teddybears_LEAD

Scaling back to a time when Phil Spector wasn’t crazy, pre-“Wall-of-Sound” geniusry, even, the latter day iconic producer was 18-years-young on this day in 1958, when he walked into a Hollywood studio with some high school buds and recorded what would become his first No 1. Billboard hit, “To Know Him is to Love Him.”

Dubbed The Teddy Bears — there’s some Elvis tie-back in there — it was Spector’s first and only role as an actual member of one of his productions. And aside from The Teddy Bears’ angelic female lead vocals, Spector masterminded absolutely everything on the recording, down to the ironic, bittersweet inspiration for the lyrics, taken from his father’s tombstone, “To Know Me is to Love Me.”

Going on to sell over a million copies by Christmas of the same year, the song was a massive hit, single-handedly launching Spector’s career. Kind of crazy what kind of new breath death can inspire, eh?

To know know know him
Is to love love love him
Just to see him smile
Makes my life worthwhile
To know know know him
Is to love love love him
And I do