Gee Whiz" is a fun and youthful love song about being completely enamored with someone. The lyrics speak to the overwhelming feeling of admiration and desire that the singer experiences when looking at the object of her affection. She describes his eyes as being mesmerizing and notes that he has everything a girl could want. The singer hopes that she is not just a decoy for him and expresses her love for his gentle soul. The chorus repeats the phrase "Gee whiz" as a kind of shorthand for the singer's infatuation, ultimately admitting that all she can say is "Gee whiz!" to express her feelings.
The song captures the youthful innocence of a crush and the excitement of falling in love. The repetition of "Gee whiz" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's lack of vocabulary to express her feelings adequately. The song's structure is simple, with a chorus that repeats after each verse, and the melody is catchy and upbeat, reflecting the joyful feeling of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee whiz, look at his eyes
Expression of amazement at how attractive the man's eyes are.
Gee whiz, how they hypnotize
Admiration of the man's eyes being capable of hypnotizing her.
He's got everything a girl could want
Belief that the man has all the qualities that a girl could wish for.
Man, oh, man, what a prize! Oooh ooh
Exclamation of the man being a great prize.
Gee whiz, he's all the joy
The man's presence brings immense joy.
Gee whiz, I could find in a boy
The man has all the qualities that she would look for in a boy.
He's awful nice, its paradise
Describing the man as being extremely nice and creates a sense of paradise by his actions.
I hope I'm not he's decoy
Expressing the desire not to be used as a decoy by the guy.
Heaven up above knows how much
Belief that even the heavens know how much she loves the guy.
I love that gentle soul
Admiration and expression of love for the man's gentle and kind nature.
Angels sing of a love like this
Belief that even angels would sing in appreciation of their love.
I hope our love will grow and grow
Desire for their love to continue to flourish and grow.
Oh, gee whiz, I love that guy
Admission of her love for the man.
Gee whiz, my, my, oh my
Expression of being swept away by her feelings for the man.
There are things we could do
Belief that they have many things they could do together.
I could say I love you
Admission that she could say 'I love you' to him.
But all I can say is Gee whiz!
Despite having strong feelings for him, 'gee whiz' is all she can express in the moment.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Carla Thomas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
charles randolph
'GEE WHIZ'-FORTIFIED! GREAT VERSION!
Andraste Reminiec
Gee whiz ! what a gorgeous sound ! I lvoe this more than the Carla Thomas Original
Zev Feldman
BEAUTIFUL VERSION
Clinton Lujan
I have a very good plus copy of this album in mono that is a dj promo
San2507
The “original album plus bonus tracks”? I made a playlist of “twist uptown” but it has the plus songs “he hit me (it felt like a kiss” and “he’s sure the boy I love”
Teresa Carella
NICE VERSION,
mickey tamla
I've got a mint copy unplayed in stereo.Tha record club version.Cover has foxing on back but otherwise in good nick.Anyone out there interested?
PLT 108
Cool version, different...