The Teddy Bears was a vocal trio formed in Los Angeles, California in 1958 by Phil Spector just after graduating high school. Spector was only seventeen when he formed the group to record his compositions. Composed of Spector on all instruments, Harvey Goldstein, Annette Kleinbard, and Marshall Leib on vocals, The Teddy Bears recorded the track “Don’t You Worry My Little Pet”. Spector gave the demo to his neighbor, who was co-owner of Era Records. Signing to the label for a four record deal, the group went back into the studio without Goldstein to record their first single. Featuring Sandy Nelson on drums, they recorded a song that Spector had written: “To Know Him Is to Love Him”. Although it took two months before it received airplay, the song became an enormous hit, reaching Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and selling two million copies. The group released their full length album The Teddy Bears Sing! In 1959, but the album did not sell as well as expected. Unsure of which direction to go, the band broke up soon after Kleinbard was seriously injured in a car accident in 1960. Kleinbard would later resurface as a composer under the name of Carol Connors. Spector, wo became one of the most influential producers in Rock ‘n’ Roll history, died on January 16, 2021 while serving a prison sentence for murder.
