The Crystals
| Company type | Vocal ensemble |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1961 in New York City, United States |
| Founder | Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew, Myrna Giraud, Patricia "Patsy" Wright |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
| Products | Music recordings, singles, albums |
The Crystals are a vocal ensemble originating from New York City, widely regarded as a prominent figure during the early 1960s girl group movement. Between 1961 and 1964, they released several hits—including "There's No Other (Like My Baby)", "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron", and "Then He Kissed Me"—which featured three distinct female lead vocalists and were all produced by Phil Spector. Among these, "He's a Rebel," "Da Doo Ron Ron," and "Then He Kissed Me" were ranked number 263, 114, and 493 respectively on Rolling Stone magazine's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Although some songs were removed in subsequent editions, "He's a Rebel" remained on the list, and "Da Doo Ron Ron" was reinstated at position 366 in 2021.
Formation and signing to Philles
The Crystals were formed in 1961 by Barbara Alston (December 29, 1943 – February 16, 2018), Mary Thomas, Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew (born 1945), Myrna Giraud, and Patricia "Patsy" Wright, with assistance from Benny Wells, Alston’s uncle. Shortly after their formation, the group secured a contract with Phil Spector’s Philles Records.
Their debut hit, the gospel-inspired "There's No Other (Like My Baby)," entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1961. Initially released as the B-side to "Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby"—which featured Wright as lead vocalist—this pop ballad was co-written by Spector and Leroy Bates and highlighted Alston’s singing. The recording session took place late on prom night at William H. Maxwell Career and Technical High School, attended by Alston, Thomas, and Giraud; notably, they arrived at the studio still dressed in their prom gowns. The single climbed to number 20 by January 1962, marking a successful launch for Spector's label.
Their second radio success came with "Uptown," penned by Brill Building songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. This lively track incorporated flamenco guitar and castanets and again featured Alston delivering an emotive performance addressing social class themes. After releasing "Uptown," pregnant member Giraud was replaced by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks.
In 1962, the group released the contentious single "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)," written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin with Alston on lead vocals. The song received minimal airplay and peaked at number 123 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Alston later expressed strong disapproval of the track, describing it as “absolutely, positively” the one record none of them liked.
"Replacement" Crystals
Following the commercial failure of "He Hit Me," Phil Spector began recording with singer Darlene Love and her ensemble the Blossoms. Due to logistical challenges in traveling from New York to Los Angeles, where Spector wanted to quickly record Gene Pitney’s "He's a Rebel" before Vikki Carr could release her version on Liberty Records, he opted to release Love’s recording under the Crystals’ name. This was not an isolated incident; Spector had previously issued recordings by the Blossoms credited as Crystals singles.
"[He's a Rebel]" was originally offered to the Shirelles, who declined because of its rebellious lyrics. The song represented a thematic shift in girl group music toward celebrating love for a “bad boy,” a motif later embraced by groups like the Shangri-Las with their hit "Leader of the Pack."
Though experienced in harmony singing, the Crystals were taken aback by this substitution but were compelled to promote the single through television appearances and live performances as if it were their own work. The single achieved number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1962.
This track became the Crystals’ sole US number one hit and also reached the UK top twenty. Interestingly, it prevented Pitney’s "Only Love Can Break a Heart" from attaining the top spot—Pitney himself never achieved a number one on the Hot 100 chart. The follow-up single for the Crystals, "He's Sure the Boy I Love," which was also recorded by Love and the Blossoms, reached number eleven on Billboard and featured an introductory spoken segment performed by Love.
"Authentic" Crystals Resurgence
Although their precise role in "(Let's Dance) The Screw" remains ambiguous, the original Crystals resumed recording under their established name in 1963. Thomas departed to marry and joined the Butterflys alongside original member Myrna Giraud, reducing the group to four members. Alston, feeling uneasy as lead vocalist due to introversion and stage anxiety, relinquished the lead role to Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, who had already been performing Alston’s lead parts during live shows.
After "(Let's Dance) The Screw," the Crystals released "Da Doo Ron Ron", which became a top 10 hit in both the United States and the United Kingdom, followed by "Then He Kissed Me", also featuring Brooks as lead. These songs were recorded by Brooks, the Blossoms, and other session singers, including a young Cher. Brooks additionally contributed vocals to the seasonal compilation album A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records.
In early 1964, the Crystals embarked on their first European tour with performances across the UK. "Then He Kissed Me" climbed to number 2 on UK charts, and the group headlined popular television programs such as Ready Steady Go! and Tonight at the London Palladium.
Rising Conflicts and Disbandment
Despite a string of successful singles, friction between producer Phil Spector and the Crystals intensified. The group grew resentful over being substituted by Love and the Blossoms on significant recordings and witnessed Spector shifting his attention toward the Ronettes, who became Philles Records' foremost act. Notably, the Ronettes replaced the Crystals on four tracks of the 1963 compilation album The Crystals Sing the Greatest Hits. Additionally, disputes concerning unpaid royalties further exacerbated tensions.
Following two underperforming singles, the Crystals parted ways with Spector's Philles Records and signed with United Artists Records in 1964. Their single "Little Boy" reached number 92 but was heavily layered with Wall of Sound production that obscured vocal clarity. Their final release on Philles, "All Grown Up," peaked at number 98.
That same year saw Wright's exit; she was succeeded by Frances Collins (also known as Fatima Johnson), a dancer encountered during touring and mother of rapper Prodigy. Later in 1964, Alston left without replacement, leaving a trio that recorded two singles for United Artists: "My Place"/"You Can't Tie a Good Girl Down" (1965) and "Are You Trying To Get Rid Of Me Baby"/"I Got A Man" (1966). A final single released through Michelle Records in 1967 preceded their official split.
The Crystals reunited in 1971 and continued performing sporadically until 2018. Kenniebrew remained active throughout these years, collaborating with Patricia Pritchett-Lewis (since 2005) and Melissa "MelSoulTree" Grant (since 2002). This formation independently released Live in Asia in 2010, a recording captured in Singapore.
Brooks returned to the United States in 2001 after spending two decades in Europe and continues to perform internationally under her own name as well as under The Crystals’ name in both the UK and Canada, where she holds trademark ownership.
Barbara Alston passed away at age 74 on February 16, 2018, in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Modern Cultural Presence
The song "Then He Kissed Me" was featured at the beginning of the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting and underscored a first date scene involving Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco at the Copacabana in Goodfellas (1990). It has also appeared in episodes of The Simpsons (2006) and Family Guy (2018), and was covered by Asobi Seksu on their live album Live at the Echo 10/6/06. The track "Da Doo Ron Ron" was included in the soundtrack of the 1979 film Quadrophenia and used as part of English language teaching exercises in the 1981 comedy Stripes. Meanwhile, "He Hit Me (and It Felt like a Kiss)" appeared in television series such as Mad Men (2012) and the miniseries 11.22.63 (2016).
The character Crystal, inspired by girl groups, appears alongside Chiffon from Chiffons and Ronnette from Ronettes in the musical Little Shop of Horrors. Singer Amy Winehouse acknowledged "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" as an influence on her album Back to Black. Similarly, Lana Del Rey referenced this phrase within her song "Ultraviolence", from her album of identical title.
Timeline
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bar:DeeDee text:"Dolores Dee Dee Kenniebrew" bar:Alston text:"Barbara Alston" bar:Patsy text:"Myra Patricia Patsy Wright" bar:Thomas text:"Mary Thomas" bar:Giraud text:"Myrna Giraud" bar:LaLa text:"Dolores LaLa Brooks" bar:Collins text:"Frances Collins"
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Studio albums
- 1962:Twist Uptown
- 1963:He's a Rebel (peaked at US number 131)
- 1986:He's a Rebel featuring Lala Brooks
Compilation albums
- 1963:The Crystals Sing the Greatest Hits, Volume 1
- 1975:The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits
- 1988:Greatest Hits
- 1990:Greatest Hits
- 1992:The Best of the Crystals
- 2004:One Fine Day
- 2011:Da Doo Ron Ron: The Very Best of the Crystals
- 2016:Playlist : The Very Best of the Crystals
Singles
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides originate from same album unless noted |
Lead vocals | Label and catalog number | Chart rankings | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B | UK | |||||||||
| 1961 | "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" b/w "Oh Yeah, Maybe Baby" |
A-side performed by Barbara Alston B-side performed by Patsy Wright |
Philles 100 | 20 | 5 | — | Twist Uptown | ||||
| 1962 | "Uptown" b/w "What a Nice Way to Turn Seventeen" |
Barbara Alston (lead) | Philles 102 | 13 | 18 | — | |||||
| "He Hit Me (and It Felt like a Kiss)" b/w "No One Ever Tells You" |
Barbara Alston (lead) | Philles 105 | — | — | — | He's a Rebel | |||||
| "He's a Rebel" b/w "I Love You Eddie" |
A-side by Darlene Love B-side by Barbara Alston |
Philles 106 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||||||
| "He's Sure the Boy I Love" b/w "Walkin' Along (La La La)" (Non-album instrumental) |
Darlene Love (lead) | Philles 109 | 11 | 18 | — | ||||||
| 1963 | "(Let's Dance) The Screw - Part 1" b/w "(Let's Dance) The Screw - Part 2" |
Group vocals | Philles 111 | — | — | — | Non-Album Tracks | ||||
| "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Me Home)" b/w "Git' It" (Non-album instrumental) |
Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (lead) | Philles 112 | 3 | 5 | 5 | The Crystals Sing the Greatest Hits, Volume 1 | |||||
| "Then He Kissed Me" b/w "Brother Julius" (Non-album instrumental) |
Dolores "LaLa" Brooks (lead) | Philles 115 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
Today's Hits | |||||
| 1964 | "I Wonder" b/w "Little Boy" (UK single) |
"Dolores "LaLa" Brooks" | "London" 9852 |
36 |
Non-album tracks | ||||||
| "Little Boy" b/w "Harry (From West Virginia) and Milt" (Instrumental) |
"Dolores "LaLa" Brooks" | "Philles" 119 |
92 |
- |
"All Grown Up" b/w "Irving (Jaggered Sixteenths)" (Instrumental) |
"Dolores "LaLa" Brooks" | "Philles" 122 |
98 |
|||
| 1965 | "You Can't Tie a Good Girl Down" b/w "My Place" |
"Dolores "LaLa" Brooks" | "United Artists" 927 | ||||||||
| 1966 | "Are You Trying to Get Rid of Me" b/w "I Got a Man" |
"Dolores "LaLa" Brooks" | "United Artists" 994 | ||||||||
| 1967 | "Ring-A-Ting-A-Ling" b/w "Should I Keep on Waiting" |
"A-side performed by Barbara Alston B-side performed by Dee Dee Kennibrew" |
"Michelle" 4113 | ||||||||
| A dash ("—") indicates singles that did not chart or were not issued in that market. | |||||||||||
Bibliography
- Clemente, John (2000). Girl Groups — Fabulous Females That Rocked The World. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. 276 pages.
- Clemente, John (2013). Girl Groups — Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World. Bloomington, Indiana: Authorhouse Publications. 623 pages. (softcover); (ebook).
External links
- Official site for the current lineup of the Crystals
- Biography of the Crystals I
- Biography of the Crystals II
- Discography of the Crystals I
- Discography of the Crystals II
- Articles with short description
- American pop music groups
- African-American girl groups
- African-American musical groups
- Musical groups from New York City
- Philles Records artists
- Musical groups established in 1960
- Musical groups disbanded in 1967
- 1960 establishments in New York City
- 1967 disestablishments in New York (state)
- American R&B girl groups
- American girl groups
- Musical groups disestablished in 1967