3 Nov: Phil Spector’s ‘Phantom Voice’
The Crystals hit number one with their version of Gene Pitney’s ‘He’s a Rebel’ on 3rd November, 1962, but it was actually another of Phil Spector’s girl-groups, The Blossoms, who had recorded the song.
The two groups never even met, until awkwardly posing together for Spector’s iconic Christmas album cover. Lead singer Darlene Love, realising her $5,000 fee was a fraction of what the song had made, demanded royalties – leading Spector to turn his attention to The Ronettes instead…
Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the success of He’s A Rebel led to Spector’s absurd 10-minute “swan song” Let’s Do the Screw, a parting blow to his business partners; explain why Love changed her name by deed poll; and consider how Spector’s “Wall of Sound” Spector created a major impact, but at the expense of his artists’ well-being…
Further Reading:
• ’Darlene Love Remembers Phil Spector, Their Thorny Relationship’ (Billboard, 2021): https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/darlene-love-remembers-phil-spector-9512712/
• ‘The Voices Of Black Women Were Essential To Phil Spector’s Wall Of Sound’ (NPR, 2021): https://www.npr.org/2021/01/21/959057719/the-voices-of-black-women-were-essential-to-phil-spectors-wall-of-sound
• ‘The Crystals – He’s a Rebel’ (Philles, 1962):