November 22, 1963: Phil Spector Releases "A Christmas Gift for You"

November 22, 1963: A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records – better known as The Phil Spector Christmas Album -- is released. "Philles" was writer-producer Spector and executive Lester Sill. Spector handled the music, Sill handled the business side of things.

Like many people who achieved greatly, Spector also did some awful things -- in his case, horrific things, and his great art -- he called it "The Wall of Sound" -- cannot overcome that.

With this album, he had terrible timing: Mere hours after its release, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. As a result, sales of all records went down, so this album did not sell well. It was "rediscovered" in the 1970s.

The Beatles' 2nd album, With the Beatles, was released the same day. It did well in Britain, but then, the Kennedy assassination affected Britain considerably less. The album was repackaged in the U.S. as their 1st album here, titled Meet the Beatles.

The album begins with Darlene Love singing Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," contrasting the dream of the narrator with the reality of the weather in Los Angeles, Love's hometown and Spector's adopted hometown. (He was from The Bronx.)

Love had been the lead singer of The Blossoms, who, on at least 2 hit singles, stood in for another "girl group" that Spector produced, The Crystals. She had a few hits under her own name, but this album is considered her greatest performance. In the 1980s, David Letterman began inviting her onto his late-night talk show to sing songs from it.

Next up: "Frosty the Snowman," by The Ronettes: Veronica Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. Veronica, or "Ronnie," was then Spector's girlfriend; later his wife, known as Ronnie Spector; and later still his ex-wife, and the story of how she left him, and recovered from his abuse, is every bit as compelling as the story of Ike and Tina Turner.

Next: "The Bells of St. Mary's," by Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans. Bob B. Soxx was Bobby Sheen, and The Blue Jeans were Fanita James and Jean King -- meaning that The Blue Jeans were The Blossoms without Darlene Love.

"The Bells of St. Mary's" was written in 1917 by A. Emmett Adams and Douglas Furber, following Furber's visit to St. Mary's Church in Southampton, England. This song is also not about Christmas: The lyrics mention "red leaves," suggesting that it takes place in Autumn).

The song says the bells, "they are calling the young loves, the true loves who come from the sea." This makes no sense if you only know the song from the Spector album. But knowing it was written in Southampton, Britain's biggest seaport, during World War I, provides the explanation: The bells are welcoming sailors coming home.

It was linked to Christmas by being selected as the title song from a 1945 Christmas-themed movie starring Bing Crosby as Father Chuck O’Malley (he'd won an Oscar in the role in the previous year's Going My Way), and Ingrid Bergman as Sister Mary Benedict, the most beautiful nun you'll ever see. (Eat your heart out, Julie Andrews. And the real Maria von Trapp was no looker.)

Next: "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," by The Crystals. The actual Crystals: Lead singer Dolores "Dee Dee" Kenniebrew, Dolores "La La" Brooks, Patricia Wright and Barbara Alston. Next: "Sleigh Ride," by The Ronettes. Next: "Marshmallow World," by Love.

Side Two begins with The Ronettes singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Then, The Crystals singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Then, Love singing "Winter Wonderland." Then, The Crystals singing "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers," written by German composer Leon Jessel in 1897, not intended as a Christmas song, but connected with the holiday by its use in the "Christmas Spectacular" show at Radio City Music Hall.

In addition, "Winter Wonderland," "Marshmallow World," "Sleigh Ride" and "Frosty the Snowman" are among the songs that get associated with Christmas that don't even mention Christmas in the lyrics. They're Winter songs, but not specifically Christmas songs.

Spector demanded an original song for the album, and Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich wrote it, as they wrote (and would continue to write) so many songs he produced. Sonny Bono played percussion on the album, and if you listen closely, you can hear his eventual wife (and eventual ex-wife), Cher, singing backup on Love's magnum opus, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)."

This is followed by Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans singing Gene Autry's "Here Comes Santa Claus." The album closes with Spector himself thanking everyone for helping him put the album together, and saying what Christmas means to him (even though he was Jewish), while, in the background, "Silent Night" is sung.

All told, it's 34 minutes and 12 seconds of the greatest Christmas album ever recorded. Sorry, Bing, Nat, Frank, Dino, et al., all the way up to Mariah: This is the one.

Jean King of The Blossoms and The Blue Jeans died in 1983. Bobby "Bob B. Soxx" Sheen died in 2000. Estelle Bennett of The Ronettes died in 2009. Barbara Alston of The Crystals died in 2018. Phil Spector died in 2021, in prison for murder, finally having fully paid for his many sins. Ronnie Spector died on January 12, 2022.

As of November 22, 2022, the following are still alive: Darlene Love, Fanita James of The Blossoms and The Blue Jeans, Nedra Talley of The Ronettes; and Crystals Dee Dee Kenniebrew, La La Brooks and Patsy Wright. (UPDATE: Fanita James died in 2023.)

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November 22, 1963 was a Friday. All games scheduled for that night were postpone, so there were no scores on this historic day.

July 29, 1963: The Ronettes Record "Be My Baby"

Left to right: Estelle Bennett, Ronnie Spector, Nedra Talley

July 29, 1963: The Ronettes record "Be My Baby" at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. It was as close to a perfect rock and roll recording as the technology would then allow.

Veronica Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley grew up in Spanish Harlem, Manhattan. "Ronnie" later told of an argument she'd overheard among kids in their neighborhood after "Be My Baby" became a hit: A black kid saying, "The Ronettes is black!" and a Puerto Rican kid saying, "No, the Ronettes is Spanish!" In fact, they were both.

After a failed run at Colpix Records as Ronnie & the Relatives, they became backup dancers for Joey Dee & the Starliters, the house band at the Peppermint Lounge in Midtown Manhattan, which fed the Twist craze. But they wanted more. Estelle called Phil Spector, already one of the top rock and roll producers in the country.

He already had Ronnie as his goal, and not just as a singer. He wanted to sign her as a solo act, but, since all 3 were still under age 21, Ronnie and Estelle's mother said it would have to be all three of them, or none of them. Phil signed all of them.

Their 1st hit was "Be My Baby," written by the husband & wife team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who wrote several hits, including for Spector acts. The backing musicians were a group that Spector called "The Wrecking Crew." The nickname wasn't widely known outside the music industry until 1990, when Hal Blaine, the usual drummer, used it in his memoir, saying that older musicians, who had recorded pop and jazz, were saying that these younger musicians, playing rock and roll, were going to wreck the music industry.

They were wrong: Spector built what he called "The Wall of Sound," combining orchestras with rock and roll. Acts such as The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Blossoms (with lead singer Darlene  Love), and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans recorded over this "wall." All would be featured on A Christmas Gift for You, the album that Spector, though Jewish, had recorded, releasing it on November 22, 1963. Unfortunately, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that day, and the album didn't sell well, getting "rediscovered" in the 1970s.

Starting in 1964, the male duo The Righteous Brothers would be added to the Spector stable, recording songs by Barry & Greenwich, and by another husband & wife team, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. By that point, The Ronettes had several more hits, including "Baby, I Love You" (later covered by Andy Kim), "Walking In the Rain" (later covered by Jay & The Americans) and "I Can Hear Music" (later covered by The Beach Boys).

Phil and Ronnie married in 1966. It seemed like a modern fairy tale. It wasn't: Their relationship was similar to that between Ike and Tina Turner. I'll spare you the details, but it was every bit as bad, and Ronnie's escape in 1972 was every bit as dramatic as Tina's in 1976.

(Their paths did intersect: Spector signed Ike & Tina to Philles Records, the label he'd founded with Lester Sill: Phil & Les. Their 1st single for the label was "River Deep -- Mountain High," written by Barry, Greenwich & Spector. Ike & Tina both had their names on the record, but only Tina appeared on it: Phil invited Ike, an accomplished guitarist, to appear on the song, but he didn't show up for the session.)

Ronnie divorced Phil in 1974, but lost custody of the 3 children she and Phil had adopted. She remarried, had 2 children, and became a fixture on the oldies circuit. Petty as ever, Phil used his influence to keep The Ronettes out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until 2007, when he was on trial, eventually convicted, for a murder charge, and was no longer able to keep them out. Although Estelle was able to attend the induction ceremony, she was too ill to perform, but Ronnie and Nedra sang with Nedra's daughter.

Estelle died in 2009. So did Ellie Greenwich. Phil died in prison in 2021. Ronnie died on January 12, 2022. As of July 29, 2022, Jeff Barry and Nedra Talley-Ross are still alive.

As for "The Wrecking Crew": There are 8 surviving members: Dick Nash (95, trombone), Plas Johnson (91, saxophone), Nino Tempo (88, trumpet and saxophone, 92), Carol Kaye (88, bass guitar), Don Randi (86, piano), Jim Horn (82, aptly-named because he played saxophone), Michel Rubini (80, piano), and Chuck Findley (75, trumpet -- only 15 when he played on the song).

UPDATE: Nino Tempo died in 2025. Nedra Talley and Plas Johnson died in 2026. That left no surviving Ronettes, and 6 members of the Wrecking Crew.

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July 29, 1963 was a Monday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Kansas City Athletics, 5-0 at Yankee Stadium. Dave Wickersham pitched an 8-hit shutout, outpitching Al Downing. Tom Tresh had 3 of those hits, Elston Howard 2. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play. Wayne Causey and former Yankee Norm Siebern hit home runs for the A's.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski and Harmon Killebrew both went 0-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. An aging but still effective Robin Roberts outpitched a young Mickey Lolich. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3. Al Kaline went 0-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington (later Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dean Chance pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn was the winning pitcher. Hank Aaron and Lee Maye hit home runs for the Braves. Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson hit home runs for the Reds. Rookie Pete Rose went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax went the distance for the win.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit a home run. Roberto Clemente went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* And the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Colt .45s (the Astros starting in 1965) were not scheduled.