The Ronettes

The Ronettes were not the most commercially successful girl group, but they were groundbreaking in the field, thanks to their legendary Wall of Sound produced by Phil Spector. Their biggest hit, "Be My Baby," is widely regarded as one of the crowning achievements of Spector's oeuvre, and of girl-group pop in general. In fact, many critics have deemed it one of the most supremely romantic records of the rock & roll era; Spector's production frames the song's yearning lyrics and Ronnie Bennett's sweetly sultry vocals in a sweeping, near-symphonic level of emotion. Even though the Ronettes never managed another hit as big as "Be My Baby," many of their subsequent singles boasted the same kind of creative synergy between Spector and Bennett. It apparently carried over into real life as well, since the two were married in 1968, not long after Bennett went solo. The Ronettes were formed in New York City’s Washington Heights/Spanish Harlem area of New York City. Sisters Veronica (aka Ronnie) and Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Telley first started harmonizing together as teenagers in 1959, inspired by doo wop groups of the 1950‘s. Spector signed the Ronettes to his Philles label, where they were given a more defined image than most female artists of the time. They were still sweet and feminine, to be sure, but they had hints of attitude — they were photographed with tall hairdos, heavy eyeliner, and tight skirts. Moreover, their songs dared to address the objects of their affection directly ("I love you" as opposed to "I love him"), even — on a subliminal level — seductively. Spector lavished all his attention on his new protégées, collaborating on material with some of the top Brill Building songwriting teams. In 1990, Ronnie published her autobiography Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness; the book was a sensation thanks to its detailed account of her bizarre relationship with Spector, though she maintained that she had been genuinely in love with him at the start, and that he was never physically abusive to her. Find out more about their sweetly sultry vocals at: www.vocalgroup.org/inductees/the_ronettes.html.

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