Ronnie Spector

Veronica Yvette Greenfield (née Bennett; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022), known professionally as Ronnie Spector, was an American singer. Regarded as the "bad girl of rock and roll", she achieved international fame for founding and fronting the girl group the Ronettes.

Spector formed the singing group the Ronettes with her older sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin, Nedra Talley, in the late 1950s. They were signed to Phil Spector's Philles label in 1963 and he produced the majority of their recording output. The Ronettes had a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Be My Baby" (1963), "Baby, I Love You" (1963), "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" (1964), "Do I Love You?" (1964), and "Walking in the Rain" (1964). Ronnie married Phil in 1968. Following the couple's divorce in 1974, Ronnie re-formed the Ronettes and began performing again.

In 1980, Spector released her debut solo album Siren. 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. She went on to release the albums Unfinished Business (1987), Something's Gonna Happen (2003), Last of the Rock Stars (2006) and English Heart (2016). She also recorded one extended play, She Talks to Rainbows (1999).

In 1990, 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 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Spector at number 70 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Early life

Spector was born Veronica Yvette Bennett 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 black and Cherokee, and her father was Irish American. 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, known later as 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.

Career

1963–1969: The Ronettes and early success

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 and produced by Stu Phillips. 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 group's last charting single, "I Can Hear Music", was produced by Jeff Barry and reached No. 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.

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 withdrew from the spotlight because Phil 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 kept many of the group's unreleased songs in a vault for years.

1970–1982: Solo career and Siren

In February 1971, Ronnie Spector recorded the song "Try Some, Buy Some/Tandoori Chicken" at Abbey Road Studios during Phil's work with George Harrison. Written by Harrison, and produced by both Harrison and Phil, her debut solo single was released on Apple Records in April 1971. It peaked at No. 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1971. Although the single was not a big hit, its backing track was used two years later for Harrison's own version of the song, on his chart-topping Living in the Material World album. "Try Some, Buy Some" had another lasting influence when John Lennon recorded "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" later the same year and asked Phil (co-producing again) to reproduce the mandolin-laden Wall of Sound he had created for that single. Lennon liked the rockabilly B-side too; he sang it at his birthday party in New York City in October 1971 (a recording of which has appeared on bootlegs). Spector recorded other Harrison songs during those London sessions – including "You" and "When Every Song Is Sung" – but her versions were never released, even though a full album had been planned.

After separating from Phil in 1972, she reformed the Ronettes (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. In 1973, Spector provided backing-vocals with Liza Minnelli for Alice Cooper's song "Teenage Lament '74" from the album Muscle of Love (1973). 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. This was the final track on the Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes' debut album I Don't Want to Go Home. 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 her book, Spector recounted several abortive attempts to recapture mainstream success throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, during which time she was perceived as an oldies act. She recorded her first solo album in 1980, Siren, produced by Genya Ravan.

1983–2002: "Take Me Home Tonight", Unfinished Business, and return to music

In 1986, Ronnie Spector enjoyed a resurgence of popular radio airplay as the featured vocalist on Eddie Money's Top 5 hit, "Take Me Home Tonight", 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. In 1999, she released the EP, She Talks to Rainbows, which featured a few covers of older songs. Joey Ramone acted as producer.

In 1988, she and the other members of the Ronettes sued Phil Spector for nonpayment of royalties and for unpaid income he made from licensing of Ronettes’ music. In 2001, a New York court announced a verdict in favor of the Ronettes, ordering him to pay $2.6 million in back royalties. The judgment was overturned by a Court of Appeals in 2002 and remanded back to the New York State Supreme Court. The judges found that their contract gave Phil unconditional rights to the recordings. It was ruled that Ronnie was entitled to her share of the royalties, which she had forfeited in her divorce settlement, but they reversed a lower court's ruling that the group were entitled to the music industry's standard 50 percent royalty rate. In the outcome, Phil paid in excess of $1 million to Ronnie Spector. In December 1998, having just signed to the Creation Records label, she appeared on the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland.