The Ronettes
The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City.[1] The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They had sung together since they were teenagers, then known as "The Darling Sisters". Signed first by Colpix Records in 1961, they moved to Phil Spector's Philles Records in March 1963 and changed their name to "The Ronettes".
The Ronettes
- The Darling Sisters
- Ronnie and the Ronettes
New York City, New York, U.S.
1957–1967, 1973–1974
- Ronnie Spector
- Estelle Bennett
- Nedra Talley
- Elaine Mayes
- Chip Fields
- Denise Edwards
- Diane Linton
The Ronettes placed nine songs on the Billboard Hot 100, six of which became Top 40 hits. Among their hit songs are "Be My Baby", which peaked at No. 2, their only contemporary top 10 hit, "Baby, I Love You", "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" and "Walking in the Rain". In 1964, the group released their only studio album, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica. That year, the Rolling Stones were their opening act when they toured the UK. The Ronettes opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour, becoming the only girl group to tour with them, before splitting up in 1967. In the 1970s, the group was briefly revived as Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes. Ronnie Spector's name changed to Spector when she married Phil Spector in 1968.
Their song "Be My Baby" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Rolling Stone ranked their album Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica No. 422 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[2] The Ronettes were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. The group also holds the record for the longest gap between top-ten hits in Billboard history, just over 58 years.
Early years (1950–1961)[edit]
The Ronettes began as a family act where the girls grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan. According to Nedra Talley, they started singing during childhood visits to their grandmother's home.[3] "Estelle and Veronica are sisters," she said in a later interview.[3] "I'm their cousin. Our mothers are sisters. We came out of a family that, on Saturday nights, home for us was at our grandmother's, entertaining each other."[3] The Bennetts' mother was African-American and Cherokee; their father was Irish-American. Their cousin, Talley, is African-American, Cherokee and Puerto Rican.[4] The trio also had a great-grandfather who was Chinese.[5][6] "By the time I was eight, I was already working up whole numbers for our family's little weekend shows," Ronnie Spector later recalled.[7] "Then Estelle would get up onstage and do a song, or she'd join Nedra or my cousin Elaine and me in a number we'd worked out in three-part harmony."[8]
Furthering their interest in show business, Estelle was enrolled at Startime, a popular dancing school in the 1950s,[8] while Ronnie became fascinated with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. In 1957, Ronnie formed the group later known as the Ronettes.[9] Ronnie, her sister Estelle, and their cousins Nedra, Diane, and Elaine learned how to perfect their harmonies at their grandmother's house, and became proficient at songs such as "Goodnight Sweetheart" and "Red Red Robin".[9] Emulating Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the girls added their male cousin Ira to the group and signed up for a Wednesday night amateur show at the Apollo Theater run by a friend of Ronnie and Estelle's mother.[9] The show started out as a disaster; when the house band started playing Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Ira did not sing a word, so Ronnie took over.[10] "I strutted out across the stage, singing as loud as I could," Ronnie later recalled.[10] "When I finally heard a few hands of scattered applause, I sang even louder. That brought a little more applause, which was all I needed."[10]
Colpix Records and The Peppermint Lounge (1961–1963)[edit]
After their night at the Apollo, Ira, Elaine, and Diane left the group. After the curious renaming of the group to "Ronnie and the Relatives", Ronnie, Estelle, and Nedra began taking singing lessons two afternoons per week. Appearing at local bar mitzvahs and sock hops, they met Phil Halikus, who introduced them to Colpix Records producer Stu Phillips.[11] According to Ronnie, Phillips played the piano while the women auditioned for him, singing "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen".[12] The audition was successful, and the group was brought into the studio in June 1961 and recorded four tracks: "I Want a Boy", "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen", "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead", and "My Guiding Angel". Colpix released "I Want a Boy" in August 1961 and "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" in January 1962, the first singles credited to Ronnie and the Relatives.[13]
While both singles failed to chart on the Billboard Top 100, fate intervened in advancing the group's success. A fortuitous case of mistaken identity led to Ronnie and the Relatives making their debut – as dancers rather than a singing act – at New York City's hip Peppermint Lounge in 1961.[14] It was the height of the Twist craze, and under-aged Nedra and Ronnie disguised themselves to get in.[14] The girls' mothers showed them how to put on make-up and fix their hair to make them look at least 23. When they arrived outside the club, its manager mistook Ronnie, Estelle, and Nedra for the trio supposed to dance behind house band Joey Dee and the Starliters for the evening. He led them in and put them onstage to perform in their place. During the show, Starliter David Brigati even handed the mike over to Ronnie when she started to sing Ray Charles' "What'd I Say".[15] Soon afterward, Ronnie and the Relatives became a permanent act at The Peppermint Lounge, each earning $10 per night to dance The Twist and usually sing a song at some point in the show.
Ronnie and the Relatives soon became "The Ronettes".[16] Colpix issued the first two singles credited to the Ronettes, "Silhouettes" and a re-issue of "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead", on its May label in April and June 1962, respectively. Both singles disappointingly failed to chart.[17] Later that year, they were flown to Miami to open a Florida branch of The Peppermint Lounge.[18] After their performance at the Miami gala, radio host Murray the K came backstage and introduced himself to them. He asked the women to begin appearing at his shows at The Brooklyn Fox in New York. They agreed, taking the Fox stage in 1962 and completing a transition from Murray the K's "Dancing Girls", to back-up singing for other acts, to performing as the Ronettes before year's end.[19] It was during this time that the women evolved their iconic look, wearing ever more exaggerated eye make-up while teasing their hair to impossible proportions. "We'd look pretty wild by the time we got out onstage," Ronnie later recalled, "and the kids loved it."[20] Colpix's May label issued a final single by the Ronettes in March 1963. When "Good Girls" failed to chart, the women decided to look elsewhere for studio work.[18]
Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes[edit]
Ronnie left Phil on June 12, 1972, and their divorce was finalized in 1974.[48] As she made an attempt to revive her career, she decided to reform the Ronettes. Nedra had no interest in returning to the group, and Estelle mentally could no longer handle the burden of performing as she was suffering from mental illness.[49] Ronnie replaced them with Chip Fields (mother of actress Kim Fields) and Denise Edwards.[50] They recorded some songs for Buddah Records in 1973, one of which was a cover of "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine", a song Ronnie had first done in 1965, though Phil Spector had refused to release it.[51] The stint at Buddah was not successful, and by 1975, Ronnie had abandoned the idea of continuing the Ronettes and began her solo career.[52]
In 2017, Ronnie Spector released a new single Love Power under the name Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes making it the first Ronettes single in decades.[53]
Awards and recognition[edit]
The Ronettes were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965 for "Walking in the Rain".[62] They were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Be My Baby" in 1999.[63] The Ronettes were also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and the People's Hall of Rock and Roll Legends in 2010.[64] The Ronettes' influence on music was significant. In addition to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both cited Ronnie Bennett as an influence.[65] The Ronettes' fashion style was emulated by British musician Amy Winehouse.[66]
It was reported that Phil Spector, in his capacity as a member of the Board of Governors, prevented the Ronettes from being nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although they had been eligible for a considerable length of time. In a letter obtained by Ronnie's lawyers, addressed to the Rock Hall's nominating committee, Phil claimed that, apart from Ronnie, the group members did not appear on their records, and that they did not make the contribution required for induction.[67] While he was awaiting trial on a murder charge, the Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. They were inducted by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards.[68] Ronnie and Nedra performed "Baby, I Love You", "Walking in the Rain", and "Be My Baby". Estelle was present to accept her award but was not well enough to perform, so Tricia Scotti (a regular backup singer with Ronnie) took her place behind the microphone.