MUSICAL DECADES - 1960s - Wall of Sound

Back to the '60s today with Part 2 of The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound). If you missed Part 1, click here. 

The Wall of Sound is a music production formula developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in the 1960s, with assistance from engineers known as "the Wrecking Crew". The intent was to create a dense sound that came across well on AM radio and jukeboxes popular in the era.

In order to attain the Wall of Sound, Spector's arrangements called for large ensembles (including some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars), with multiple instruments doubling and even tripling many of the parts to create a fuller, richer sound. Spector also included an array of orchestral instruments—strings, woodwind, brass and percussion—not previously associated with youth-oriented pop music.

The Ronettes recorded "Be My Baby" in July 1963, and it was released in August. By the fall of that year it had become a top 10 hit, peaking at number two on the Billboard Top 100.

The song is also notable for being the first recording work by Cher, who performed back-up vocals on the song. The girlfriend of Sonny Bono at the time (who was then working for Phil Spector), Cher was asked to join the back-up singers when one of them didn't show up for the recording that day. "'Be My Baby' was the first record I ever sang on," Cher later wrote. "... I went out and stood in front of this big speaker and sang 'be my, be my baby' with the Ronettes and all these other singers." After "Be My Baby", Cher became a permanent backup singer for songs recorded by the Ronettes, along with other songs Phil Spector produced.

Darlene Love (Darlene Wright; born July 26, 1941) is an American popular music singer and actress. She gained prominence in the 1960s for the song "He's a Rebel," a No. 1 American single in 1962. She is ranked number 84 among Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers.

Robert Lee "Bobby" Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) was an American singer, best known as one half of the Righteous Brothers. He sang the tenor part for the duo, but his most recognizable work is his recording of "Unchained Melody" which was performed as a solo by Hatfield.

Checkmates, Ltd. were an American R&B group from Fort Wayne, Indiana. The group, discovered by Nancy Wilson, included both black and white members. Their one major hit was 1969's "Black Pearl", produced by Phil Spector. The song peaked at #13 on the U.S. pop chart. Their cover version of "Proud Mary" reached #30 in the UK Singles Chart in late 1969.

"Walking in the Rain" is a song written by Barry Mann, Phil Spector, and Cynthia Weil. It was originally recorded by the girl group The Ronettes in 1964 who had a charting hit with their version.

Their single reached number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in 1964 and number 28 on the R&B Singles Chart in 1965. The song contains sound effects of thunder and lightning, which earned Larry Levine a Grammy nomination.

Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer and actress. Described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry, she is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice and for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment, as well as adopting a variety of styles and appearances during her five-decade-long career, which has led to her being nicknamed the Goddess of Pop.

This November 1964 recording of “Dream Baby” is Cher's first official solo single. Produced by Sonny Bono at Phil Spector's Gold Star Studio, it is sheer perfection loaded with hammering percussion and plenty of horns.

This ends Musical Decades for this week. Thanks for listening and I hope to see you here next time.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia.)

Dominique "Nik" Petersen is an aficionado of "oldies" music and the author of Dr. Hook and Me: A Fan's Journal/ Scrapbook. Read about it and her other books at the website: 

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