Quincy Jones and I finished our recording session about 5 o’clock the afternoon of March 30, 1963, and Quincy had to be at Carnegie Hall that night to host a party for Charles Aznavour, who was on the Mercury label. So Quincy was outside Carnegie Hall, and Phil Spector arrived at the concert and came over and told Quincy he was recording one of the greatest songs he’s ever heard with the Crystals. Quincy asked, “What’s the name of the song?” And of course Spector said, “It’s My Party”—his own version of my song. Quincy didn’t say a word, but the following morning he picked up the two-inch tape from Bell Sound Studios and woke up Phil Ramone, and the two of them spent the whole day running off 100 pressings of “It’s My Party.” The following Monday morning Quincy put them in the mail to the top 100 radio stations in the United States. He got on a plane for Japan on Wednesday, and when he got home, six weeks later, it was the number one song in the country. [From Issue 91, Jan/Feb 2006]
