Then He Kissed Me

"Then He Kissed Me"
Single by the Crystals
from the album Philles Records Presents Today's Hits
B-side"Brother Julius"
ReleasedJuly 12, 1963 (1963-07-12)
Recorded1963
StudioGold Star, Los Angeles
GenreBrill Building[1]
Length2:35
LabelPhilles
Songwriters
ProducerPhil Spector
The Crystals singles chronology
"Da Doo Ron Ron"
(1963) 		"Then He Kissed Me"
(1963) 		"Little Boy"
(1964)

"Then He Kissed Me" is a song recorded by American girl group the Crystals and written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The lyrics are a narrative of a young woman's encounter, romance, and eventual engagement with a young man. The original Spector-produced recording was released by Philles Records in mid-1963 and reached number 6 in the U.S. and number 2 in the UK. It was the Crystals' third single to chart in the top ten in the U.S., and their second to reach the top ten in the UK.

The song has been recorded by many other artists, including Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, Gary Glitter, and Kiss. The Beach Boys' version was produced by Brian Wilson and initially released on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) before being issued as a UK-only single in April 1967, peaking there at number four.

In 2004, "Then He Kissed Me" was ranked number 493 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] Pitchfork placed it at number 18 on its list of "The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s".[3] Billboard named the song number 8 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[4]

Background and recording

Spector produced the recording at Gold Star Studios in July 1963. The lead vocal was sung by Dolores "LaLa" Brooks, the Wall of Sound arrangement was by Jack Nitzsche, featuring The Wrecking Crew, and Larry Levine was the engineer.[5]

Levine stated that the song's pronounced echo effect had resulted from a technical mishap; in attempting to satisfy Spector's demand for higher playback volume, Levine duplicated the track across both stereo channels before mixing down to mono. During this process, he inadvertently retained echo on both channels, resulting in a doubled reverberation: "Phil liked it, and from then on I knew how to get as much echo as Phil wanted".[6]

Cash Box described it as "a captivating, quick moving, full sounding romantic that sports a sensational arrangement by Jack 'Specs' Nitzsche."[7]

The Beach Boys version

"Then I Kissed Her"
1965 German single cover
Single by the Beach Boys
from the album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
B-side"Mountain of Love"
Released
RecordedMay 3, 1965 (1965-05-03)[8]
StudioWestern, Hollywood[8]
GenreRock[9]
Length2:15
LabelCapitol
Songwriters
ProducerBrian Wilson
Licensed audio
"Then I Kissed Her" on YouTube

Retitled "Then I Kissed Her", the Beach Boys released their version on their 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) with Al Jardine on lead vocals and production by Brian Wilson. Beyond title and gender changes, new lyrics were written retelling the story of the Crystals' song from the boyfriend's point of view.

In April 1967, the band's version was released as a single in the UK, appearing as a stop-gap release while work continued on the "Heroes and Villains" single. This was reportedly done against the band's wishes; Beach Boys band member Mike Love commented on May 7, 1967, "The record company didn't even have the decency to put out one of Brian’s own compositions. The reason for the hold up with a new single has simply been that we wanted to give our public the best and the best isn't ready yet."[10]

"Then I Kissed Her" charted at No. 4 in the UK. The B-side of the single was "Mountain of Love", a song off the band's 1965 Beach Boys' Party! album.

Personnel

Personnel sourced from Craig Slowinski.[11]

The Beach Boys

Session musicians and production staff

  • Ron Swallow – tambourine

Other versions

The Crystals' recording has appeared in the films Goodfellas (1990) and Adventures in Babysitting (1987). It was also played in the opening scene of the 2020 film To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.

Charts

According to contemporary national charts sourced and cited by Billboard in 1967, the Beach Boys' version reached No. 2 in Sweden and South Africa and No. 9 in Belgium. It was No. 12 in Australia's Go Set chart and No. 6 in New Zealand.

References

  1. ^ "Brill Building Sound: Where Rock And Roll Began". Audioacademy.in. 20 July 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". RollingStone.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
  3. ^ "Staff Lists: The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s | Features". Pitchfork. August 18, 2006. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
  4. ^ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  5. ^ Back to Mono (1958–1969) (liner notes). ABKCO Records / Phil Spector Records. 1991. Archived from the original on 2010-11-19 – via albumlinernotes.com.
  6. ^ Ribowsky, Mark (2006) [1989]. He's a Rebel: Phil Spector – Rock and Roll's Legendary Producer. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-306-81471-6.
  7. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 3, 1963. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  8. ^ a b Doe, Andrew G. "GIGS65". Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  9. ^ "The Beach Boys - Then I Kissed Her". Discogs. Retrieved March 4, 2025.
  10. ^ New Musical Express, May 7, 1967
  11. ^ Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2009). Beard, David (ed.). "Summer Days". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 22, no. 84. Charlotte, North Carolina.
  12. ^ "Heat Wave". Open.spotify.com. 1 January 1963. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  13. ^ Janjatović, Petar (2024). Ex YU rock enciklopedija 1960–2023. Belgrade: self-released / Makart. p. 61.
  14. ^ Hunt, James (September 17, 2021). "Every Song In Sex Education Season 3". Screen Rant. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  15. ^ "1981 Top 40 Official UK Singles Archive - 18-24 October 1981". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  16. ^ Discogs - Ebony (10) – Then He Kissed Me
  17. ^ "Bruce Springsteen - August 23, 2008 Scottrade Center, St. Louis". Live.brucespringsteen.net.
  18. ^ "Asheghaneh". Open.spotify.com. 2002-02-08. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
  19. ^ "Billboard Magazine, December 21, 1963". Billboard. 21 December 1963.
  20. ^ "Billboard Magazine, November 16, 1963". Billboard. 16 November 1963.
  21. ^ "Flavour of New Zealand, 31 October 1963". Flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Billboard Magazine, November 23, 1963". Billboard. 23 November 1963.
  23. ^ "Billboard Magazine, November 2, 1963". Billboard. 2 November 1963.
  24. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  25. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 12/28/68". 12 August 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-08-12. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  26. ^ Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. p. 96. ISBN 951-31-2503-3.
  27. ^ "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 26, 1967". Archived from the original on 2007-12-28. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  28. ^ "Search results". Charts-surfer.de. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  29. ^ "Search results". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  30. ^ "The Beach Boys - Then I Kissed Her". Norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  31. ^ "The Official Charts Company – Beach Boys – Then I Kissed Her". Official Charts. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
  32. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1963/Top 100 Songs of 1963". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
  33. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1963". Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
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