November 3, 1962
The first #1 single for ostentatious record producer Phil Spector and his record label, Philles, hit of summit of the Billboard Hot 100 on this day.
He’s A Rebel ended a two-week treat for Bobby “Boris” Pickett with his ghoulish Halloween hit Monster Mash (On This Day… October 20, 1962).
The new number one has always been listed as sung by one of Spector’s two biggest ‘girl groups’ from his famous Wall Of Sound productions era, The Crystals (the other is The Ronettes) – but it actually isn’t the former on the recording.
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In the summer of 1962, Phil Spector was based in Los Angeles as the head of A&R for Liberty Records and working with producer Snuff Garrett when he heard a demo of a new tune recorded by its writer, Gene Pitney, called She’s A Rebel.
One of Garrett’s new talents, Vikki Carr, was already in the process of recording the song for Liberty. But Spector wanted to beat the release of her version with one from his own roster of Philles talent – namely, The Crystals.
However, the girls were 2,000 miles away in their hometown of New York City, so he rushed a new young vocalist named Darlene Wright – and her backup singers The Blossoms – into his California studios to cut the track.
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[Note] Some audio song files may not play on smartphones, tablets or connected devices. A laptop, desktop PC or Mac may be required for optimal enjoyment.
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HE’S A REBEL
The Crystals
[1961]
Recorded in August of ’62, and identified as by “The Crystals”, ‘He’s A Rebel’ made its Billboard debut on September 8th and hit the top on this date.
Not long after – by a name change – Darlene Wright became the famous Darlene Love and not only sang with The Blossoms on that record, but also on its followup, He’s Sure The Boy I Love (1963 • #11) (also listed as by “The Crystals”).
After a two-week ride at number one, ‘He’s A Rebel’ was knocked off the top rung by the second #1 hit in a row by The Four Seasons with Big Girls Don’t Cry.
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DEEP TRAK!
HE’S A REBEL
Vikki Carr
[1974]
Meanwhile, Vikki Carr’s version of ‘He’s A Rebel’ – released after “The Crystals” and debuting two weeks later on Billboard – wallowed in the Bubbling Under section of the Hot 100 and peaked at #115 … timing is everything.
[Note] The question as to whether Vikki or “The Crystals” finished their recording first has been subject to conflicting information, making it difficult to conclude who gets the nod for the official first version. In fact, it may go down forever as an inconclusive tie.
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DEEP(er) TRAK!
SHE’S A REBEL
Gene Pitney
Another source of confusion has been when the great Gene Pitney – apart from his demo – first recorded his own song, and if and when it was ever officially issued.
The song has never appeared as a single or album track on any of his commercial releases, but this version surfaced a number of years ago on an import CD I own which includes rare material. Regardless, here’s the writer’s version – originally reverse-gendered.
[Note] Gene Pitney wrote ‘She’s A Rebel’ with the intention of giving it to The Shirelles to record, but the gals from Passaic, New Jersey turned down the song.
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Songs Source: The Music Vault of HouseoftheHits, Inc.
Billboard® Chart Data: Joel Whitburn’s Record Research (eBook Editions)
Record Sleeve & Label Graphics: Courtesy of 45cat
