Billboard #1 hits-#7- “To Know Him Is To Love Him”- The Teddy Bears. December 1, 1958- for 3 weeks. Written by Phil Spector. Genre: Pop. Released on Dore Records. Time: 2:12. B:Side: “Don’t You Worry My Little Pet.” Grade: A.
And enter Mr. Phil Spector. Phil Spector was a boy wonder- only 18 when he had his first hit- with ‘To Know Him Is To Love Him.” His father Benjamin committed suicide when Phil was nine years old and a few years later his mother moved the family to Los Angeles. Phil took what was written on Benjamin Spector’s tombstone “To Know HIm Is To Love Him”- and wrote this song- his first ever hit. The song would be covered and be hits with Peter And Gordon and Bobby Vinton. The Beatles covered it- their version appears on Anthology 1 as “To Know Her Is To Love Her”. Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris would have a #1 country hit with it in 1987. It has been covered by countless other artists.
slicethelife 
I first heard it when the Beatles covered it on the Hamburg album. I always liked this song.
Also the first song on the fantastic box set of Phil Spector’s music-
That would be an interesting box set. I’ll have to look into that.
3 discs- its called Back To Mono- a 4th bonus disc his famous Christmas album.
Thanks Hans… I’m glad they could get the various artists on one box set.
That is a poignant story, Phil losing his dad so young and using the epitaph to make a hit song from. It’s a wonderful song and sounds so good the way this trio sings it. I remember Perry Como, but I must have been so young when his show was on!
Perry Como- same here no memory of his song but he always got a lot of publicity in this area because he was from the Pittsburgh area- Canonsburg, PA same town as Bobby Vinton.