The DeCastro Sisters were already the headline act at the tony Moulin Rouge night club on Sunset Strip in Hollywood when Fabor Robison introduced himself to their father and convinced him to sign the DeCastro Sisters to Abbott Records. Having just sold Jim Reeves’s contract to RCA Victor, Robison was flush and influential, though more in country music than pop or the Latin music the DeCastro Sisters were best known for.
Robison knew what he was doing; he switched the lead to oldest sister Peggy, while former lead Cherie, the middle sister, did backgrounds with the youngest of the three, Babette. The DeCastro Sisters chose the material for their first recording from those they worked with, though not from their stage act. The arranger and conductor was Hollywood veteran Lloyd “Skip” Martin, whose credits included orchestrating the scores for the films “Singin’ in the Rain,” “A Star is Born,” and “Funny Face.” He was known for the profusion of instruments, including four trumpets, four trombones, and five saxes. He also wrote every note of the vocal arrangements, along with the musical arrangements.
“It’s Love” was written by the Moulin Rouge violinist, Charles Gould. “I’m Bewildered” was written by Herbie Dell, their musical director for the live shows; and “To Say You’re Mine” was by a trio the girls knew from working Las Vegas night spots. The fourth song had already been released to no reaction, but that changed when the song and the artists had a huge international hit in 1954 with “Teach Me Tonight,” originally the B side of “It’s Love” (Abbott 3001).
After hitting No. 2 in the charts, the DeCastro Sisters also scored on Abbott with “Boom Boom Boomerang” at No. 17, “Too Late Now” No. 68, and “Snowbound for Christmas” no. 84. At the end of 1955, Robison sold the DeCastro Sisters’ contract to RCA Victor, where the trio did not do as well as they had on the independent Abbott label.
