One person’s view: “Cassidy’s hollow, breathy tone makes a classic Wall of Sound single sound like utter garbage.” – dagwood525 @ Rate Your Music
The public’s view: 1.90 / 5.00, the second-worst #1 hit of 1977
The Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron” originated from one of the legendary recording sessions produced by Phil Spector and featuring acclaimed studio musicians like Hal Blaine. Sonny and Cher were even in attendance for it. The song is considered an all-time girl group classic, but it only reached #3 on the Hot 100. When 18-year-old Shaun Cassidy boldly recorded a cover version, his remake outperformed the original and went all the way to #1. Let’s look at why music critics have never been pleased by this turn of events. I don’t think we’ll need the Hardy Boys to solve this mystery.
If there were a factory to make teen idols – and I’m not so sure there isn’t – it would base all of the specifications on Shaun Cassidy. (Today, though, the factory would probably make a Korean version.) I didn’t watch Cassidy’s TV show and only occasionally heard his music on the radio, so my main exposure to him was via magazine covers. Whenever I went to the drug store to read the latest Song Hits without buying it, he would be grinning at me from the Tiger Beat on the next rack. He was presented as the ideal of male attractiveness, but I never saw any guys in my town trying to emulate him. Those who did were probably in the hospital after being beaten up for wearing an outfit that was half overalls and half bell bottoms, as Cassidy did on one of the “Da Doo Ron Ron” picture sleeves.
Although Cassidy was a pinup boy, that doesn’t necessarily mean that his music sucked. In fact, there are some areas of “Da Doo Ron Ron” in which he arguably improved on the Crystals’ version. I know we’re not supposed to criticize Phil Spector for anything other than his handling of firearms, but his Wall of Sound could stand to be dialed back a bit. An Armoire of Sound or a Bookcase of Sound might have been better than all of the instruments that Spector crammed into “Da Doo Ron Ron”. Cassidy’s remake has the benefit of 15 years of advances in studio equipment and production techniques, and there’s nothing wrong with preferring his well-polished record to Spector’s innovative one.
Then again, the cleaner-sounding backing track on Shaun Cassidy’s version comes with a heavy price: Shaun Cassidy. In “Da Doo Ron Ron”, he sounds like he’s trying to get a dog excited about going for a car ride. “Somebody told me that her name was Jill. Yes they did, boy! Now who wants to get a distemper shot?” It’s the type of singing that might work in a commercial for Knott’s Berry Farm, but it’s a significant downgrade from the Crystals.
If this was the only Shaun Cassidy record, I might dismiss him as just another actor who should have stuck with acting. But his other two top 10 hits – “That’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Hey Deanie” – show that he knows what to do with an Eric Carmen power pop tune. I can’t say that his versions of these songs are objectively better than the ones Carmen recorded, but Cassidy is definitely in his wheelhouse. Not so for his remake of “Do You Believe In Magic”, in which he uses his super fun amusement park jingle voice once again. Someone should have told him to stop doing that.
We’ve explored the mystery of why a remake of a beloved song is one of the most poorly regarded #1 hits of the 1970s. Now let’s see if the Hardy Boys can figure out what happened to Nancy Drew when ABC kicked her off of her own TV series so that Shaun Cassidy could have more screen time. I hope the trail doesn’t lead to Phil Spector’s house.
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