One night in late December on the David Letterman Show I saw the annual performance of Darlene Love's classic, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". I believe it was the 19th time she's appeared to sing this holiday anthem and perhaps the 8th or 9th time I witnessed the live broadcast. I have one season's performance (either 2006 or 2007) saved on DVR - each year's presentation has progressively grown in orchestra and chorus and noticeable production value. It's simply a great song originally off of Phil Spector's, 1963 Philles Records Christmas album, "A Christmas Gift For You."
I enjoy listening to the Spector records of that day and was reminded of the power of pop music during a discussion at a recent dinner party. Spector's name was introduced into a conversation about music and I instinctively recalled the impact of ten little words, one simple line from one of the Top 100 Records of All Time (Rolling Stone Magazine).
There have been better songs and certainly better lyrics, but as a pure pop record, a 45 RPM built for the sole purpose of blowing you away - in it's black vinyl form, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes is a work of art.
Veronica (Ronnie) Bennett, her sister, the recently deceased, Estelle, and their cousin Nedra Talley grew up in New York City's Washington Heights.
The first single on Spector's Philles label in July 1963 was the Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/ Phil Spector song, "Be My Baby." Ronnie's distinctive, seductive vocal delivery, along with her now legendary "woh-oh-oh-oh," drove lovestruck teenage boys wild while Spector's production ("Wall Of Sound") drove the single to chart success. By October, 1963 it was at number two and became an international hit as it reached number four on the English Charts. This was the biggest hit and only top 10 for The Ronettes though their album, "Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes," as far as I'm concerned is filled with nothing but hits.
Arguably the most distinctive drum introduction in the history of rock music was played by legendary session man, Hal Blaine. Other players on the session included, Sonny Bono on percussion, Leon Russell on piano and Cher, who was working for Spector at the time, sang backup vocals. Martin Scorcese effectively used the track over the opening credits of his break-through film, "Mean Streets" and if I'm not mistaken, a second time in "Goodfellas". These were two of the first films to construct a soundtrack out of pop songs.
By the way, that favorite line from the song, the one that knocked me out, "...for every kiss you give me, I'll give you three..." - doesn't get any better than that whether or not you have acne.
No comments:
Post a Comment