#1 for weeks of November 3 and 10th, 1962.
I'm quite familiar with many girl group classics from the first half of the 1960's. Particularly the girl group sounds of the Phil Spector and Brill Building variety. It is the former in fact who produced "He's A Rebel". Despite being familiar with many similar songs, this tune has slipped by me...until today.
First of all, for an overview of Phil Spector's music career as well as me addressing the obvious elephant in the room concerning Phil's personal life in the last decade, go read review #7 on this blog. "He's A Rebel" was written by Gene Pitney from Connecticut who was a singer/songwriter most popular during this particular time period.
Oddly enough, The Crystals, despite being credited for the song, do not even appear on it! Apparently due to them being away on a tour, Phil Spector had Darlene Love come in to sing lead vocals with similar girl group The Blossoms singing backup. Why they didn't just credit the song to these equally talented singers is beyond me.
Lyrically, the song predates similar tunes by The Shangri-Las which deal with the whole bad-boy image of a tough guy who still looks out for his girlfriend. Not a lyrical masterpiece, (Not many Girl Group songs are), but that's not where the magic lies, it's all about the music!
This is the first authentic chart topper on the Billboard Hot 100 to feature Phil Spector's wall of sound. There are an immeasurable amount of instruments from pianos, to saxophones, to guitars, to multiple drummers. Because all of this is in mono, you get all of this instrumentation full force, hence - a wall of sound.
The vocal progressions also really compliment the music arrangement and there are some really catchy vocal hooks such as the "No-No-No's". Plus, Darlene Love's alto lead vocal adds some flavor to the song. Despite this not actually being a true Crystals record, it is nonetheless a truly great Darlene Love vocal performance.
Final Verdict - I can see why this song was such a big hit. It is full of hooks and intricate instrumentation. With every listen you catch something new in the music so as a result, it certainly is worth more than one listen.
Coming Up Next - "Big Girls Don't Cry" by The Four Seasons.
Until Next Time - I'm Dr. Rock, and I'm a rebel.
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