The Ronettes - ...Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964)

"I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" by The Ronettes


Sonny got Cher work as a backup singer for Phil Spector's various band projects.  Her most notable backup performance stands on The Ronettes' hit 1963 single "Be My Baby" on which Bono also played percussion.

Veronica Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett, and cousin Nedra Talley started singing together in 1957.  They performed at Apollo's Amateur Night (familiar place) and translated that into an early career of small gigs and bar mitzvahs as Ronnie and The Relatives.  Their first record deal was with Colpix Records in 1961 through producer Stu Johnson, but none of their recordings sold well despite being excellent girl-group offerings.  The Relatives became The Ronettes and slowly got jobs as session backup singers and a consistent gig at The Peppermint Lounge (but as dancers, mainly).

Their recording career would finally break through when Estelle placed a phone call to Phil Spector to arrange an audition for his new record label Philles Records.  Spector had already seen The Ronettes live and had a particular soft spot for Veronica.  This audition was more of a formality.  The Ronettes were exactly the sound Spector wanted and he got them to trick Colpix out of their record contract and then sign with Philles in 1963.  The work with Spector wasn't too rewarding at first as they recorded singles that didn't see release (Spector wanted his pet band to debut with a bang) and recorded singles in the name of another Philles girl-group, The Crystals.  But the breakout hit came when Philles released the #2 "Be My Baby", a landmark in rock and particularly in popular music production.  Spector was already a wunderkind, but with this release he was a genius and landscape shifter.  The Wall of Sound was impressive.

The Ronettes followed the single success with appearances on television, a tour of Europe where they met admirers in The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, and more Top 40 hits.  But by the end of 1964, The Ronettes had already suffered a decline in popularity.  Part of it can be attributed to the rapidly changing musical landscape, but also to a degree of self-sabotage on the part of Phil Spector who saw his pet project getting too much attention and possibly being tempted to leave him.  Phil had always been particular on what singles to release, but he refused to release The Ronettes's excellent version of "Chapel of Love" in early 1964.  Months later, The Dixie Cups had a smash hit on their hands with the same song.  More singles refused to be released and those that were underperformed terribly.  By 1965, they opened for The Beatles in America and toured with them in 1966 (though without Veronica who was in a relationship with the insecure and jealous Spector).  Passing out of favor with the public, The Ronettes broke up in 1967 and married.  They reunited briefly in 1969 for a single and stint of recording with Jimi Hendrix.

After Veronica (now Ronnie Spector) divorced Phil from an abusive marriage, she tried to get The Ronettes together one last time in the mid-70s, but she proved the only one interested.  Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes released two singles with a non-Spector contemporary sound, but neither did well.  Ronnie, understanding the end, moved on to her solo career.

Here is the discography surrounding The Ronettes's debut album:

I Want a Boy (1961 single as Ronnie and The Relatives)
I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1962 single)
I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead (1962 single as Ronnie and The Relatives)
Silhouettes (1962 single)
Good Girls (1962 single)
Be My Baby (1963 single)
Philles Records Presents Today's Hits (1963 compilation album)
Baby, I Love You (1963 single)
A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records (1963 compilation album)
(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up (1964 single)
Do I Love You? (1964 single)
Walking in the Rain (1964 single)
Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love (1964 single by Veronica)
So Young (1964 single by Veronica)
...Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica
The Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1965 compilation album)
Born to Be Together (1965 single)
Is This What I Get for Loving You? (1965 single)
Paradise (1965 single)
He Did It (1965 single)
I Can Hear Music (1966 single)

The Year 2000 (1968 single by Estelle)
You Came, You Saw, You Conquered! (1969 single)
Go Out and Get It (1973 single as Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes)
I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine (1974 single as Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes)
The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits (1975 compilation album)
The Ronettes Sing Their Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1981 compilation album)
The Colpix and Buddha Years (1992 compilation album)
The Ultimate Collection (1997 compilation album)
Be My Baby: The Very Best of The Ronettes (2010 compilation album)

"Be My Baby" by The Ronettes


"Sleigh Ride" by The Ronettes


Pass the Headphones!!