They came together as a group in the Brill Building where they were recording demos, and featured Dee Dee Kennibrew, La La Brooks, Pat Wright, Barbara Alston and Mary Thomas. Phil Spector was impressed by what he heard and produced their debut single, 'There's No Other (Like My Baby)'.
The wall of sound made it's first Crystals appearance on 'Uptown', and was taken to an extreme on 'He's A Rebel', which featured lead vocals from Darlene Wright (Love) (Spector had decided that as he owned the rights to the name he could use whoever he wanted on their recordings). The song hit the top spot in the US, and La La Brooks returned to the lead slot for 'Da Doo Ron Ron', and 'Then He Kissed Me', both hits in 1963.
The Beach Boys Brian Wilson has often spoken of his awe for Phil Spector, and the group released their own version of 'Then He Kissed Me' with the gender roles reversed in 1967. The song has been covered by many other artists since, most notably Kiss who remained surprisingly true to the song despite their image as rock gods.
Spector eventually devoted more time to the Ronettes (possibly due to his wife Ronnie being their lead vocalist!) and the Crystals career plummeted, with new members passing through the ranks as they were despatched to the nostalgia circuit.