Don't You Worry My Little Pet
"Don't You Worry My Little Pet" | ||||
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SinglebyThe Teddy Bears | ||||
A-side | "To Know Him Is to Love Him" | |||
Released | September 1958 | |||
Recorded | 1958 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll | |||
Length | 2:01 | |||
Label | Doré | |||
Songwriter(s) | Phil Spector | |||
The Teddy Bearssingles chronology | ||||
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"Don't You Worry My Little Pet"is a song written byPhil Spectorfor the American pop quartetthe Teddy Bears,of which he was a member. It was released in September 1958 as the B-side of the group's "To Know Him Is to Love Him",which topped theBillboardHot 100.[1]
Background and recording
[edit]Spector wrote the upbeatrock and rollsong based on his then-current favorite performers,Buddy Hollyandthe Everly Brothers.[2]It was his first experience with studio recording; the production was achieved by taking a demo tape of the song and playing it back over the studio's speaker system in order to overdub another performance over it.[3]The end product was a cacophony, with stacked harmony vocals that could not be heard clearly. He would develop these methods further, culminating in what would later be dubbed theWall of Sound.[4]
On May 20, 1958,[2]the song was recorded atGold Star Studios,Hollywood in a single two-hour session.[5]According to biographerMick Brown:"Nobody apart from Spector was really convinced the song was any good. [Studio owner] Stan Ross would later dismiss it as 'a piece of crap', and evenAnette Kleinbart[sic] thought it was 'dreadful'. "[2]
Personnel
[edit]- The Teddy Bears
- Carol Connors(formerly Annette Kleinbard) – vocals[5]
- Harvey Goldstein – vocals[5]
- Marshall Leib– vocals[5]
- Phil Spector– vocals[5]
Art and Dotty Todd version
[edit]On November 17, 1958, another version recorded byArt and Dotty Toddwas given a four-star rating inBillboard,indicating "very strong sales potential". The publication referred to it a "swingy rocker... Side moves, and it could get some action."[6]
References
[edit]- ^Ribowsky, Mark (2000).He's a Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 303.ISBN978-0-8154-1044-7.
- ^abcBrown, Mick(2012).Tearing Down The Wall of Sound: The Rise And Fall of Phil Spector.A&C Black. p. 36.ISBN978-1-4088-1950-0.
- ^Smith, Carlton (2007).Reckless: Millionaire Record Producer Phil Spector and the Violent Death of Lana Clarkson.St. Martin's Press. p. 57.ISBN978-1-4299-0890-0.
- ^Howard, David N. (2004).Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings.Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 5–7.ISBN978-0-634-05560-7.
- ^abcdeWarner, Jay (2006).American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today.Hal Leonard Corporation. p.304.ISBN978-0-634-09978-6.
- ^"This Week's Singles".Billboard.Nielsen Business Media, Inc.November 17, 1958.ISSN0006-2510.