by Bruce EderAmong aficionados of the girl group sound, there cant be five acts more beloved than the Crystals. Their best-known songs, which include Hes a Rebel, Uptown, Da Doo Ron Ron, Then He Kissed Me, and Theres No Other Like My Baby, are among the finest examples of the best that American rock & roll had to offer in the period before the British Invasion; and decades into the CD era, the groups records are still prized in their original vinyl pressings even by non-collectors, who seem to recognize that there was something special about the Crystals work. The group was originally a quintet consisting of Barbara Alston (born 1945), Dee Dee Kennibrew (born 1945), Mary Thomas (born 1946), Patricia Wright, and Myrna Gerrard, organized by Benny Wells while they were still in high school. All of whom had started out singing in churches; Barbara Alston was Wells niece, and although she later became known as their lead singer on many of their re...