Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans was an early 1960s vocal group produced by Phil Spector, and was initially conceived as a vehicle for the lead vocals of Bobby Sheen, who took the stage name Bob B. Soxx. [1] The Blue Jeans were backing vocalists Darlene Love and Fanita James, both of whom were also members of the girl group the Blossoms. [2]
Despite Sheen's status as group leader, by the time the trio entered the recording studio, Spector was often using Love as the group's primary vocalist. Sheen sang lead on the group's first hit, 1962's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (originally from the 1946 Disney movie, Song of the South ). Love, meanwhile, handled the lead vocals on the follow-up single, 1963's "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart". Sheen and Love shared lead vocal duties on the final single, "Not Too Young to Get Married". [2]
Sheen and Love shared vocal duties on the only album the group ever recorded, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah (1963). [1]
Sheen can be heard as lead vocalist on the group's final recordings, "The Bells of St. Mary's" and "Here Comes Santa Claus", two tracks on the Spector-produced album, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (1963), on which Love also appears as a solo artist. [1] On the cover of this album, a group portrait shows Sheen with two Blue Jeans vocalists (actually two more Spector session singers, Lillian Washington and future Honey Cone member Carolyn Willis, who toured with Sheen as the Blue Jeans, although both Love and James continued as the Blue Jeans in the recording studio). [3]
After 1963, the group was dropped by Philles Records and effectively ceased to exist. [1] Sheen went back to using his real name, recorded some tracks for Capitol Records in the mid-1960s, and later joined a touring version of the Coasters, which featured original bass singer Bobby Nunn. [2] Sheen had previously been a member of the Robins, joining in 1957. Love recorded a few solo hits, but, more memorably, was the lead vocalist on at least two hit records by the Crystals. It is also established that Sheen, Love, and James (with the rest of the Blossoms) were the voices on the Crystals' hits "He's a Rebel" and "He's Sure the Boy I Love".[ citation needed ]
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record Label | B-side | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop | US R&B | |||||
| 1962 | "Zip-A-Dee Doo-Dah" | 8 | 7 | Philles | "Flip and Nitty" | Zip-A-Dee Doo Dah |
| 1963 | "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart?" | 38 | — | "Dr. Kaplan's Office" | ||
| "Not Too Young to Get Married" | 63 | — | "Annette" | |||
The Crystals are an American vocal group that originated in New York City. 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 ", "Uptown", "He's Sure the Boy I Love", "He's a Rebel", "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me"– featured three different female lead singers and were all produced by Phil Spector. The latter three songs were originally ranked number 263, number 114, and number 493, respectively, on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. However, two songs were omitted from the magazine's 2010 update, leaving only "He's a Rebel" at number 267. In the 2021 update, "Da Doo Ron Ron" was added back to the list at number 366.
Darlene Wright, better known by the stage name Darlene Love, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist.
The Wall of Sound is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session musicians later known as "the Wrecking Crew". The intention was to exploit the possibilities of studio recording to create an unusually dense orchestral aesthetic that came across well through radios and jukeboxes of the era. Spector explained in 1964: "I was looking for a sound, a sound so strong that if the material was not the greatest, the sound would carry the record. It was a case of augmenting, augmenting. It all fit together like a jigsaw."
Rosetta Jeanette Hightower was an American singer and the lead singer of the 1960s girl group The Orlons. She was born in Philadelphia.
Dolores Brooks, also known as Sakinah Muhammad, is the second lead singer of the girl group the Crystals. She is best known as the lead vocalist on the Crystals' hits "Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron".
Eleanor Louise Greenwich was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Christmas ", "Hanky Panky", "Chapel of Love", "Leader of the Pack", and "River Deep – Mountain High", among others.
"Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is a song composed by Allie Wrubel with lyrics by Ray Gilbert for the Disney 1946 live action and animated movie Song of the South, sung by James Baskett. For "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", the film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and was the second Disney song to win this award, after "When You Wish upon a Star" from Pinocchio (1940). In 2004, it finished at number 47 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs, a survey of top tunes in American cinema.
Born 2 B Blue is a studio album by Steve Miller, released in 1988 by Capitol Records. This is the only solo album that Miller has released, making it his only album not to be credited under the name Steve Miller Band. It consists primarily of jazz standards reinterpreted in a more modern context. It represented a departure from Miller's work with the Steve Miller Band. The album was Miller's final release for Capitol Records, after 20 years with the label.
Lester Sill was an American record label executive, best remembered as Phil Spector's partner in Philles Records, and also as the head of both Colpix Records and the later Colgems Records. His three sons are music supervisors in the film and TV businesses: Joel Sill, Greg Sill and Lonnie Sill. His stepson Chuck Kaye is a longtime music publishing executive.
The Blossoms were an American girl group that originated from California. During their height of success in the 1960s, the group's lineup most famously consisted of Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Jean King.
"He's a Rebel" is a song written by Gene Pitney that was originally recorded by Vikki Carr and by the girl group the Blossoms. Produced by Phil Spector, the Blossoms' version was issued as a single credited to the Crystals, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1962. It was Spector's second chart-topper after "To Know Him Is to Love Him" (1958).
Harvey Phillip Spector was an American record producer and songwriter best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s and his two trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. Spector developed the Wall of Sound, a production style that is characterized for its diffusion of tone colors and dense orchestral sound, which he described as a "Wagnerian" approach to rock and roll. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in pop music history and one of the most successful producers of the 1960s.
Robert Joseph Sheen was an American rhythm and blues singer.
"(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" is a song written by Phil Spector, Pete Andreoli and Vince Poncia. It was first recorded by the Ronettes, produced by Phil Spector and arranged by Jack Nitzsche with Ronnie Spector on lead vocals and with backing vocals by Nedra Talley and Estelle Bennett, ably abetted by Darlene Love and the Blossoms, Bobby Sheen, and Sonny & Cher. The song was released in April 1964, the year widely recognized as the group's most successful year, and proved to be the group's third consecutive top forty hit in the US. The single peaked at number 39 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and number 43 on the UK Singles Chart.
Twist Uptown is the first album by The Crystals, issued to capitalize upon their success with the Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann composition "Uptown" which was a #13 US hit, and their first top forty hit "There's No Other ". Twist Uptown notably features the first released version of "On Broadway," a composition written by Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. The song was later modified by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and became a hit for The Drifters in 1963.
Don Randi is an American keyboard player, bandleader, and songwriter who was a member of the Wrecking Crew.
Alfred V. De Lory was an American record producer, arranger, conductor and session musician. He was the producer and arranger of a series of worldwide hits by Glen Campbell in the 1960s, including John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind", Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston". He was also a member of the 1960s Los Angeles session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew, and inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.
"Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Heart", sometimes shown as "Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts" or "Why Do Lovers (Break Each Other's Heart)", is a pop song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Tony Powers. It was written as a tribute to Frankie Lymon, and was first recorded by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans. Their version featured lead vocals by Darlene Love, and reached no.38 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1963.
The Alley Cats were a musical group active in 1960s. One of their releases saw moderate airplay and chart action.
"Not Too Young to Get Married" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. It was recorded at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles in April 1963 by Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans with the lead vocals by Bobby Sheen and Darlene Love. The song was arranged by Jack Nitzsche, Larry Levine was the engineer and Spector's Wall of Sound was played by The Wrecking Crew.
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