The Crystals, Da DooRon Ron, Scarce Orig UK EP 1963, VG

$

78

This is a very scarce UK 4-track Extended Play (EP) of the Crystals, London Records, 1963, RE-U-1381.

The Crystals, a band from the USA, were one of the most successful girl groups of the early 1960s, best remembered for the hit singles "He's A Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me".

In the late 1950s, Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Delores "Dee Dee" Kennibrew, Merna Girard and Patricia "Patsy" Wright formed The Crystals in high school under the leadership of Alston's uncle, Benny Wells. Soon, the quintet signed with Phil Spector's label Philles Records. Spector then chose Alston to be the group's lead singer, which made her very uncomfortable since she had a fear of singing in front of audiences.

Their first hit was 1961's "There's No Other Like My Baby"  This song's B-side "Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby" (featuring Wright on lead) and the following single "Uptown" were topical and socially-aware pieces about growing up in the ghetto. After the success of "Uptown", a pregnant Girard was replaced by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks. The next single was 1962's "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)", still widely remembered though only rarely played on the radio due to the touchy subject matter of spousal abuse. Sales were sluggish.

Soon after "He Hit Me" flopped, Phil Spector began recording singer Darlene Love and her backing group The Blossoms under the name "The Crystals". Legend has it that the real Crystals were not able to travel from New York to Los Angeles fast enough to suit the LA-based Spector, who wanted to quickly record and release "He's a Rebel" (written by Gene Pitney) before anyone else had a chance to cover it and have a hit with it. The Crystals were unavailable, but Love and the Blossoms were also based in LA, so Spector recorded them and put the record out under The Crystals' banner.

"He's A Rebel" is perhaps the Crystals' most well-remembered and beloved song, and one of the most enduring of the girl group genre. It was also their only US #1 hit. The follow-up Crystals single, "He's Sure the Boy I Love", in actuality also featured Love and The Blossoms. It reached a very respectable #11 on the Billboard chart, and features a classic spoken intro by Darlene Love.

Tracks:
1.) 1963: "Da Doo Ron Ron"- Lead by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks
2.) 1962: "He's a Rebel"- Lead by Darlene Love
3.) 1963: "He's Sure the Boy I Love"- Lead by Darlene Love
4.) 1963: "I Love You Eddie" - ?

Cover: Very Good+ over all. No marks, some ring wear, slight corner bump, a little sun fading on the edge, no splits, a little delamination.

Record: Very Good, some visible scratches, clean label with no wear.

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