"He's a Rebel" is a song written by Gene Pitney and originally recorded in 1962 by two artists, first by singer Vikki Carr, followed by the more popular version credited to girl group the Crystals. The latter was produced by Phil Spector immediately after learning of the imminent release of Carr's version. He enlisted the Blossoms, with Darlene Love on lead and tenor Bobby Sheen added on harmony, and credited them as the Crystals, who were not consulted on his decision. Eight instrumentalists played on the recording, an unusually large number for a rock 'n' roll session at the time.

Spector's version was issued in August and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in November 1962, becoming his second number-one single after "To Know Him Is to Love Him" (1958). Once it had become a hit, the actual Crystals were obliged to sing it at their concerts. Carr's version, released in September, peaked at number 113 in the U.S. and number three in Australia.

"He's a Rebel" marked the direct precursor to Spector's Wall of Sound production style, which he developed on subsequent recordings with the personnel he had assembled for the song, including arranger Jack Nitzsche, engineer Larry Levine, and musicians associated with the Wrecking Crew. In 2004, "He's a Rebel" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It has ranked number 263 on Rolling Stone's list of the all-time greatest songs and number 31 on Billboard's list of the all-time greatest girl group songs.

"He's a Rebel" was written by Gene Pitney with the Shirelles in mind, but they declined. The lyrics describe a girl in love with a young man who spurns society's conventions. Despite his being misunderstood by others, the singer claims he is sweet and faithful and vows to be the same towards him.^{[citation needed]}

While visiting Aaron Schroeder's music publishing film in New York, Phil Spector heard the song and immediately acquired exclusive rights to Pitney's demo, opting for a pared-down rock arrangement over Pitney’s initial vision of a string-backed recording. He had learned Vikki Carr was to record it for Liberty Records as her debut, and wanted his own version on sale first.

Spector produced "He's a Rebel" at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood on July 12, 1962. He enlisted the Blossoms, a Los Angeles group, to record the track with the agreement that the record would still be credited to the Crystals. The instrumentalists comprised eight players, double the number typically used on a rock 'n' roll session. Al DeLory introduced the song’s central five-note piano motif, derived from gospel, while Steve Douglas performed a mid-section saxophone solo. In the control booth, Spector monitored playback at an overwhelming volume later described by Douglas as "a roar" that puzzled all present: "We all knew we were listening to something different."

Compared to Spector's earlier sessions, the greater number of musicians necessitated more time dedicated to balancing mixing levels. He rehearsed the arrangement developed by Jack Nitzsche by instructing the musicians to repeat the opening four bars continuously, a process that challenged the guitarists (Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco) especially. Engineer Larry Levine remembered that they "played for hours on end", while drummer Hal Blaine later stated, "Howard's fingers were bleeding. He said, 'I can’t take it anymore.'" Roberts, a jazz guitar virtuoso, later reflected on the track's musical simplicity, "If there is ever a decline in Western civilization, that period of music will be high on the list of causes. After coming out of a period of Jerome Kern ...".

One of the session observers, Dan Kessel, the son of guitarist Barney Kessel, suggested placing microphones in the bathroom to capture the echo there. He recalled, "I told Phil I saw Mitch Miller do similar things at Columbia. He looked at me funny but then he had us go over there and perform handclaps."