A quiz question tonight sparked a search for the Teddy Bears. The question was something like - "To know him is to love him" was written afrter an engraving on a tombstone had inspired someone - whom?

Well the answer apparently was Phil Spector and Wikipedia tells us, by way of confirmation,that following graduation from Fairfax high school in Los Angeles, California, Spector became obsessed with a song, "To Know Him Is to Love Him", he had written for his group, The Teddy Bears.

After a hasty audition at ERA Records who offered to finance a studio session, The Teddy Bears - Spector, Marshall Leib, lead singer Annette Kleinbard, and last minute recruit, drummer Sandy Nelson - recorded the song at Gold Star Studios at a cost of $75. Released on ERA's Dore label in August 1958, it took two months before "To Know Him Is to Love Him" began to get airplay.

The record stayed in the Billboard Hot 100 for 23 weeks, in the Top Ten for 11 of those weeks, and commanded the number 1 chart position for three weeks. A

t 17, Spector had written, arranged, played, sung, and produced the best-selling record in the country. Although subsequent releases by the Teddy Bears on the Imperial label were well-recorded soft pop, they did not sell, and within a year of the debut, Spector disbanded the group.

Spector was not the only Teddy Bear who went on to a career after the group broke up. Annette Kleinbard continued to write and record songs, and changed her name to Carol Connors. Among her credits are the Rip Chords hit "Hey Little Cobra" and the Academy Awards nominated Rocky theme song "Gonna Fly Now," co-written with Ayn Robbins.