The Ronettes

History

Formation and early years

The Ronettes began as a family act where the girls grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan. According to Nedra Talley, they started singing during childhood visits to their grandmother's home. "Estelle and Veronica are sisters," she said in a later interview. "I'm their cousin. Our mothers are sisters. We came out of a family that, on Saturday nights, home for us was at our grandmother's, entertaining each other." The Bennetts' mother was African American and Cherokee; their father was Irish-American. Their cousin, Talley, was African American, Cherokee and Puerto Rican. The trio also had a great-grandfather who was Chinese. "By the time I was eight, I was already working up whole numbers for our family's little weekend shows," Ronnie Spector later recalled. "Then Estelle would get up onstage and do a song, or she'd join Nedra or my cousin Elaine and me in a number we'd worked out in three-part harmony."

Furthering their interest in show business, Estelle was enrolled at Startime, a popular dancing school in the 1950s, while Ronnie became fascinated with Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. In 1957, Ronnie formed the group later known as the Ronettes. Ronnie, her sister Estelle, and their cousins Nedra, Diane, and Elaine learned how to perfect their harmonies at their grandmother's house, and became proficient at songs such as "Goodnight Sweetheart" and "Red Red Robin". Emulating Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, the girls added their male cousin Ira to the group and signed up for a Wednesday night amateur show at the Apollo Theater run by a friend of Ronnie and Estelle's mother. The show started out as a disaster; when the house band started playing Frankie Lymon's "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Ira did not sing a word, so Ronnie took over. "I strutted out across the stage, singing as loud as I could," Ronnie later recalled. "When I finally heard a few hands of scattered applause, I sang even louder. That brought a little more applause, which was all I needed."

After their night at the Apollo, Ira, Elaine, and Diane left the group. After the curious renaming of the group to "Ronnie and the Relatives", Ronnie, Estelle, and Nedra began taking singing lessons two afternoons per week. Appearing at local bar mitzvahs and sock hops, they met Phil Halikus, who introduced them to Colpix Records producer Stu Phillips. According to Ronnie, Phillips played the piano while the women auditioned for him, singing "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen". The audition was successful, and the group was brought into the studio in June 1961 and recorded four tracks: "I Want a Boy", "What's So Sweet About Sweet Sixteen", "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead", and "My Guiding Angel". Colpix released "I Want a Boy" in August 1961 and "I'm Gonna Quit While I'm Ahead" in January 1962, the first singles credited to Ronnie and the Relatives.

Rise to prominence with Phil Spector

In early 1963, frustrated with Colpix Records and the group's lack of success, sister Estelle called producer Phil Spector and told him the Ronettes would like to audition for him. Spector met the women soon after at Mira Sound Studios in New York City. Later, Spector told Ronnie that he had seen them at The Brooklyn Fox several times and was impressed with their performances. At the audition, when the group began singing "Why Do Fools Fall in Love", Spector jumped from his seat and shouted, "That's it! That's it! That's the voice I've been looking for!"

Spector decided to sign the group; originally, he wanted to sign Ronnie as a solo act, until her mother told him he would sign the Ronettes as a group or there would be no deal. Spector agreed, instructing Ronnie's mother to inform Colpix Records that the women had "given up" on show business so the studio would release their contract. By March 1963, the group was officially signed to Spector's Philles Records.

The first song the Ronettes rehearsed and recorded with Spector was written by Spector, Jeff Barry, and Ellie Greenwich, "Why Don't They Let Us Fall in Love". They brought the women out to California to make the record, but, once it was completed, Spector declined to release it. The Ronettes recorded more songs for Spector, including covers of "The Twist", "The Wah-Watusi" (lead vocals by Nedra), "Mashed Potato Time", and "Hot Pastrami". These four songs were released, but were credited to the Crystals on their 1963 Philles LP The Crystals Sing Their Greatest Hits, Volume 1.

After having been denied a release of their song as well as having credit for their next four recordings go to another group, the Ronettes went to work on the Phil Spector/Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich song "Be My Baby". The Ronettes recorded "Be My Baby" in July 1963, and it was released by August. "Be My Baby" was a smash record for the Ronettes. Radio stations played the song throughout fall 1963, and the Ronettes were invited to tour the country with Dick Clark on his "Caravan of Stars" tour. "Be My Baby" inspired a legion of Ronettes fans, including Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, who clearly intended "Don't Worry Baby" as an homage to the group. The song became a Top 10 hit and peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top 100. "Our lives were turned upside down," Ronnie later recalled. "All the things I'd ever dreamed about were finally coming true."

Decline, final performances and breakup

After the success of "Walking in the Rain", the Ronettes' popularity had clearly begun to wane. In February 1965, Philles Records released the group's next single, "Born to Be Together", which only reached number 52 on the Billboard 100. Over the course of the next year, the Ronettes recorded a song catalog which, once completed, Phil Spector refused to release. Many attribute this to his insecurities and growing love for Ronnie. As the popularity of the group rose, their relationship grew deeper, and soon they were living together. Spector allegedly did not want the Ronettes to become too popular, fearing they would one day outshine him, perhaps explaining why he did not release recordings the Ronettes were contractually obligated to make. This allowed the Motown group the Supremes to eclipse them to become the most popular female group of the time.

Some recorded yet unreleased songs include: "Paradise", "Everything Under the Sun", and "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine". All three were later covered by, among others, the Shangri-Las, the Supremes, and Ike & Tina Turner. Spector's choice was to not release the Spector/ Jeff Barry/ Ellie Greenwich song "Chapel of Love", initially recorded by the Ronettes in early 1964. By the time their version finally was released, another recording by the Dixie Cups had gained attention. "We thought it was such a great record that we practically begged [Phil Spector] to put it out," Ronnie Spector later wrote. "Then the Dixie Cups' version came out, and it was a smash! It was so depressing."

In June 1965, the Ronettes' next single, "Is This What I Get For Loving You?", was released, becoming a minor hit, reaching only number 75 on the Billboard 100. However, the song proved popular for TV appearances on Hullabaloo, Hollywood A Go-Go, and Shivaree. The Ronettes failed to achieve another Top 10 hit, while the Supremes scored their fifth consecutive number-one song with "Back in My Arms Again". Some have attributed the decline of their popularity partially to Phil Spector's unenthusiastic promotions of the Ronettes, possibly from insecurities stemming from his intimate relationship with Ronnie.

There were internal problems within the group as well. "You also have to remember that Nedra and Estelle stood in the background while I got to bask in the spotlight," Ronnie later wrote. "I was the one who flew out to California and sang lead on all our records. I was the one deejays wanted to talk to. And I was the one our producer was in love with, which meant I get the preferential treatment in all kinds of other ways which [quite understandably] drove them crazy." "I hated the 'dog-eat-dog' side of show-business," Nedra Talley later commented. "I hated pushing for the next record and the feeling of failure if we didn't get it. There was a continual demand on us to produce that I thought was unfair. My personality didn't like that." Nedra's disdain for show business fueled her choice to marry Scott Ross.

Reunions and lawsuit against Spector

Ronnie left Phil on June 12, 1972, and their divorce was finalized in 1974. As she made an attempt to revive her career, she decided to reform the Ronettes. Nedra had no interest in returning to the group, and Estelle was unable to perform due to mental illness. Ronnie replaced them with Chip Fields (mother of actress Kim Fields) and Denise Edwards. They recorded several songs for Buddah Records in 1973, a cover of "I Wish I Never Saw the Sun Shine", a song Ronnie had first done in 1965 though Phil Spector had refused to release it. The stint at Buddah was not successful, and by 1975, Ronnie had abandoned the idea of continuing the Ronettes and began her solo career.In 1988, the original Ronettes sued Phil Spector for $10 million over unpaid royalties and for unpaid income he made from licensing of Ronettes’ music. It took the case a decade to make its way to trial. In 2000, Phil was ordered to pay them more than $2.6 million. Phil appealed and in 2001 the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division upheld a lower court finding that he had violated his 1963 contract. He appealed that ruling as well, taking the case to the New York State Supreme Court in 2002. In its ruling, the State Court of Appeals said it found the Ronettes' "plight sympathetic, because they have earned less than $15,000 in royalties from songs that topped the charts and made them famous," but the judge found that their contract gave Spector unconditional rights to the recordings. The judge also reversed a lower court's ruling that they were entitled to the music industry's standard 50 percent royalty rate on sales of records, tapes and compact discs. However, it was ruled that Spector was entitled to her share of the royalties; she had argued that she was forced to sign away her rights to royalties in her 1974 divorce settlement. The royalties of the group's other two members were not in dispute.

In 2017, Spector released a new single "Love Power", under the name Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes, making it the first Ronettes single in decades.

Deaths

On February 11, 2009, Estelle died of colon cancer at the age of 67 in Englewood, New Jersey. Ronnie died on January 12, 2022, following a brief battle with cancer at the age of 78. Nedra Talley, the last of the group's core members, died on April 26, 2026, at the age of 80.

Awards and recognition

The Ronettes were nominated for a Grammy Award in 1965 for "Walking in the Rain". They were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "Be My Baby" in 1999. The Ronettes were also inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004 and the People's Hall of Rock and Roll Legends in 2010. The Ronettes' influence on music was significant. In addition to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen have both cited Ronnie Bennett as an influence. The Ronettes' fashion style was emulated by British musician Amy Winehouse.

It was reported that Phil Spector, in his capacity as a member of the Board of Governors, prevented the Ronettes from being nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although they had been eligible for a considerable length of time. In a letter obtained by Ronnie's lawyers, addressed to the Rock Hall's nominating committee, Phil claimed that, apart from Ronnie, the group members did not appear on their records, and that they did not make the contribution required for induction. While he was awaiting trial on a murder charge, the Ronettes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 12, 2007, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. They were inducted by Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Ronnie and Nedra performed "Baby, I Love You", "Walking in the Rain", and "Be My Baby". Estelle was present to accept her award but was not well enough to perform, so Tricia Scotti (a regular backup singer with Ronnie) took her place behind the microphone.

Group members

Principal lineup

Veronica Bennett

Estelle Bennett

Nedra Talley

Discography

Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes (1964)