As a teenager in 1958, Ellie Greenwich put out her first release under the name Ellie Gaye. The RCA single, Cha-Cha Charming/Silly Isn't It, showed precious little evidence of her future brilliance as a Brill Building songwriter, although she did write both sides. Cha-Cha Charming was a sickly sweet pop-calypso number, while the flip was a teen idol ballad with just a tinge of rock in the manner of stars like Paul Anka. We all have to start somewhere, though, and it at least gave her a credential as she continued to write and study music at college. It has been written that one of her professors at Queens College heavily criticized the RCA single in front of her class, after which she changed schools. Both sides of the 45 can be heard on the probably unauthorized Ellie Greenwich double-CD compilation Brill Building Sounds: Recordings 1958-1985, on the Brill Tone label. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi