Formation and signing to Philles In 1961, Barbara Alston (December 29, 1943,
Baltimore,
Maryland – February 16, 2018,
Charlotte,
North Carolina), Their first hit, the
gospel-influenced "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", debuted on the
Billboard Hot 100 in November 1961. Originally the
B-side to "Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby" (featuring Wright on lead), the stirring
pop ballad was co-written by Spector and Leroy Bates and featured Barbara Alston on vocals. The recording was made late on the evening of the high school
prom at the
William H. Maxwell Career and Technical High School, the school attended by Alston, Thomas, and Giraud; they were still wearing their prom dresses, as they had come to the studio straight from the event. The single reached number 20 in January 1962, marking an auspicious debut for Spector's Philles label.
"Replacement" Crystals Soon after "He Hit Me" flopped,
Phil Spector began recording singer
Darlene Love and her group
the Blossoms. The 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 writer
Gene Pitney's "
He's a Rebel" before
Vikki Carr could release her version on
Liberty Records. As Love and the Blossoms were also based in Los Angeles, Spector recorded and released their version under the Crystals' banner. It was not the first time Spector promised the Blossoms a single and release it under the Crystals name. The song had originally been offered to
the Shirelles, who turned it down because of the
anti-establishment lyrics. It marked a shift in girl group thematic material, where the singer loves a "bad boy", a theme that would be amplified by later groups (especially
the Shangri-Las' "
Leader of the Pack"). The ghost release of this single came as a total surprise to the Crystals who were an experienced and much traveled girl harmony group in their own right, but they were nevertheless required to perform and promote the new single on television and on tour as if it were their own. The single reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 in November 1962. Pitney never reached the Hot 100's summit. The Crystals follow-up single, "He's Sure the Boy I Love", was also recorded by Love and the Blossoms. It reached number 11 on the
Billboard chart and featured a spoken intro by Love.
"Real" Crystals return Though it is unclear as to the level of their participation in "(Let's Dance) The Screw", the 'real' Crystals definitely began recording again under their own name in 1963. However, Thomas had departed to get married, only to join another mildly successful group, the Butterflys, along with another original Crystal, Myrna Giraud. This reduced the group to a quartet. Alston, known for her shyness and stage fright, was never comfortable with being out front, stepped down from the lead spot giving it to
Dolores "LaLa" Brooks. According to Brooks, she had been doing Alston's leads in their live shows for a while. After "(Let's Dance) The Screw", the group's next release was "
Da Doo Ron Ron". The song was a top 10 hit in both the US and the
UK, as was the follow-up single "
Then He Kissed Me", with lead vocals also sung by Brooks. Both these songs were actually recorded by Brooks, the Blossoms and other session singers (including a young
Cher). Brooks also flew out to Los Angeles to record tracks for the seasonal album,
A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records. Covers of "
The Twist", "
The Wah-Watusi" (lead vocals by
Nedra Talley), "
Mashed Potato Time", and "Hot Pastrami" were credited to the Crystals on their 1963 Philles LP
The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits, Volume 1 but were actually recorded by
The Ronettes. At the start of 1964, the Crystals flew to the UK for their first European live shows. "Then He Kissed Me" soared to number 2 in the UK, ==Contemporary usage==