The great Ronnie Spector has lost her battle with cancer at 78. She was the lead singer of the Ronettes, founded in 1961. Her biggest hit was “Be My Baby”, written by her evil ex-husband Phil Spector along with Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The Ronettes hold an important place in music history. They were an edgy, mixed race girl group (and in those days, that was a new thing). As a lover of fashion, especially vintage styles, The Ronettes hold a special place in my heart.
I saw Ronnie in concert with my parents a number of years ago at a casino. She was doing a holiday tour. She couldn’t sing her biggest hit, because that POS Phil Spector still owned the rights, and just had to stick it to her, even decades later. But it didn’t matter, she was such a pleasure, and a fantastic story teller. The story she told about how she escaped Phil was gut wrenching, describing how she literally walked out of a glass door. She told that story fiercely and unapologetically. Years later, she still had style, grace, and humor.
Cheers to this trailblazing woman of color.
Here’s the big one:
She’s also well known for being featured in the 80’s with Eddie Money’s song, “Take Me Home Tonight”.