Teddybears STHLM - You Are Teddybears (1993)

"Backbite" by Teddybears STHLM


Swedish grindcore band Skull released one song for a compilation album then transitioned down to a less abrasive hardcore punk, changing their name to the unlikely Teddybears STHLM.

The band consists of brothers Klas (bass) and Joakim Åhlund (guitar), Patrik Arve (lead vocals), and Glenn Sundell (drums).  Teddybears released their first record, an EP, in 1991 that showcased an explorative blend of influences including classic rock, British punk, metal, and a touch of hip hop.  With all of these influences, it wasn't clear what genre of music Teddybears played in (at least from their recordings) until the release of their debut album You Are Teddybears came out in 1993 and all songs from the album built off a hardcore punk foundation.

Here is the discography surrounding Teddybears STHLM's debut album:

On a Mission in Blood (1991 compilation song as Skull)
Women in Pain (1991 EP)
Extra Pleasure (1993 EP)
You Are Teddybears
We Are the Best! (1994 EP)

"Taken by Surprise" by Teddybears STHLM


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The Teddy Bears - The Teddy Bears Sing! (1959)

"Seven Lonely Days" by The Teddy Bears


Phil Spector might just be famous as only a producer, but out of high school, he performed in his own band The Teddy Bears.  The Teddy Bears and Spector broke out with an out-of-nowhere #1 hit single "To Know Him, Is to Love Him" in 1958.  The recording featured Spector (guitar, backup vocals), Marshall Lieb (backup vocals), Harvey Goldstein (who would soon leave the band), and Sandy Nelson (drums) performing behind the lead vocals of Annette Kleinbard.  The band released a couple more singles and an album, but they ended up being just a one-hit wonder and broke up by the end of 1959.

Here is the discography surrounding The Teddy Bears's debut album:

To Know Him, Is To Love Him (1958 single)
Oh Why (1959 single)
The Teddy Bears Sing!
Don't Go Away (1959 single)
If You Only Knew (The Love I Have for You) (1959 single)
Wonderful, Loveable You (1959 single)
Greatest Hits (2013 compilation album)

"To Know Him, Is to Love Him" by The Teddy Bears


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The Ronettes - ...Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964)

"I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" by The Ronettes


Sonny got Cher work as a backup singer for Phil Spector's various band projects.  Her most notable backup performance stands on The Ronettes' hit 1963 single "Be My Baby" on which Bono also played percussion.

Veronica Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett, and cousin Nedra Talley started singing together in 1957.  They performed at Apollo's Amateur Night (familiar place) and translated that into an early career of small gigs and bar mitzvahs as Ronnie and The Relatives.  Their first record deal was with Colpix Records in 1961 through producer Stu Johnson, but none of their recordings sold well despite being excellent girl-group offerings.  The Relatives became The Ronettes and slowly got jobs as session backup singers and a consistent gig at The Peppermint Lounge (but as dancers, mainly).

Their recording career would finally break through when Estelle placed a phone call to Phil Spector to arrange an audition for his new record label Philles Records.  Spector had already seen The Ronettes live and had a particular soft spot for Veronica.  This audition was more of a formality.  The Ronettes were exactly the sound Spector wanted and he got them to trick Colpix out of their record contract and then sign with Philles in 1963.  The work with Spector wasn't too rewarding at first as they recorded singles that didn't see release (Spector wanted his pet band to debut with a bang) and recorded singles in the name of another Philles girl-group, The Crystals.  But the breakout hit came when Philles released the #2 "Be My Baby", a landmark in rock and particularly in popular music production.  Spector was already a wunderkind, but with this release he was a genius and landscape shifter.  The Wall of Sound was impressive.

The Ronettes followed the single success with appearances on television, a tour of Europe where they met admirers in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and more Top 40 hits.  But by the end of 1964, The Ronettes had already suffered a decline in popularity.  Part of it can be attributed to the rapidly changing musical landscape, but also to a degree of self-sabotage on the part of Phil Spector who saw his pet project getting too much attention and possibly being tempted to leave him.  Phil had always been particular on what singles to release, but he refused to release The Ronettes's excellent version of "Chapel of Love" in early 1964.  Months later, The Dixie Cups had a smash hit on their hands with the same song.  More singles refused to be released and those that were underperformed terribly.  By 1965, they opened for The Beatles in America and toured with them in 1966 (though without Veronica who was in a relationship with the insecure and jealous Spector).  Passing out of favor with the public, The Ronettes broke up in 1967 and married.  They reunited briefly in 1969 for a single and stint of recording with Jimi Hendrix.

After Veronica (now Ronnie Spector) divorced Phil from an abusive marriage, she tried to get The Ronettes together one last time in the mid-70s, but she proved the only one interested.  Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes released two singles with a non-Spector contemporary sound, but neither did well.  Ronnie, understanding the end, moved on to her solo career.

Here is the discography surrounding The Ronettes's debut album:

I Want a Boy (1961 single as Ronnie and The Relatives)
I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1962 single)
I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1962 single as Ronnie and The Relatives)
Silhouettes (1962 single)
Good Girls (1962 single)
Be My Baby (1963 single)
Philles Records Presents Today's Hits (1963 compilation album)
Baby, I Love You (1963 single)
A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963 compilation album)
(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up (1964 single)
Do I Love You? (1964 single)
Walking in the Rain (1964 single)
Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love (1964 single by Veronica)
So Young (1964 single by Veronica)
...Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
The Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1965 compilation album)
Born to Be Together (1965 single)
Is This What I Get for Loving You? (1965 single)
Paradise (1965 single)
He Did It (1965 single)
I Can Hear Music (1966 single)

The Year 2000 (1968 single by Estelle)
You Came, You Saw, You Conquered! (1969 single)
Go Out and Get It (1973 single as Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes)
I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine (1974 single as Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes)
The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits (1975 compilation album)
The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1981 compilation album)
The Colpix and Buddha Years (1992 compilation album)
The Ultimate Collection (1997 compilation album)
Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes (2010 compilation album)

"Be My Baby" by The Ronettes


"Sleigh Ride" by The Ronettes


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Sonny & Cher - Look at Us (1965)

"Baby Don't Go" by Sonny & Cher


Another relative of Vince Guaraldi and Muzzy Marcellino's in the music business was singer, songwriter, and producer Sonny Bono.

Sonny Bono worked for Phil Spector.  He played percussion and wrote songs and learned from the master but lacked the master's talent.  Sonny met the young Cherilyn Sarkisian and arranged for her to sing as a backup singer, a brick in Spector's Wall of Sound.  She sang on a handful of notable iconic Spector hits and recorded a couple singles for him to no success.  Cherilyn wasn't really a Spector project anyway, she was Sonny's (and they eventually married).  Sonny started packaging the two of them as the musical duo Caesar & Cleo, a girl-boy partnership based on the previous successes of Les Paul & Mary Ford, Mickey & Sylvia, and even Bob Dylan and Joan Baez.  They had no notable success as Caesar & Cleo.

The name change to Sonny & Cher on the duo's third single "Baby Don't Go" coincided with it being a local hit.  When they released the follow-up, a Sonny penned and produced "I Got You Babe", Sonny & Cher had a surprising #1 hit single and cultural landmark.  Its success pulled up their associated debut 1965 album, Look at Us to #2 on the album charts.  The single's success also ended up featuring the two on a good number of talk and variety shows and even the occasional movie appearance.  Sonny & Cher had become household name.

Here is the discography surrounding Sonny & Cher's debut album:

The Letter (1964 single as Caesar & Cleo)
Love Is Strange (1964 single as Caesar & Cleo)
Baby Don't Go (1964 single)
Baby Don't Go (1965 compilation album by Sonny & Cher and Friends)
I've Got You Babe (1965 single)
Look at Us
Just You (1965 single)
The Letter (1965 single)

"I've Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher


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Muzzy Marcellino - Birds of a Feather... (1958)

"Call of the Bird Watcher" by Muzzy Marcellino


Vince Guaraldi had many musical relatives and relatives in the music business.  One of them was his uncle, band leader and whistler extraordinaire Muzzy Marcellino.

Marcellino started his career in 1932 for Ted Fio Rito's Orchestra as lead guitar player and occasional lead singer.  He started his own orchestra in the late thirties which lasted about a decade, and played a couple small roles in B pictures during this time.  After his band dissolved, Art Linkletter offered Marcellino as musical director of the The Linkletter Show in 1952, a job that would last through the show's 17 year run.  During this time, Marcellino became notorious for his whistling.  Originally, his whistling was more of a novelty act for his Big Band, but Muzzy became high in demand to whistle on whatever advertisement, TV show, or movie that needed just that.  Famously, he performed the theme song for The High and The Mighty and even recorded  bird calls for Disneyland's Enchanted Tiki Room.  Muzzy Marcellino would release his debut album of whistling ballads, Birds of a Feather..., in 1958.

Here is the discography surrounding Muzzy Marcellino's debut album:

Birds of a Feather...

"Willow Weep for Me" by Muzzy Marcellino


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Vince Guaraldi Trio - Vince Guaraldi Trio (1956)

"Django" by Vince Guaraldi Trio


The Cal Tjader Trio featured a young 24 year old Vince Guaraldi on piano.  Just two years later, he had his own trio with Eddie Duran on guitar and Dean Reilly on bass.  The Vince Guaraldi Trio released its debut album Vince Guaraldi Trio in 1956.

Here is the discography surrounding Vince Guaraldi's debut album:

Modern Music from San Francisco (1955 compilation album with two songs by the Vince Guaraldi Quartet)
Vince Guaraldi Trio

"Three Coins in a Fountain" by Vince Guaraldi Trio


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