Da Doo Ron Ron

"Da Doo Ron Ron"
Single by The Crystals
B-side	"Git' It"
Released	April 1963
Format	7" single
Recorded	March 1963
Genre	R&B, pop, doo-wop
Length	2:18
Label	Philles Records
Writer(s)	Phil Spector Jeff Barry Ellie Greenwich
Producer(s)	Phil Spector
The Crystals singles chronology
"He's Sure the Boy I Love" (1962) "Da Doo Ron Ron" (1963) "Then He Kissed Me" (1963) Music sample "Da Doo Ron Ron"

"Da Doo Ron Ron" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. It first became a popular top five hit single for the American girl group the Crystals in 1963. American teen idol Shaun Cassidy covered the song in 1977 and his version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. There have also been many other cover versions of this song, including a version by the Raindrops, which featured the original songwriters of "Da Doo Ron Ron" Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich.

Composition

The song is the first collaboration in songwriting by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector. The song was composed over two days in Spector's office in New York. The title "Da Doo Ron Ron" was initially just nonsense syllables used as dummy line to separate each stanza and chorus until proper lyrics could be written, but Spector liked it so much that he kept it.^[1] Phil Spector did not want lyrics that were too cerebral that would interfere with a simple boy-meets-girl story line.^[2] The rhymes of the opening lines, "I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still ... Somebody told me that his name was Bill" was inspired by Bill Walsh, a friend of Spector who happened to visit Spector while the three were writing the song.^[1]

The Crystals original version

Background

The Crystals recorded "Da Doo Ron Ron" in March 1963 at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. It was produced by Phil Spector in his Wall of Sound style. Jack Nitzsche was the arranger and Larry Levine the engineer. The drummer was Hal Blaine.^[3] Dolores "LaLa" Brooks was the lead vocalist. La La Brooks told the syndicated radio program Solid Gold Weekend that Cher was one of the singers backing her lead vocals.^[4]

On June 8, 1963, it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100,^[5] and on June 22, 1963, number four on the Cash Box chart.^[6] It also reached number five in the UK.^[7]

That's gold. That's solid gold coming out of that speaker.

— Spector to Sonny Bono, after listening to the final playback of "Da Doo Ron Ron".^[8]

In 2004, the Crystals' song was ranked number 114 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[9] It was, however, removed from the same list in the 2010 update, being the highest-ranked of the 27 songs that were removed. It was listed at number 528 by Q Magazine in their list of The 1001 Best Songs Ever, published in 2003. Berlin Media listed the song at number 43 on their list of The 100 Best Singles of All Time list published in 1998. It was also recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock".

Chart performance

Chart (1963)	Peak position
Germany (Official German Charts)[10]	22
Ireland (IRMA)	3
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	3
U.S. Cash Box	4

Music video

A video was made for MTV using The Crystals' recording of the song. The video's premise was of a girl taking way too long preparing for a date, which as it turns out, many guys show up for. (The first guy, most notably, starts eating the chocolates he brought for her while he waits.) As the video progresses, the other guys bond, and by the end of the video, she is finally ready, and they all leave together with her.

Shaun Cassidy version

"Da Doo Ron Ron"
Single by Shaun Cassidy
from the album Shaun Cassidy
B-side	"Holiday"
Released	March 1977
Format	7" single
Recorded	1976
Genre	Pop
Length	2:50
Label	Warner/Curb
Writer(s)	Phil Spector Jeff Barry Ellie Greenwich
Producer(s)	Michael Lloyd
Certification	Gold (U.S.)
Shaun Cassidy singles chronology
"Da Doo Ron Ron" (1977) "That's Rock 'n' Roll" (1977)

Background

"Da Doo Ron Ron" was covered in 1977 by teen idol Shaun Cassidy on his first solo LP, Shaun Cassidy, launching his career. His version was produced by Michael Lloyd and issued on Warner. It peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.^[11] (The words were changed slightly to make it a boy-girl song, after The Searchers' cover version.) The song was his first of three consecutive Top 10 U.S. hits. Cassidy's cover of "Da Doo Ron Ron" spent 22 weeks on the chart. It became a gold record, as did all of Cassidy's first three single releases.^[12]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1977) Peak position Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 1 New Zealand[14] 36 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 1 U.S. Cash Box Top 100[16] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1977) Rank Canada (RPM)[17] 10 U.S. Billboard Hot 100[18] 45 U.S. Cash Box [19] 47

Other versions

• Jack Nitzsche recorded a slowed-down ballad-style instrumental version on his 1963 album The Lonely Surfer.
• The Searchers recorded it soon after an original release, on their debut album, Meet The Searchers, released in August 1963. They changed the words slightly to make it a boy-girl song, referring to a girl named Jill instead of a boy named Bill.
• Original songwriters of "Da Doo Ron Ron" Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich covered the song as The Raindrops, who released it on their debut studio album on Jubilee Records towards the end of 1963.
• Iain Matthews recorded a version of this song on Tigers Will Survive. He kept the gender-orientation intact. His cover charted at #96 in 1972.
• Bette Midler recorded a version of the song for her album Bette Midler (1973). The song is performed as a medley with "Uptown" and "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)".
• In 1977, Tina Arena and John Bowles recorded a version for their album "Tiny Tina and Little John".
• In 1983, Mike Love of The Beach Boys covered the song on Love's and Dean Torrence album Rock 'N' Roll City.
• Hungarian band Dolly Roll in 1989.
• In 1996, all-girl rock band The Donnas recorded a version of the song as a single, which was later placed on the 1998 re-release of their 1997 self-titled CD.
• The Beach Boys recorded a cover for their 1980 album Keepin' the Summer Alive, with Carl Wilson on lead vocals, but it was not released on that album. It was later released on their box set Made in California.
• Bootlegged studio recordings of the song are found by Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones.
• Other artists who have covered this song include Dave Edmunds, The Carpenters, and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.^[20]
• It was used as the theme tune to Hale & Pace's one sitcom vehicle, The Management.
• In 1963, Johnny Hallyday sang a French version, written by Georges Aber,^[21] in his first film, D'où viens-tu Johnny ?^[22] Other French singers also covered the song, including Frank Alamo (June 1, 1963),^[23] Richard Anthony and Sylvie Vartan,^[24] and Donald Lautrec in Quebec.^[25]
• The Belmonts also recorded this song on their album Cigars, Acappella, Candy.
• In the 1981 movie Stripes starring Bill Murray and Harold Ramis, Russell (Ramis) is an English as a second language instructor. In an early scene he is seen teaching his students the song.

Parodies

• The British comedy show, Spitting Image, parodied this song as "Da Do Run Ron", a spoof election campaign song for Ronald Reagan in 1984, just after the programme was launched.
• At least two parodies were made of this song revolving around the Enron scandal ("Enron-ron-ron"): one was a full recording of a song by political commentator and talk radio host, Dave Ross. The other was a quick singing of a verse by comedian Robin Williams on his Live on Broadway special. (Not present on the DVD.)
• The song was also parodied for Energizer battery commercials in the mid 1980s, most notably one consisting of a robot entertaining a bunch of kids.

See also

• "Car Crazy Cutie", a 1963 Beach Boys song with a similar tune

References

1. Mick Brown (April 7, 2008). Tearing Down The Wall of Sound: The Rise And Fall of Phil Spector. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 129. ISBN 978-0747572473.
2. "Da Doo Ron Ron by The Crystals". Song Facts.
3. Weinberg, Max, ‘’The Big Beat: Conversations with Rock’s great drummers’’, Billboard Books, NY 1991, c1988 p.85
5. Whitburn, Joel, ‘’The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits’’, Billboard Books, NY 1992 p. 121
6. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". Cash Box. June 22, 1963. Archived from the original on October 29, 2007.
7. ‘’Phil Spector: Back to MONO (1958-1969)’’ ABKCO Records, 1991, liner notes
8. Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music (1st ed.). Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 1-904041-96-5.
9. "The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
10. "Musicline.de – The Crystals Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
11. "Shaun Cassidy lyrics". Top40db.net. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
12. "1977 Singles - Month By Month". Superseventies.com. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
13. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3682a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
14. "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1977-08-14. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
15. "Shaun Cassidy – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Shaun Cassidy.
16. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles". July 9, 1977.
17. "Top 200 singles of 1977". RPM.
18. "Top 100 Hits of 1977/Top 100 Songs of 1977". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
19. http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1977YESP.html
20. "Da Doo Ron Ron". Songfacts.com. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
21. "Frank Alamo - Da Doo Ron Ron Lyrics". Artists.letssingit.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
22. "Johnny Hallyday - Les Années 60". Rtbf.be. Retrieved 2016-09-27.
23. "1er juin 1963: Frank Alamo - Da dou ron ron - Histoire de la Chansons Française" (in French). Histoiredelachanson.over-blog.com. June 1, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
24. "DA DOU RON RON RON (Hallyday, Anthony, Vartan) - Lyrics". Lyricsplayground.com. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
25. "The Crystals". Retrojeunesse60.com. Retrieved January 5, 2012.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics