The Teddy Bears were an American pop music group. They were record producer Phil Spector’s first vocal group. (More from Wikipedia)
The following year (1958), Phil Spector assembled the Teddy Bears (the only vocal group that included Spector as a member); Sandy Nelson was a last-minute addition, with other bandmembers including Marshall Leib and lead singer Annette Kleinbard. Phil Spector wrote a song for the group called “To Know Him Is to Love Him”, based upon an inscription on his father’s tombstone, and the song became a Number One hit in December 1958. As Wikipedia put it: “At 19 years old, Spector had written, arranged, played, sung, and produced the best-selling record in the country.”
Perhaps believing that there was only room for one Annette in show business, Annette Kleinbard changed her name to Carol Connors and had a lucrative career as a songwriter and performer. For instance, with Terry Melcher (Bruce Johnston’s partner in Bruce & Terry), Carol Connors co-wrote the hit song “Hey Little Cobra” for past UARB the Rip Chords.
(January 2015/1)
