Darlene Wright, who was born in 1938 in Los Angeles, began her singing career as the lead singer of the vocal trio The Blossoms.
Following a period of time as regulars on the ABC TV variety show Shindig! ( 1964) at the beginning of the 1960s, the trio continued to sing backing vocals on a number of Elvis Presley recordings and even performed alongside him on his 1968 NBC-TV special Elvis: The Special on the Comeback (1968).
They supported Tom Jones for a time at some of his shows in Las Vegas. The Blossoms hold the unique distinction of recording a number-one hit without receiving any credit at all. Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Gracie Nitzsche sang on “He’s a Rebel,” a song written by Gene Pitney that became The Crystals’ first and only No. 1 single years before Milli Vanilli came along. 1 US hit. Record producer Phil Spector had to use The Blossoms because The Crystals were on the wrong coast of the United States at the time because of confusing logistics.
And he had no choice because he was working against the clock in Los Angeles to get his production on the air before the Vikki Carr version. Love also contributed vocals to the Bob B. Soxx and Blue Jeans hit “Zip-a-Dee Doo Dah,” which reached the top twenty.
Darlene Love children: Meet Chawn Peete, Marcus Peete, Jason Mitchell
Chawn Peete, Marcus Peete, and Jason Mitchell are the three children that Love has been blessed with from her marriage—three sons, actually.
Love is the daughter of Reverend Joe Wright and Ellen Maddox. Her father served as a minister in a Hawthorne, California, community church.
