Fact #78968
When:
Short story:
He's A
Rebel by The Crystals, written by Gene Pitney and produced by Phil Spector, is the highest new entry in the Cashbox magazine chart of the best-selling pop singles in the USA, entering at No79.
Full article:
THE STORY OF HE'S A REBEL, by Johnny Black
"He's A Rebel is the only song I ever wrote for someone in particular," says Gene Pitney. "I remember hearing Uptown, the previous record by The Crystals, on the radio. It was the first time I'd heard cellos and violas used in a funky, rock'n'roll way, and I loved it. I said to myself, 'I'm going to write their next single.'"
However, before he could get He's A Rebel to his old friend Phil Spector, Pitney's assiduous publisher had pitched the song to The Shirelles and Vikki Carr. Fortunately, The Shirelles turned it down, leaving Spector in a race with Carr's producer, Snuff Garrett.
Although the first Crystals hits had been recorded in New York, Spector booked time in July 1962 at Goldstar Studios in Los Angeles, famed for its cavernous echo chambers, which would play a huge part in developing the Wall Of Sound. As Spector subsequently explained, "I was looking for a sound so strong that if the material was not the greatest, the sound would carry the record."
As well as introducing Spector to the Goldstar echo, He's A Rebel brought him together with a new arranger, the quixotically brilliant Jack Nitzsche, and a group of L.A. session men soon to be known as The Wrecking Crew, whose core players were Hal Blaine on drums, Tweet this Fact
"He's A Rebel is the only song I ever wrote for someone in particular," says Gene Pitney. "I remember hearing Uptown, the previous record by The Crystals, on the radio. It was the first time I'd heard cellos and violas used in a funky, rock'n'roll way, and I loved it. I said to myself, 'I'm going to write their next single.'"
However, before he could get He's A Rebel to his old friend Phil Spector, Pitney's assiduous publisher had pitched the song to The Shirelles and Vikki Carr. Fortunately, The Shirelles turned it down, leaving Spector in a race with Carr's producer, Snuff Garrett.
Although the first Crystals hits had been recorded in New York, Spector booked time in July 1962 at Goldstar Studios in Los Angeles, famed for its cavernous echo chambers, which would play a huge part in developing the Wall Of Sound. As Spector subsequently explained, "I was looking for a sound so strong that if the material was not the greatest, the sound would carry the record."
As well as introducing Spector to the Goldstar echo, He's A Rebel brought him together with a new arranger, the quixotically brilliant Jack Nitzsche, and a group of L.A. session men soon to be known as The Wrecking Crew, whose core players were Hal Blaine on drums, Tweet this Fact