Elvis was pure delight, said Darlene Love. In three days, I felt as though I had known him forever.
The 81-year-old singer recalls competing with Mariah Carey for the title of “Queen of Christmas,” playing for Obama and Clinton and mistrusting Phil Spector.
Thurs., April 6, 2023, 14.00 BST 72
The best Darlene Love song ever is Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). But which song would you pick if you were too timid to make that claim yourself? dondrapersdandruff
Sacred Night. Every Christmas, we sang it at home, and I was one of the musicians singing it in the background when [producer] Phil Spector recorded the monologue for his Christmas album, “A Christmas Gift for You.” It’s music that makes everything come to me.
Was there a certain time while you were working with Spector when you thought, “I’m out of here”? CFMBanks
Since Phil hadn’t yet developed into this enormous record producer, initially everything was fine. When Elvis engaged me to record Elvis’s a Rebel [in 1962], I was a member of the Blossoms, a legendary girl group and backing vocal group. I was aware that it was for the Crystals, but $5,000 back then was a lot of money. I told Phil my name should be on the record after we recorded Da Do Ron Ron and He’s Sure the Boy I Love (also credited to the Crystals), but I hadn’t read the contract.
I wasn’t around for the crazy drug and gun use, but he was the man when, after the hits, he went to London and met the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. He had the impression that everything was possible. After my contract expired, when I joined another company and he purchased my contract from them, I grew to despise Phil. To complete my duties, I recorded a song with him, but I quickly stopped, pulled off my headphones, and picked up my coat after saying, “I’ve had it.” I didn’t see him again until over 30 years later when he was being tried for murder.
When you hear a Crystals song where your lead voice was not credited, do you feel pleased or angry? joe_tambien
In either case, I don’t feel very. I continue to perform the songs in my shows and they are aired on Spotify or YouTube. At the end of the year, I do receive a small royalty payment.
Did the Christian right criticize you for the wonderful Lord, If You’re a Woman? LevelZero
We were performing that song when I left Spector [in 1977]. It irked me. We had probably taped it a hundred times by the time I left. I believe we undoubtedly received criticism, but if we had recorded it now, oh, please! [laughter].
Did you ever truly think that Danny Glover, the Lethal Weapon actor, was, in fact, “too old for this shit” during your years of knowing him? FurReal
[Growls in delight] Mel Gibson was the practical joker when we were filming the Lethal Weapon films. We had to send runners to wake up Danny since he was constantly dozing off in his wagon. He would enter the room and declare, “I’m getting too old for this shit.” That will occur if you speak out loud enough. You’ll soon be too old for this crap!
Did you ever truly think that Danny Glover, the Lethal Weapon actor, was, in fact, “too old for this shit” during your years of knowing him? FurReal
[Growls in delight] Mel Gibson was the practical joker when we were filming the Lethal Weapon films. We had to send runners to wake up Danny since he was constantly dozing off in his wagon. He would enter the room and declare, “I’m getting too old for this shit.” That will occur if you speak out loud enough. You’ll soon be too old for this crap!
Mariah Carey attempted to usurp you as the Queen of Christmas; are you still friends with her? ringolorenzo
We’ve always been close. Since I work from the end of October to the first day of January, her staff sought to trademark the name, so I finally approached my lawyer to make sure I could still use it. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) was recorded by Mariah. Before she started singing, she claimed to have grown up with music in her home and declared: “If anyone needs to be the Queen of Christmas, it should be Debra Love.I thought it was quite considerate of you to say that. But because of the uproar, all of my gigs were sold out [laughs]