#1 for weeks of December 1, 8, and 15th, 1958.
Might as well get a statement out of the way for this review, and this review only. Simply because the writer, main performer, arranger and producer of this song will no doubt pop up throughout the first half of the 1960's. I'm of course talking about Phil Spector. No beating around the bush, Phil Spector today is a convicted murderer, and while once considered an eccentric personality, is now considered a madman.
However, before he willingly, (or perhaps due to his madness), killed Lana Clarkson, before he held The Ramones hostage in the recording studio, fired a gun in the ceiling of the studio while working with John Lennon, and before he mixed and overproduced, "The Long And Winding Road", much to Paul McCartney's dismay, Phil Spector was a renowned music producer, songwriter, and arranger who pioneered the "Wall of Sound" technique.
The wall of sound technique meant that instead of having a simple guitar, bass, drums, piano, etc, setup for recording a pop song, you had numerous guitars and basses, multiple drummers, a brass section, lots of pianos, and this was all recorded in mono so that you heard this huge rush of sound the same in both ears.
Everyone from Brian Wilson, to Billy Joel, to even The Clash, (listen to London Calling's "The Card Cheat"), were influenced by Spector's arranging and production techniques. It is a result of the wall of sound technique that so much 1960's pop, while lyrically simple, is beyond amazing to listen to musically. If you don't believe me, then listen to The Ronettes' "Be My Baby". So despite what my, (and many people's) current feelings are about Phil due to the way he is today, there is no denying back then that he was a musical genius.
Now, onto the song itself. This features the first female lead vocals for the US Billboard Hot 100 and they are provide by songwriter Carol Connors, (known then as Annette Kleinbard). Spector sings backing vocals and plays all of the instruments, bar drums, which are played by Sandy Nelson. Even with this being Spector's first production, you can already hear the Wall of Sound. There is a lot of power in the instrumentation, although the Wall of Sound still is in its infancy. We have a long way to go till "You've Lost That Loving Feeling".
As for vocals, this song's backing vocals for once don't sound very dated at all. During the bridge of the song where there is a nice key change, they take on an almost ethereal quality. The song itself is mostly a simple doo-wop style song with simple love song lyrics, (reportedly some of which come from words written on Spector's father's tombstone). Again, the best moment of the song is the bridge where everything just clicks into place and the lead vocals become more sincere and powerful.
This song has been covered numerous times over the years, and my first time hearing it was on The Beatles' Live At The BBC album. Their version, from 1963, titled "To Know Her Is To Love Her" is well worth hearing.
Final Verdict - For every time he pops up on this list, we will temporarily put aside who Phil Spector is today, and focus on the way he was THEN. This song, while primitive in his production style, and lyrically simple, has an amazing music production and a haunting bridge that comes out of nowhere. Give this song a listen as it's an important piece of music history.
Last Up For 1958 - "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" - The Chipmunks With David Seville.
Until Next Time - Dr. Rock -
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