The Crystals

The Crystals are an American vocal group based in New York, considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era in the first half of the 1960s. Their 1961–1964 chart 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 (When He Walked Me Home)" and "Then He Kissed Me", featured three successive female lead singers, and were all produced by Phil Spector. The latter three songs were originally ranked #267, #114, and #493, respectively, on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. However, two songs were dropped from the magazine's 2010 update.

History

Formation and signing to Philles

In 1961, Barbara Alston, Mary Thomas, Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew, Myrna Giraud and Patricia "Patsy" Wright formed the Crystals with the help of Benny Wells, Barbara's uncle. Soon, the quintet signed with Phil Spector's label Philles Records.

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 Central Commercial High School, the school attended by Barbara, Mary, and Myrna; 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.

Da Doo Ron Ron

"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It was a popular top five hit single for the American girl group The Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy covered it in 1977 and hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his version. There have also been many other cover versions of this song.

The Crystals version

Background

The Crystals recorded "Da Doo Ron Ron" in March 1963 at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. It was produced by Phil Spector in his Wall of Sound style. Jack Nitzsche was the arranger and Larry Levine the engineer. The drummer was Hal Blaine.Dolores "LaLa" Brooks was the lead vocalist.

On June 8, 1963, it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and on June 22, 1963, number four on the Cash Box chart. It also reached number five in the UK.

In 2004, the Crystals' song was ranked number 114 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was, however, removed from the same list in the 2010 update, being the highest-ranked of the 27 songs that were removed. It was listed at number 528 by Q Magazine in their list of The 1001 Best Songs Ever, published in 2003. Berlin Media listed the song at number 43 on their list of The 100 Best Singles of All Time list published in 1998. It was also recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock".

Ron Ron

Ronald White, better known by his stage name Ron Ron, is an American rapper and director and former affiliate of Universal Music Group.

Biography

The name "Ron Ron" was given to him by his grandmother as a child. He decided to keep the handle in memory of her.

Ron Ron is currently an independent artist after short stint with Bungalo Records through Universal Music Group Distribution. Ron gained minor national attention with a series of mixtapes, one of which including the song "Hey Honey" that secured his first single deal amassing huge totals in digital download sales. He also won 2009 Song Of The Year in Kansas City with "Caked Up", a collaboration with Stik Figa and produced by Greg Enemy.

Albums

Ironic

Ron DMC 1.0

Mixtapes

Cholie Brown (2005)
Mr. Mixtape (2006)
"Frank-Einstien (2007)
Mr No It All (2008)
Frank-Einstein 2.0 (2008)
Skitzo-Frinik (2009)
Left Brain:Right Brain (2011)
Mr No It All 2 (2013)
"Frank-Einstein 3.0: The Bride Of Frank-Einstein (2014)

References

External links

Then He Kissed Me

"Then He Kissed Me" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song, produced by Spector, was initially released as a single in July 1963 by The Crystals. It is a narrative of a young woman's encounter, romance, and eventual marriage with a fellow youth.

In 2004, this song was #493 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.Pitchfork Media placed it at number 18 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".

The Crystals version

The single is one of The Crystals' most remembered songs. The lead vocal was sung by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks. In the United States the single peaked at number six and in the United Kingdom the single peaked at number two. The single was The Crystals' third single to chart in the top ten in the United States and their second to reach the top ten in the United Kingdom. The song was also a major hit in the Republic of Ireland, reaching number three in the charts there.

The Beach Boys version

The song was re-worded to the title "Then I Kissed Her" and released by The Beach Boys on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) with Al Jardine on lead vocals and production by Brian Wilson. Beyond title and gender changes, new lyrics were written retelling the story of the Crystals' song from the boyfriend's point of view.

Crystal

A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents, such as atoms, molecules or ions, are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macroscopic single crystals are usually identifiable by their geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations.

The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography. The process of crystal formation via mechanisms of crystal growth is called crystallization or solidification. The word crystal is derived from the Ancient Greek word κρύσταλλος (krustallos), meaning both “ice” and “rock crystal”, from κρύος (kruos), "icy cold, frost".

Examples of large crystals include snowflakes, diamonds, and table salt. Most inorganic solids are not crystals but polycrystals, i.e. many microscopic crystals fused together into a single solid. Examples of polycrystals include most metals, rocks, ceramics, and ice. A third category of solids is amorphous solids, where the atoms have no periodic structure whatsoever. Examples of amorphous solids include glass, wax, and many plastics.