Darlene Wright, born in 1938 in Los Angeles, embarked on a remarkable career as the lead singer of the vocal trio, The Blossoms. In the early 1960s, the group became regulars on ABC TV's variety show Shindig! and later gained fame as backup singers for Elvis Presley, featuring on various recordings and even performing with him in his 1968 NBC-TV special, Elvis: The Comeback Special. During this period, they also supported Tom Jones during some of his Las Vegas shows.
The Blossoms hold the rare distinction of recording a number one hit without receiving any credit. Years prior to the infamous Milli Vanilli scandal, Darlene Love, Fanita James, and Gracie Nitzsche contributed vocals to the Gene Pitney-penned song "He's a Rebel," which was mistakenly attributed to The Crystals. Due to logistical issues, record producer Phil Spector was forced to use The Blossoms instead of The Crystals, who were located on the opposite coast of the US at the time. As the production deadline loomed, Spector had no choice but to use The Blossoms, ultimately resulting in their number one hit.
In addition to their work with The Crystals, Love also sang vocals on the Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans top twenty hit "Zip-a-Dee Doo Dah."
