The Ronettes

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The Ronettes
The Ronettes, 1966
The Ronettes, 1966
General information
Genre (s) pop
founding 1959
resolution 1966
Last occupation
singing
Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett
singing
Estelle Bennett
singing
Nedra Talley

The Ronettes were a female vocal trio from New York City that had several hits in the US and UK in the early 1960s . The best-known piece by the girl group is Be My Baby .

history

The sisters Ronnie and Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Talley had their first appearances together in 1959, won a talent competition and were regularly on stage, back then as Darling Sisters. Record producers soon became aware of them, and in 1961 they released their first single. Shortly thereafter, they renamed themselves The Ronettes, derived from Ronnie Bennett.

In 1963 there was a collaboration with the well-known producer Phil Spector . With the proven team of writers Jeff Barry / Ellie Greenwich , he wrote them with Be My Baby, an extremely successful single that he produced in the style of his famous " Wall of Sound ". With the song, the girls' trio landed at the top of the charts in both the USA and Great Britain.

The Ronettes, 1966

Five singles in a row landed in the top 40 of the US charts, and four of them also made it to the UK. The album … Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica was not that successful in the charts, but was later voted number 427 of the 500 best albums of all time by Rolling Stone magazine . Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett was already in the foreground in the album title, and in the publications from 1965 she was mentioned in the band name. But the following singles didn't live up to expectations. After both Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley got married in 1966, the end of the group finally came. In 1968 Ronnie Bennett married Phil Spector, but the marriage lasted only six years.

Ronnie Spector continued her musical career with variable success. In 1973 she was briefly on the road with two other singers as Ronnie and the Ronettes, but then continued solo with her own recordings, in the background and as accompaniment of Bruce Springsteen and in 1986 of Eddie Money , with whom she recorded his biggest hit Take Me Home Tonight .

The Ronettes were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three years later . In 2017, industry magazine Billboard put Be My Baby at number one on its critics list of the 100 best girl group songs of all time .

music

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
… Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
  US 96 December 26, 1964 (8 weeks)
Singles
Be my baby
  DE 60 06/08/1992 (11 weeks)
  UK 4th 
gold
gold
10/17/1963 (13 weeks)
  US 2 August 31, 1963 (13 weeks)
Baby, I love you
  UK 11 01/09/1964 (14 weeks)
  US 24 December 21, 1963 (9 weeks)
(The Best Part of) Breakin 'Up
  UK 43 08/27/1964 (3 weeks)
  US 39 04/04/1964 (8 weeks)
Do I Love You?
  UK 35 10/08/1964 (4 weeks)
  US 34 06/20/1964 (9 weeks)
Walking in the Rain
  US 23 October 24, 1964 (11 weeks)
Born to Be Together (feat.Veronica)
  US 52 02/06/1965 (6 weeks)
Is This What I Get for Loving You? (feat. Veronica)
  US 75 05/29/1965 (4 weeks)
I Can Hear Music (feat.Veronica)
  US 100 October 29, 1966 (1 week)
Sleigh ride
  DE 75 December 28, 2018 (2 weeks)
  CH 35 12/30/2018 (2 weeks)
  UK 34 
silver
silver
12/28/2013 (10 weeks)
  US 21st December 22, 2018 (7 weeks)

The first two singles of the Ronettes were made popular in Germany at the end of the 60s by Andy Kim , who also brought Baby, I Love You to number 5 in the USA.

Be My Baby remains by far their most popular song. It was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 's list of 500 Most Influential Rock Songs. Numerous artists added the song to their repertoire, including the Bay City Rollers , Shaun Cassidy , Rachel Sweet , Linda Ronstadt , Melissa Etheridge , Brian Wilson and the Bates .

I Can Hear Music was her last chart hit in 1966. It was covered by the Beach Boys three years later and was a hit in the UK.

Members

  • Veronica Ronnie Bennett, married. Spector (born August 10, 1943 in New York)
  • Estelle Bennett, married. Vann (born July 22, 1941 in New York, † February 11, 2009 in Englewood )
  • Nedra Talley, married. Ross (born January 27, 1946 in New York)

Discography

  • My Darling Angel (1961)
  • I Want a Boy (1961)
  • Silhouettes (1961)
  • I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1961)
  • The Memory (1962)
  • Be My Baby (1963)
  • Baby, I Love You (1963)
  • (The Best Part Of) Breakin 'Up (1964)
  • Do I Love You? (1964)
  • (Walking) In the Rain (1964)
  • Born to Be Together (1965)
  • Is This What I Get for Loving You? (1965)
  • The Memory (1965)
  • He Did It (1965)
  • I Can Hear Music (1966)

literature

  • Ronnie Spector with Vince Waldron: Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. New American Library, 2004.
  • Irwin Stambler: The Encyclopedia Of Pop, Rock And Soul . 3rd revised edition, New York City, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989, pp. 583 f., ISBN 0-312-02573-4 .
  • Jay Warner: The Billboard Book Of American Singing Groups. A History 1940–1990 . New York City / Billboard Books, New York 1992, pp. 440-443.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7857816/100-greatest-girl-group-songs
  2. Chart sources: DE CH UK US
  3. Music Sales Awards: UK