The “Golden Hits Of The 50s” 

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Teddy Bears  

“TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM “

(Phil Spector)    Dore 503

No. 1    December 1, 1958

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When Phil Spector (b. December 26, 1940/Bronx) was nine, his pop took his own llfe. Engraved on his

tombstomb were the words:  TTO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.  Mrs. Spector picked up the pieces and her

family and moved to L.A.’s Fairfax area.  In his early teen years Phillip performed on an accoustic guitar

in talent shows and organizeded the Sleepwalkers, his first tentative group.  He wrote bits of songs and

studiously observed the goings on at the Gold Star Studios on Vine Street in Hollywood. Once ready to

record, Phil formed what would become the Teddy Bears; but formed they were largely on the grounds

of who had money to contribute to cover the recording costs.  Harvey Goldstein, Marshall  Leib, and

Phil’s girlfriends’ best friend Annette Kleinbard (soon to rebirth herself as Carol Conners), each came

up with $10.  All had hung out at his practice sessions in his girlfriends garage and it would be they who

would provide our pop heritage with one of its best loved rockaballads–0f the ’50s.

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“They’d been searching for a name left and right and couldn’t come up with one,” Goldstein (who soon left

the group and became an accountant) told Mark Ribowsky, author of He’s a Rebel.  “Elvis’ ‘Teddy Bear” was

a big hit at the time, so I casually mentioned at one of our bull sessions that we ought to name ourselves the

Teddy Bears.”

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As a result of the funds raised, a demo of Phil’s “Don’t You Worry My Little Pet” was cut at Gold Star and

presented to the owners of Era/Dore Records, Lew Bedell and Herb Newman.   The two listened and liked

what they heard.  Once signed the group needed a B-side.  Tacked on the remaining minutes of the 2 hour

session to produce something called “Wonderful Loveable You” was this hollow and haunty number Phil

had written especially for Annette’s voice.  In two takes, “Too Know Him is to Love Him” was done.

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Almost immediately wrangling of all sorts proceeded to knocked the stuffing out of these tenderfoots.

Goldstein, who had missed this later session to attend to his Army Reserve duty, was eased out of the group.

Phil allowed his sister Shirley–to the pleasure of no one, outside of Phil–to become the groups manager.

He and the label heads also disagreed on just what the groups follow-up should be. As a consequence, a

quick move was made to Imperial where arrangements were made to cut a album, a near unheard of in

these early days of rock’n’roll, and to issue “Oh Why” (#90, 1959) b/w “I Don’t Need You Anymore” (#98,

1959); the tunes that Phil had hand- picked and presented to Era to be the Bears’ next 45.

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Neither the lp (The Teddy Bears-Sing!, 1959), a Spector instrumental (issued as by Phil Harvey called

“Bumber-shoot” b/w “Willy Boy” which included the services of later members of the Mothers and Canned

Heat, Elliot Ingber and Larry Taylor respectively) nor the two follow-up disks (“If You Only Knew” and

“Don’t Go Away”) and a late released Dore side on “Wonderful Loveable You” even managed to scratch the

basement positions of the nattons charts.

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In September 1960, Annette was seriously injuried when her MG convertible tumbled down a moun-

tainside. Four facial operations were required to reconstruct her features. When hospital visits were

allowed, Phil reportedly never appeared.

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As Carol Connors, Annette has become a top lyricist for motion pictures and television. She wrote or co-

wrote VICKIE LAWRENCE’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”, Billy Preston and Streeta’s “With

You I’m Born Again”, the Rip Chords’ “Hey Little Cobra”, BILL CONTI’s “Gonna Fly Now” for Rocky (1976),

the theme for Falling in Love, ( 1980), Mr. Mom ( 1983), Sophie’s Choice ( 1982), and Tulips ( 1981 ), and

was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Grammy for the music for Rocky Ill ( 1982). Ms. Kleinbard

has had a number of noncharting 45s issued sporadically under the guise of various names such as

Annette Bard, the Bompers, Carol Connors, and (with producer/songwriter Steve Barri) the Storytellers.

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Marshall Leib formed the Marsh label [modesty successful with their release of the Ribbons’ “Ain’t Gonna

Kiss Ya” (#81, 1963)], sang wlth the touring line-up of the HOLLYWOOD ARGYLES, played second guitar

an a number of Duane Eddy sides, and produced such acts as the Everly Brothers and Timi Yuro. Leib also

was the music supervisor for such movies as Macon County Line ( 1974), Ode to Billy Joe ( 1976), and Take

this Job and Shove It ( 1981 ).

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Harvey Goldstein attended Cal State and has since become and accountant. Phil Spector, well, that is a

whole other story…