THE HIT HAMMER: The Crystals' "He's a Rebel"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please refer to the "Poor Little Fool" post.)

The Crystals - "He's a Rebel"

Hit Number 1: November 3, 1962

Stay at Number 1: 2 Weeks

"He's a Rebel" was recorded by the girl group the Blossoms. Not the Crystals. It had a pretty strange path to getting to the Crystals, even though it technically never DID get to the Crystals. Let me explain. So first of all, the song was offered to the Shirelles, the ones who did "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "Soldier Boy" but they declined. The production for the Crystals' version was eventually done by Phil Spector (the guy who helped make "To Know Him Is to Love Him" a thing), and he first heard the song was going to be recorded by Vicki Carr, but he wanted his own version on sale first. He thought it would be a good song for the Crystals, but they were touring on the east coast. Instead, he had the Blossoms record the track, though he would credit the Crystals as being the artist. (I would be pretty pissed actually if I were the Blossoms) The song would later hit #1, and the Crystals' Mary Thomas recalled that her and her groupmates' mouths "fell open" when they heard a disc jockey announce "the new Crystals song" on the radio.

The song tells the story of a girl who is in love with a guy who goes against what society would expect of a young man. Though he's constantly misunderstood, she claims that he is really a sweet guy, and is very devoted to her, and treats her well. Phil Spector was mostly known for adding strings in songs he produced, but "He's a Rebel" lacks any strings. Despite that, there is a sort of liveliness to the song that makes it pretty fun. Just a reminder that the Crystals didn't actually record this, so Blossoms' lead singer Darlene Love sounds like she's very excited and happy to inform everyone that this boy is not what society seems to think he is. She sings the song with a great conviction, almost like one giant middle finger to everyone who thinks negatively of her boyfriend. It lacks strings, but it doesn't lack ENERGY. That is why "He's a Rebel" is a great song.

GRADE: 8/10

JUST MISSED:

Gene Pitney almost cracked the #1 spot, but was kept from it by "He's a Rebel". He got to #2 with the sappy, but still good enough "Only Love Can Break a Heart". It's a 7.