He's a Rebel by The Crystals

The music business can be heartbreaking. This song was written by Gene Pitney for The Shirelles , who turned it down. Phil Spector wanted to record it with The Crystals, but they were on tour -- and he heard that Vikki Carr was going to record the song. So, to get it out quickly, Spector decided to record it with The Blossoms. The recording included Darlene Love (then Darlene Wright) on lead, with backing vocals by Edna Wright, Fanita James, Gracia Nitzsche, Gloria Jones, Jean King, and Bobby Sheen. Instrumentation was provided by The Wrecking Crew, who were session musicians. Spector gave the credit to The Crystals, though. DJ Murray the K broke the story on the air. Anyway, the single is a fine example of the Phil Spector “wall of sound,” featuring a wailing saxophone section, slapback echo, 4-handed piano, and plenty of handclaps. The amazing sound, Darlene Love’s delivery, plus Pitney’s wonderful song all combined to put “He’s a Rebel” at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962. Here are the lyrics: "See the way he walks down the street Watch the way he shuffles his feet My, he holds his head up high When he goes walking by He's my guy When he holds my hand, I'm so proud Cause he's not just one of the crowd My baby, always the one To try the things they've never done And just because of that, they say: "He's a rebel and he'll never, ever be any good” “He's a rebel 'cause he never, ever does what he should" But just because he doesn't do what everybody else does Ah, that's no reason why I can't give him all my love He's always good to me Always treats me tenderly Cause he's not a rebel, no, no, no He's not a rebel, no, no, no, to me (Instrumental Break) If they don't like him that way They won't like me, I'm sure, today And I'll be standing right by his side when they say: "He's a rebel and he'll never, ever be any good” “He's a rebel 'cause he never, ever does what he should" And just because he doesn't do what everybody else does Ah, that's no reason why we can't share our love He's always good to me Good to him, I try to be Cause he's not a rebel, no, no, no He's not a rebel, no, no, no, to me Oh! (He's not a rebel, no, no, no) He's not a rebel, no, no, no He’s not a rebel, no, no, no He's not a rebel, no, no, no He’s not a rebel, no, no, no He's not a rebel, no, no, no He’s not a rebel, no, no, no He's not a rebel, no, no, no" For more golden oldies, visit the Daily Doo Wop at: http://dailydoowop.com/recroom/