He's a Rebel

"He's a Rebel"
Song

"He's a Rebel" is a pop song credited to the The Crystals which went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in November 1962. Written by Gene Pitney and produced by Phil Spector, it is considered one of the definitive examples of the Spector-produced girl group sound.

The song is about a girl in love with a young man who spurns society's conventions. Despite his being misunderstood by others, the singer claims that he is sweet and faithful, and she vows to be the same towards him. Studio musician Steve Douglas performs a saxophone solo during the song's bridge. The piano riff at the beginning was contributed by Al DeLory. Unusually for Spector productions, no strings played on the track.

Pitney had originally written "He's a Rebel" for The Shirelles, but they declined. Spector learned that Vicki Carr was soon to record the song for Liberty Records as her debut single, and decided he had to rush his own version to stores. The Crystals were touring on the east coast at the time, and so Spector instead had Darlene Love sing lead on the track, backed by The Blossoms, a Los Angeles-based group. Spector gave The Crystals credit on the record; Mary Thomas later recalled that "our mouths fell open" when she and her groupmates heard a radio disc jockey announce "the new Crystals song." The quintet was then obliged to add "He's a Rebel" to their live repertoire, even though lead singer Barbara Alston's soft voice could not mimic Love's hearty delivery. For this reason, fifteen-year-old Dolores "LaLa" Brooks was promoted to the role of lead singer. (Brooks would later turn to Broadway and was part of the original cast of Hair.)

The single, with the artist listed simply as "The Crystals," was released in late August 1962, with the b-side "I Love You Eddie." By November 3, "He's a Rebel" had reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The number two song that week was Gene Pitney's "Only Love Can Break A Heart," giving him (as a songwriter) the two top-selling singles in the U.S. In the United Kingdom, "He's a Rebel" peaked at #19.

The song was #263 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

See also

• Wall of Sound
• 1962 in music
• She's a Rebel, a Green Day song from the American Idiot rock opera which draw's its name in reference.

References

• Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books.
• Ribowsky, Mark (2000). He's A Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer. Cooper Square Press.
• Unterburg, Richie. All Music Guide review. Retrieved April 3, 2007.