Yippee!! Darlene Love on Letterman tonight!

[BYH]

Performing the Best. Holiday. Song. Ever.

Always gets a little dusty in the ol' BYH household when she sings "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)."

I know I'm not the only one here who enjoys it...so set your TIVO!!! or, if you're Spnited, your Betamax. :D ;D ;D :D

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Don't know if you've read it, BYH, but there's some great Darlene stuff in Bob Spitz's huge book on the Beatles. Apparently, she and John had something of a fling. Also, Phil Spector was completely nuts even back in '64.

 

[BYH]

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. Perhaps I can pick that up with a gift card next week.

And Spector? Crazy? Never!!!

 

[The Big Ragu]

Is that the guy who invented the wall of hair?

 

[silvershadow1981]

she also is on one of my favorite holiday songs, "I listen to the bells," a duet with the late great Luther Vandross. Excellent voice she has.

 

[Outta Here]

Thanks so much for the reminder, BYH. It is a yearly highlight and I'd plum forgot about it.

 

[slappy4428]

Is that the guy who invented the wall of hair?

No. The Tower of Powder.

 

[casty33]

From what I understand, Darlene Love was used as an "extra" singer (backup or even lead sometimes) on many, many rock hits in the 60s. She sang with the Crystals, Reparata and the Del Rons, the Chantels, the Shangrilas and I can't even remember all of them. She never got the full credit she deserved.

 

[spnited]

I believe Darlene actually sang lead on He's a Rebel but never performed live with the Crystals

From Wikipedia:
The "Replacement" Crystals
Soon after "He Hit Me" flopped, Phil Spector began recording singer Darlene Love and her backing group The Blossoms under the name "The Crystals". Legend has it that the real Crystals were not able to travel from New York to Los Angeles fast enough to suit the LA-based Spector, who wanted to quickly record and release "He's a Rebel" (written by Gene Pitney) before anyone else had a chance to cover it and have a hit with it. A version recorded by Vikki Carr was about to be released, for example. The Crystals were unavailable, but Love and the Blossoms were also based in LA, so Spector recorded them and put the record out under The Crystals' banner.

"He's A Rebel" is perhaps the Crystals' most well-remembered and beloved song, and one of the most enduring of the girl group genre. It was also their only US #1 hit. The follow-up Crystals single, "He's Sure the Boy I Love", in actuality also featured Love and The Blossoms. It reached a very respectable #11 on the Billboard chart, and features a classic spoken intro by Darlene Love.

 

[terrier]

More Darlene on SNL tonight - they're rerunning last year's Xmas show (featuring "Lazy Sunday"), and she sings "Christmastime for the Jews" over the cartoon in TV Funhouse.