Ronnie Spector (78) – The Ronettes – was born Veronica Bennett on August 10, 1943 in East Harlem, New York City, and grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. She was the daughter of Beatrice and Louis Bennett, a subway worker. Her mother was African American and Cherokee, and her father was Irish. Veronica and her sister Estelle Bennett (1941–2009) were encouraged to sing by their large family, as was their cousin Nedra Talley (born 1946). The trio formed the Darling Sisters in 1957 and later became the Ronettes.They performed locally while attending George Washington High School in Washington Heights. Their look was fashioned by Estelle, who had a job at Macy’s on the cosmetics counter. They sang at school events, and had a residency at the Peppermint Lounge, a nightspot in Manhattan, the birthplace of the Twist and go-go dancing.
The Ronettes became a popular live attraction around the greater New York area in the early 1960s. Looking for a recording contract, they initially were signed to Colpix Records. After releasing a few singles on Colpix without success, they tracked down record producer Phil Spector, who signed them to his label Philles Records in 1963. Their relationship with Spector brought chart success with their biggest hit “Be My Baby” in 1963, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. A string of top 40 pop hits followed with “Baby, I Love You” (1963), “The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up” (1964), “Do I Love You?” (1964), and “Walking in the Rain” (1964). The group had two entries on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965 with “Born to Be Together” and “Is This What I Get for Loving You?“.
In 1965, the Ronettes were voted the third-top singing group in England behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. They opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour without their lead singer. Phil had forbidden Bennett to tour with the Beatles, so her cousin Elaine stood in as a third member. The original group’s last charting single, “I Can Hear Music“, was produced by Jeff Barry and reached No. 100 on the BillboardHot 100 in 1966.
The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were huge fans of Ronnie’s group the Ronettes and many a rock and roller vied for her affections, including Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie. But none were as besotted as John Lennon. During those early days she was sometimes referred to as the original “bad girl of rock and roll“
The Ronettes broke up in early 1967, following a European concert tour. After Bennett married Phil in 1968, she began to use the name Ronnie Spector, but she forcibly withdrew from the spotlight because husband Phil Spector prohibited her from performing and limited her recordings. In 1969, Phil signed a production deal with A&M Records and he released her record “You Came, You Saw, You Conquered”, credited as “The Ronettes Featuring the Voice of Veronica”, with “Oh I Love You”, an old Ronettes B-side, as the flip. Her vocals were used for the lead and backing vocals. Phil Spector – a sick mind – kept many of the group’s unreleased songs in a vault for years.
Following the couple’s divorce in 1972, Ronnie re-formed the Ronettes and began performing again as Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes with two new members (Chip Fields Hurd, the mother of actress Kim Fields, and Diane Linton) in 1973. They released a few singles on Buddah Records, but the records failed to chart. By 1975, Spector was recording as a solo act. She released the single “You’d Be Good For Me” on Tom Cat Records in 1975. In 1976, she sang a duet with Southside Johnny on the recording “You Mean So Much To Me”, penned by Southside’s longtime friend Bruce Springsteen. She also made appearances with the E Street Band the following year, including a cover version of Billy Joel‘s 1976 track “Say Goodbye to Hollywood“.
In 1980, she released her debut solo album Siren, produced by Genya Raven of Ten Wheel Drive fame. Her career revived when she was featured on Eddie Money‘s song and video “Take Me Home Tonight” in 1986, a Billboard top five single, in which she answers Money’s chorus lyric, “just like Ronnie sang”, with, “be my little baby”. The song’s music video was one of the top videos of the year and in heavy rotation on MTV. During this period, she also recorded the song “Tonight You’re Mine, Baby” (from the film Just One of the Guys). In 1988, she began performing at the Ronnie Spector’s Christmas Party, a seasonal staple at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City.
She also went on to release the albums Unfinished Business (1987), Something’s Gonna Happen(2003), Last of the Rock Stars (2006) which featured contributions from members of The Raconteurs, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Raveonettes, Patti Smith, and Keith Richards and English Heart(2016), her first album of new material in a decade. The album features her versions of songs of the British Invasion by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Bee Gees, and others. She also recorded one extended play, She Talks to Rainbows (1999) which featured a few covers of older songs. Joey Ramone acted as producer.
In 1990, Ronnie Spector published a memoir, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Ronettes in 2007.
In 2018, Spector appeared in the music documentary Amy Winehouse: Back to Black (2018), based on Winehouse and her final studio album Back to Black. The album was inspired by 1960s girl groups Winehouse gathered inspiration from listening to, such as The Ronettes. It contained new interviews as well as archival footage. Spector was a great inspiration for Winehouse, who emulated her hair, as well as vocal style. In return, Ronnie Spector covered “Back to Black”, the Winehouse’s signature song. She recalls that Winehouse turned up at a concert looking just like her while she sang her song. Spector recalled seeing “a tear out of her (Winehouse) eye and it made me cry”.
In September 2020, Deadline reported that actress Zendaya would portray Spector in a biopic adapted from her memoir Be My Baby. In December 2021, the Ronettes returned to the Top 10 for the first time in 58 years with their 1963 recording of “Sleigh Ride“.
A couple of weeks later Ronnie Spector died on 12 January 2022. She was 78.
