I was interviewed last decade for the documentary Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story that premiered January 3, 2026 at the 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival.
In 2014 I profiled Carol Connors in my book Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll in Los Angeles 1956-1972.
The twice Academy Award nominated songwriter’s career is captured by director Alex Rotaru with on-camera interviews from her friends Bill Conti, Talia Shire, Dionne Warwick, Diane Warren, David Shire, Barbi Benton, Mike Tyson and Irwin Winkler. Carol [the former Annette Kleinbard] was Phil Spector's muse as the lead singer on the Teddy Bears’ “To Know Him, is to Love Him.” She was Elvis Presley’s lover, and Rocky Balboa’s lyricist.
Her songwriting credits include the Rip Chords’ 1963 # 2 Billboard hit single “Hey Little Cobra,” produced by Bruce Johnson and Terry Melcher. In the sixties she also penned tunes for beach and surf movies with deejay Roger Christian. Connors subsequently worked as a staff songwriter for Imperial Records and in 1977 co-composed with Aly Robbins three songs for the Disney film, The Rescuers. During 1977, Carol co-wrote “Gonna Fy Now (Theme From Rocky).” In 1980 Billy Preston & Syreeta Wright duet “With You I’m Born Again.”
Since then, Carol's tunes have been in the films The Earthlings, Looking For Mr. Goodbar, Dressed to Kill and The Onion Field.
She's co-wrote the theme for Robin Leach’s Life Styles of the Rich and Famous, "Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams” sung by Dionne Warwick
In 2024 BearManor Media published Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story by Carol Connors and Steve Bergsman.
Carol is a 2026 Grammy Nominee for the unabridged audio book Elvis, Rocky and Me: The Carol Connors Story read by Kathy Garver.
Critic Pat Mullen in the January 5, 2026 issue of POV, Canada’s Documentary magazine, reviewed Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story at the2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
“Carol Connors has made a career of writing love songs but romance itself doesn’t really do it for. She tells director Alex Rotaru that she could never stand seeing a man she loved brush his teeth. It just breaks the spell.
“This current of die-hard romanticism jolts throughout Connors’ energetic story. Her tale is one of many love songs both literal and figurative, and a great Hollywood legacy long overdue for a documentary treatment. There’s a sense of discovery even if one has heard Connors’ many iconic songs dozens of times. The film unfolds layers of the voice behind these songs, as well as facets of the industry that shape their place in pop culture. There’s also a compelling reality that, as Connors notes during one powerful moment in the film, she’s the only one left from a period of music history.”
In my 2014 interview with Carol, born Annette Kleinbard, she discussed Phil Spector and the Teddy Bears, her time with Elvis Presley and the Rip Chords’ “Hey Little Cobra.”
Portions of our conversation below.
“I had never been in front of a microphone. Ever. I had done a couple of talent contests but I had never won. It was sort of scary. I had a great part on ‘Don’t You Worry My Little Pet.’
“In those days Phil was driven and didn’t turn on me. And he never made a pass at meAnd we cut another song. At the session Phil said, ‘I love your voice on tape. He had never produced anybody before. And he said ‘I’m gonna write a song just for you.’ ‘What?’ ‘Yes.’
“Two weeks go by. All of a sudden, middle of the night, the phone rings. I answer it. ‘Annette. Listen to this.’ And he starts to sing with his guitar, ‘To Know Him, Is to Love Him,’ that was inspired by Phil’s father’s tombstone that read, ‘To Know Him, Was to Love Him.’ ‘What do you think?’ ‘I went, It’s fine.’ I didn’t know. And he said, ‘Be at my house we have a rehearsal.’ ‘But Phil. I have to take the bus. I lived in the Louis Pasteur area and he lived in the Fairfax area. I took the bus to his apartment. I thought the song was pretty. I couldn’t judge my own voice. I didn’t even know I had a voice. But Phil did. That was the key. He totally knew and instilled belief.
“Phil then went to Lew Bedell and Herb Newman at Era Records. My favorite song in the world at that time was Gogi Grant’s ‘The Wayward Wind’ on the label. I was beside myself. They had just set up another label aimed for the rock ‘n’ roll market called Dore Records.
“In July of 1958 the three of us we all schlep over to their office to sign a contract. And Phil talked them into letting us go back in to cut ‘To Know Him, Is to Love Him’ and ‘Wonderful Love You.’ This was after we did the initial $40.00 Phil then called Sandy Nelson to play drums and we did ‘To Know Him, Is to Love Him’ in two takes at Gold Star. One was for balance and the second one Phil suggested, ‘Sing this like you are in love with him.’ ‘I’m too young to have a boyfriend!’ And Phil says to me, ‘Then sing it to your father.’
“I was done in 20 minutes at Gold Star studio. Two track machine. Stan Ross was the engineer. We never spliced. I sang it all the way through. I tried to be sexy ‘cause I always wanted to be sexy. Which I became. But naturally I wasn’t. Marshall Leib and Phil were very much part of the dynamic. They did the background chorus. Phil played guitar on the session. Nobody cared about that song. It was going to be the B-side of ‘Don’t You Worry My Little Pet.’
“The record came out and I helped orchestrate my friends to call local DJ’s. We became the number one record in L.A. and nobody had ever heard of me. Friends of mine helped do the campaign. They turned it over. They were supposed to play ‘Don’t You Worry My Little Pet’ and spun ‘To Know Him, Is to Love Him.’
“Then a Disc jockey in Minneapolis at KDWB, Lou Riegert, turned ‘Don’t You Worry My Little Pet’ over. And he fell in love with my voice. And the lights on his request line went crazy. They went nuts. And they got an order out of Minneapolis for 100 records, and then another 100, then 500, a 1,000 and then I think 10,000. And Lew Bedell said, ‘Oh my God I think we have a number one record!’ Nobody believed in the record except Phil and DJ Lou Riegert.
“Dick Clark’s on his American Bandstand played it in September when it was climbing the charts and then we played on the show when it hit number one. After we came back home to school nobody could have cared less about me performing. All they wanted to ask me about the hottest couple who danced on American Bandstand.
“When the record hit Phil was still wonderful and very, very protective of me. When we did The Perry Como Show and The Kraft Music Hall. Marshall and Phil took care of me. Phil would always talk about Howard Roberts, Barney Kessel, Jonathan Winters, and Lenny Bruce. When we would fly cross country, remember, this was not the days of jets, Phil would be sitting next to me and drilling me about Lenny Bruce. I knew every Jonathan Winters and Lenny Bruce routine. I could imitate Maude Fricker. Because Phil would do it.
“We had dinner with Fabian and Frankie Avalon one night in Philadelphia. And I remember being at a record hop with a number one record in Philadelphia and everyone was gaga over Marshall Leib because he was so handsome. Phil and I were like two nebishes. But when Fabian walked in, ‘Oh my God! That’s the next superstar.’
“Phil had bigger plans. Absolutely. But he didn’t know that until after the record became a hit. We became overnight sensations. Because in those days of the record business was very R&B. ‘Earth Angel.’ ‘Death of an Angel.’ And the next thing was, and I’m just stepping out of myself now, this angelic sweet innocent voice singing about a teenage lament.
“We did have a lawyer look at out contract. I remember that. Somehow, we were able to go over to Imperial where we did an album. I knew Fats Domino was on that record label.
“I hated the songs on And The Teddy Bears Sing. No offense to Phil. I felt that he became overnight from this beautiful lament to this sort of dark side of Phil. He did listen to Jimmy Haskell who did the arrangements on it. But I felt we were overproduced.
“I was then at Fairfax High School. People were coming up to me. I was a kind person. I passed [guitarist] Elliot Ingber’s phone number to Phil and they later briefly worked together in the Phil Harvey Band.
“And then I had a car accident in September 1959. I went off a cliff in the Hollywood Hills. I was at UCLA hospital for three months. Phil did not visit me. I never forgave him. That was the end of the Teddy Bears. But somehow, we all had the name so consequently Phil could not go on and make another group and call it the Teddy Bears. There was never another Teddy Bears.
“[Actor] David Janssen, who also went to Fairfax High School, was more interesting to me than Phil Spector. (laughs). He really loved me and I loved him.
“Elvis Presley always loved my voice. Which is so funny on ‘To Know Him Is to Love Him.’ Loved it. And he had said to some of his friends, ‘I’d like to meet the girl who sang ‘To Know Him Is to Love Him.’ And Joe Esposito [Elvis’ right-hand man and road manager] will verify this.
“I was invited up to Elvis’ house in Bel-Air. Up to Bellagio. One of his guys named Corey picked me up. There were a couple of rules about Elvis. If you were dating any of Elvis’ Memphis Mafia or friends, he would have nothing whatsoever to do with you. Nothing. But I wasn’t dating anybody. I still wasn’t dating. (laughs).
“I was very shy and Elvis wanted to meet me because he loved my voice. I’m sure I was the first Jewish chick he ever met. (laughs). I was. I’m sure. I go up there. I looked really cute. I thought I was ugly but a lot of people thought I was really cute. Not me. Short hair. I love the way I look now. Isn’t that bizarre? I’ve really kept it together. My heart was beating but remember I had met some of the greats. The Teddy Bears did a lot of one nighters.
“But yes, Elvis was the pinnacle. I was not a huge Elvis fan but loved some of his songs. But never had gone to see any of his movies. OK. If I remember, we went downstairs to a pool table and there was a television. And everyone would hangout there. The bedroom was way upstairs and I remember we climbed steps. So, we went down there. And the first time I saw him and he saw me it was like a giant jaguar cheetah cat. I love cats. The most exotic cat. He moved like a cat. More like a panther.
“He would come up to me and talk to me, and his first words were, ‘Why’d you name the group the Teddy Bears?’ And I looked at him, and he thought I had a great sense of humor, ‘Because of Elvis and the song.’ And I started singing his song ‘Teddy Bear.’ And he laughed and he walked away. And then he would come back and talk to me. It was almost like stalking but not like stalking is today. It was like a giant cat. And I was the mouse. We had a magnetic connection.
“Music, sexuality. I was a virgin. He asked for my phone number and called me. I was living in the valley at my mothers. He would always have somebody pick me up and take me back. I always had to be home before the sun came up.
“I put him through the traps. You have no idea. We went together for almost nine months. And he thought I looked like Priscilla. This was early ‘60s. You could not get him to go out in public. We would watch television and he would tell jokes. One day he was telling a joke and everybody laughed but me and he said, ‘Why aren’t you laughing?’ And I said, ‘that was the worst joke I ever heard in my life.’ And he said, ‘I know that and you know that.’ And I can say anything I want too.’ (laughs). Months and months into it I drove him crazy. I think that’s why he kept hanging around. (laughs).
“And then when it happened…he couldn’t believe it. (laughs). I don’t know if he really believed me until he believed me. And then he believed me. He loved my eyes. But then Priscilla and I have very similar eyes. We were both brunettes.
“So, years later he was very thrilled for me with the theme from Rocky. I was told that by Joe Esposito. I never pitched Elvis a song in my life.
“The best story is, and I saw him just before he passed away. I saw him when he did an opening in Las Vegas. He would always let me come in with my girlfriends and everything and go downstairs at the Hilton.
“We were walking down the stairs and I really looked hot. And I was very nearsighted when I was younger. And he said to Shelley Fabres, who was sitting next to him on a couch, ‘Oh my God! He comes Carol. She’s blind as a bat. You know, Shelley, she and I went together on and off for two years.’ And I looked at him in front of everybody and I said, ‘Elvis. It was more off than on.’ And he died laughing. He loved my sense of humor.
“In fact, when he died, I wrote a song about it. It’s called ‘Lust My Night Away.’ He adored my sense of humor and he thought I was very funny. Very sexy.
“I had changed my name from Annette Kleinbard to Carol Connors. I hated the name Annette ‘cause of [actress and singer] Annette Funicello. I was teased at junior high school by the boys because on The Mickey Mouse television show her bra size went from 32 to 38 overnight. (laughs). The boys would come up to me after gym class and I was wearing a training bra and they put their fingers on top of my head, look at my boobs and say, ‘Why aren’t your ears growing?’ And I was embarrassed and hated the name Annette.
“One day I went to (car builder) Carol Shelby wearing hip huggers. I got an appointment. And he loved ‘To Know Him, Is to Love Him’ and he remembered it. And he said in a Texas accent, ‘If you write a song about my car and it goes to number one. I’ll give you one.’ I went home and wrote it with my brother Marshall. Which is funny. I really did construct the song.
“I knew Terry Melcher at Columbia Records. I had recorded for Columbia. I played him the song in a room with a piano and he said, ‘This is fabulous.’ I didn’t go to the recording session I went to Mexico.
“I was the only girl, to ever really write a hot rod song, ‘Hey Little Cobra’ that the Rip Chords had a hit with produced by Bruce (Johnston) and Terry (Melcher). I wrote it with my brother Marshall at my mother’s house in the valley. I had always been writing songs. I loved Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. I just thought their music was free, exciting and west coast. I was never a surfer but I was a water baby. A scuba diver and water skier.
“They hated that it was written by a girl. Remember: It was a car song and I was a girl who wrote a car song. Unheard of. Brian Wilson later came up to me and said, ‘We knew it was written by a girl.’ And he spit the word girl out. (laughs). How did you know I asked him, ‘Well you can’t take you car out of gear and let it coast to the line.’ And I said, ‘Yes you can, Brian. If it is that far in front.’ I remember that. Of all things then Brian moved on to my street on Ferrari Drive. Carol Shelby to this day says, “You know, Carol, you’re really a traitor.’ ‘Why? ‘You live on Ferrari Drive.’
“Life is a journey and my journey is not over.”
(Harvey Kubernik is the author of 20 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love. Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In 2021 the duo wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble.
Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters. His Screen Gems: (Pop Music Documentaries and Rock ‘n’ Roll TV Scenes) is scheduled for January 2026 publication from BearManor Media.
Harvey spoke at the special hearings in 2006 initiated by the Library of Congress held in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation.
In 2017, he appeared at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, in its heralded Distinguished Speakers Series and also a panelist discussing the forty-fifth anniversary of The Last Waltz at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in 2023.
In 2025, Kubernik was spotlighted in the Siobhan Logue-written and -directed documentary The Sound of Protest,airing on the Apple TVOD TV broadcasting service. The film also features Smokey Robinson, Hozier, Skin (Skunk Anansie), Two-Tone's Jerry Dammers, Angélique Kidjo, Holly Johnson, David McAlmont, Rhiannon Giddens, and more).
