The Crystals Twist Uptown

Formed in 1960 by a bunch of high school friends, The Crystals spent the first six months of their existence in rehearsal, but then a lucky series of breaks resulted in an introduction to Phil Spector. He recommended a change in tempo on a song they were rehearsing, Theres No Other (Like My Baby) and eventually offered to produce the song himself. The girls turned up for the session straight from their high school graduation prom (and therefore still wearing their dresses!) to record Theres No Other and Oh Yeah Maybe Baby. The two sides were duly paired for single release, although with one or two surprises. The first was that the single appeared on the Philles label, a new start up by Phil Spector and his partner Lester Sill, rather than Liberty (where Spector was heavily involved) or Big Top, the label associated with the publishing company that had taken such an interest in The Crystals. The second surprise was that Oh Yeah was initially promoted as the top side, although this was subsequently reversed and Theres No Other would go on hit #20 pop and #5 R&B. A follow up single in Uptown fared better pop (#13) although it slipped a little on the R&B listings (#18). The resulting album, Twist Uptown, also features one of the earliest recordings of On Broadway, later to provide The Drifters with a major hit. Much of the album was revisited a year after its original release, with nine of the tracks becoming part of the Hes A Rebel album.