Before Ronnie Spector's death earlier this week my knowledge of her didn't extend far beyond Be My Baby and Sleigh Ride, but the stature of those tracks meant I held The Ronettes in high regard. The coverage of her life encouraged me to listen to more of her discography, however, and I'm very glad I did. Ronnie had a wonderful voice, and it's clear from her collaborations that she was hugely respected within the industry.
I'd be interested to know if anyone else has listened to Ronnie over the last few days, and if you have any pointers about what to listen to.
From my limited exploration I can recommend the following:
- Walking in the Rain — a brooding track from the Ronette days featuring Ronnie's huge voice.
- I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine — another great example of how her voice could soar over anything put in its way.
- Try Some, Buy Some — Penned by George Harrison, this troubled record was created during Ronnie's abusive marriage to Phil Spector. Despite this she gave a magnificent performance.
- Say Goodbye to Hollywood — a thumping Billy Joel cover recorded with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
- Take Me Home Tonight — Eddie Money's conventional 80s pop rock track is elevated hugely when Ronnie appears to interpolate Be My Baby. Her slow reveal in the video teases the appearance of an icon perfectly.
- She Talks to Rainbows — a Ramones cover that makes you yearn for a full album of original rock material.
I've barely scratched the surface, yet it's clear to me that Ronnie Spector should be held in the same individual regard as Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield, or any of her peers. She deserved solo success, and it's a great shame that despite releasing several great singles it never came her way. Still, the popularity of The Ronettes means it's unlikely Ronnie and her voice will ever be forgotten, thank goodness.
Edit: thank you for the gold, whoever you are!
Er, um, Wall of Sound was an idea I gave Phil for a tag team. And Be My Baby was written about me.
Poor John Stamos! Why do horrible things keep happening to him?!
RIP Veronica Greenfield AKA Ronnie Spector!!
The cat-eyed, bee-hived rock 'n' roll siren
She sang 1960s classics such as "Be My Baby," "Baby I Love You" and "Walking in the Rain", as lead singer of The Ronettes
Veronica lost her battle with cancer 12/01/2022 She was 78
https://preview.redd.it/3cwh17mqgcb81.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=f1f8d07dd5b2bcfbfefbf5acb8a116c50d696dfe
CW: Domestic violence, SA
Not sure how familiar everybody is with Ronnie/Phil Spector, so he's a run down:
She was an incredibly talented, beautiful, and successful pop/doo-wop singer in the '60s, lead of the girl group, The Ronettes ("Be My Baby", you know it), who married legendary producer Phil Spector (credited with inventing the famed production method of 'The Wall of Sound', worked with ppl like The Beatles, the Righteous Brothers, Ike & Tina Turner and, obviously, The Ronettes)
Once they got married, he decided to put his sociopathic and sadistically cruel tendencies on full display. He was extremely violent, beating her often, as well as verbally/emotionally abusing her.
He controlled her every movement; he surrounded their compound with barbed wire fences and guard dogs. If she wanted to drive to the store, he made her place a replica of himself in the passenger seat so no one would dare to talk to her/nobody would know he was "weak" enough to let her out of his sight. He terrorized the entire family, even possibly SA'ing his own kids. At another point, he adopted two children without even telling her.
He bought a glass coffin, placed it in the basement, and told Ronnie that if she ever tried to leave him, he'd kill her and put her corpse on display for guests, a la Snow White.
At that point, after years of escalating abuse with no end in sight, she knew she either had to escape ASAP or end up dead, so she made, essentially, a daring prison break out of his compound while barefoot and avoiding the snarling guard dogs on the property. It's a miracle she managed to escape.
Years later, Phil went to prison for forcing/coercing young, hot starlets and cocktail waitresses he'd brought home to his mansion into playing Russian Roulette with him. Ohhh whoooa surprise, one of them died.
Phil went to jail on May 29th, 2009 after being sentenced to 19yrs, but ended up dying from COVID on Jan 16th, 2021, alone, in a Prison hospital (good riddance, eat shit, Phil).
Ronnie, on the other hand, SURVIVED HIM BY A WHOLE YEAR (almost exactly: January 12th, 2022) and continued to have a successful singing career, despite all of Phil's concerted efforts to destroy it.
I just love it. He not only failed to crush her spirit, he not only failed to intimidate her into submission, he not only failed to ruin her career, but he also failed to live longer than her, allowing her the delicious schadenfreude of watching her scumbag abusive torm
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