Ronnie Spector, a leading figure in the Ronettes group, died on Wednesday January 12 at the age of 78, her family said in a statement. “Our beloved angel, Ronnie” succumbed to the disease “following a brief battle with cancer.” The singer, best known for the track “Be My Baby”, has lived her entire life “with a sparkle in her eye, a spirited demeanor, a fierce sense of humor and a smile on her face.” his family wrote once more.
Born Veronica Greenfield on August 10, 1943, in New York City, Ronnie Spector had trained the Ronettes alongside her sister, Estelle Bennett, and her cousin, Nedra Talley. The group made a name for itself in the New York area, with its soulful love songs, before signing in 1963 with legendary producer Phil Spector, soon to be Ronnie’s husband.
With their seductive eyes, XXL hairstyle and skirts above the knees, the Ronettes unrolled a series of hits in the early ’60s, including “Baby, I Love You”, “(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up Or “Be My Baby,” which was inducted into the 1999 Grammy Hall of Fame. The song, emblematic of Phil Spector’s symphonic production style known as “Wall of Sound,” has been used as a soundtrack in films like Mean Streets by Martin Scorsese (1973) or Dirty Dancing (1987).
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Solo career
Along with the Supremes, the Ronettes were one of the most popular groups of the time, and the only girl group to go on tour with the Beatles, opening their act in 1966. When the trio was inducted at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards remembered opening their act in the 1960s. “They didn’t need anything. They touched my heart at that moment and they still touch it, ”he said.
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The Ronettes separated in 1967 and the following year Ronnie married Phil Spector, known to have been one of the greatest rock’n’roll producers in history, but jailed for murder in 2009. The couple divorced in 1974 and Ronnie Spector recounted in an autobiography the years of suffering and abuse she suffered with her former husband.
After the Ronettes, Ronnie Spector continued a solo career, punctuated by several collaborations with artists such as Eddie Money and Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. His album released in 2006, The Last of the Rock Stars, included collaborations with Keith Richards and Patti Smith.