| Then He Kissed Me | |
| Cover: | Then He Kissed Me.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Crystals |
| Album: | Philles Records Presents Today's Hits |
| B-Side: | Brother Julius |
| Released: | July 12, 1963 |
| Genre: | Brill Building[1] |
| Length: | 2:35 |
| Label: | Philles (US, Canada) London (UK) |
| Producer: | Phil Spector |
| Prev Title: | Da Doo Ron Ron |
| Prev Year: | 1963 |
| Next Title: | Little Boy |
| Next Year: | 1964 |
"Then He Kissed Me" is a song written by Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song, produced by Spector, was initially released as a single on Philles Records (#115) in July 1963 by The Crystals. The lyrics are a narrative of a young woman's encounter, romance, and eventual engagement with a young man.
In 2004, this song was 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]
The song appears in the 1987 film Adventures in Babysitting and in the 1990 movie Goodfellas. It was also played in the opening scene of the 2020 film .
The single is one of The Crystals' best-remembered songs. It was recorded at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles in April 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] In the United States the single peaked at number 6 and in the United Kingdom it peaked at number 2. It was The Crystals' third single to chart in the top ten in the United States, and their second to reach the top ten in the United Kingdom. The song was also a major hit in the Republic of Ireland, reaching number 3 in the charts there.
Cash Box described it as "a captivating, quick moving, full sounding romantic that sports a sensational arrangement by Jack 'Specs' Nitzsche."[6]
| Chart (1963) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set)[7] | 9 | |
| Ireland (The Irish Times)[8] | 3 | |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[9] | 5 | |
| Norway (Verdens Gang)[10] | 8 | |
| UK Singles Chart[11] | 2 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[12] | 6 | |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100[13] | 6 |
| Chart (1963) | Rank | |
|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100[14] | 68 | |
| US Cash Box[15] | 98 |
| Then I Kissed Her | |
| Cover: | Beach Boys - Then I Kissed Her.jpg |
| Caption: | 1967 UK single cover |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | The Beach Boys |
| Album: | Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) |
| B-Side: | "Mountain of Love" |
| Released: |
|
| Length: | 2:15 |
| Label: | Capitol |
| Producer: | Brian Wilson |
The song was retitled "Then I Kissed Her" and released by The Beach Boys 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.
Two years after appearing on the album, in April 1967 the song was released as a single in the United Kingdom, 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."[16]
"Then I Kissed Her" charted at number 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.
| Chart (1967) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| Finland (Soumen Virallinen)[17] | 16 | |
| Dutch Top 40[18] | 2 | |
| German Singles Chart[19] | 39 | |
| Irish Singles Chart[20] | 4 | |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[21] | 10 | |
| UK Singles Chart[22] | 4 |
Personnel sourced from Craig Slowinski.[23]
The Beach Boys
Session musicians and production staff