Sunday, June 24, 2012

Week Eight: 1960s Girl Groups - The Crystals - "He's a Rebel" - Wall of Sound: The Very Best of Phil Spector

So, in keeping with the "rebel" theme with which The Shangri-Las started this week of posts, I have selected "He's a Rebel" by The Crystals for my second Girl Group tune.  However, this was not the song that got me hooked on The Crystals.  It was actually "Then He Kissed Me", and the story goes something like this...

Adventures in Babysitting was released around the time I was in the 4th grade.  From the opening scene when Chris (played by Elisabeth Shue) danced around her bedroom to the song, I fell in love with the movie and with the song.

I remember calling the local oldies station, KLUV, and begging them over and over to play the song for me.  My request would always be met with the same response: "Does your mother know you keep calling us?  How old are you?  Are you thirteen?  You have to be at least thirteen to request a song on this station..."

How stupid was that!!!  If I was old enough to use a phone and dial a number correctly, I should have been old enough to request a song, right?  Despite my best efforts, they wouldn't play my request, which forced my mother, who was such a great sport, to take me to the theater to see this film at least two or three more times, mainly to hear the song and to watch the opening scene.

As a direct result of this film, I was also somehow convinced that babysitting had an element of danger to it; so you can only imagine my shock and disappointment when the kid slept the entire time I was on my first babysitting job!!!



See the way he walks down the street
Watch the way he shuffles his feet
My, he holds his head up high
When he goes walking by, he's my guy

When he holds my hand, I'm so proud
'Cause he's not just one of the crowd
My baby's always the one to try the things they've never done
And just because of that, they say

He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should
But just because he doesn't do what everybody else does
That's no reason why I can't give him all my love

He's always good to me, always treats me tenderly
'Cause he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no, to me

If they don't like him that way
They won't like me after today
I'll be standing right by his side when they say

He's a rebel and he'll never ever be any good
He's a rebel 'cause he never ever does what he should
Just because he doesn't do what everybody else does
That's no reason why we can't share a love

He's always good to me, good to him, I try to be
'Cause he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no, to me

Oh, he's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no

He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no
He's not a rebel, oh, no, no, no

And here's an extra special treat... the opening scene from Adventures in Babysitting:




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