The Teddy Bears was Phil Spector's first vocal group, the only one of which he was a member.
Following graduation from Fairfax high school in Los Angeles, California, Spector became obsessed with a song, "To Know Him Is to Love Him", he had written for his group, The Teddy Bears. After a hasty audition at ERA Records who offered to finance a studio session, The Teddy Bears - Spector, Marshall Leib, lead singer Annette Kleinbard, and last minute r...
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The Teddy Bears was Phil Spector's first vocal group, the only one of which he was a member.
Following graduation from Fairfax high school in Los Angeles, California, Spector became obsessed with a song, "To Know Him Is to Love Him", he had written for his group, The Teddy Bears. After a hasty audition at ERA Records who offered to finance a studio session, The Teddy Bears - Spector, Marshall Leib, lead singer Annette Kleinbard, and last minute recruit, drummer Sandy Nelson - recorded the song at Gold Star Studios at a cost of $75. Released on ERA's Dore label in August 1958, it took two months before "To Know Him Is to Love Him" began to get airplay.
The record stayed in the Billboard Hot 100 for 23 weeks, in the Top Ten for 11 of those weeks, and commanded the #1 chart position for three weeks. At 17, Spector had written, arranged, played, sung, and produced the best-selling record in the country. Although subsequent releases by the Teddy Bears on the Imperial label were well...
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