Summary
"Don't You Worry My Little Pet" is a song written by Phil Spector for the American pop quartet the 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 the Billboard Hot 100.[1]
| "Don't You Worry My Little Pet" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The 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 Bears singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and recording edit
Spector wrote the upbeat rock and roll song based on his then-current favorite performers, Buddy Holly and the 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 the Wall of Sound.[4]
On May 20, 1958,[2] the song was recorded at Gold Star Studios, Hollywood in a single two-hour session.[5] According to biographer Mick 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 even Anette 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 by Art and Dotty Todd was given a four-star rating in Billboard, 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. ISBN 978-0-8154-1044-7.
- ^ a b c Brown, Mick (2012). Tearing Down The Wall of Sound: The Rise And Fall of Phil Spector. A&C Black. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4088-1950-0.
- ^ Smith, Carlton (2007). Reckless: Millionaire Record Producer Phil Spector and the Violent Death of Lana Clarkson. St. Martin's Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4299-0890-0.
- ^ Howard, David N. (2004). Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings. Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 5–7. ISBN 978-0-634-05560-7.
- ^ a b c d e Warner, Jay (2006). American Singing Groups: A History from 1940s to Today. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-634-09978-6.
- ^ "This Week's Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 17, 1958. ISSN 0006-2510.