Ronnie Spector: A Tribute To The Ronettes Singer

Ronnie Spector, lead singer of 1960s vocal trio The Ronettes has sadly passed away aged 78. The artist, who defined the 60s girl group sound, lost a short battle with cancer on 12^th January 2022.

Early career

Ronnie Spector started her career early, forming The Ronettes while still a teenager, and releasing her first records in 1961 on the Colpix label. The band achieved a string of hits from 1963 onwards, with some of their best-loved and well-known tracks including Walking in the Rain, Do I Love You, Baby I Love You, The Best Part of Breaking Up, I Can Hear Music, and the international Number One smash “Be My Baby.” These records are among the best-loved and most-emulated recordings in the history of rock and roll.

During the swinging 60s, Ronnie Spector is cited by music critic Carl Wilson as being “the first woman in rock to provoke anything like the hysteria that Elvis had caused, which was soon to engulf the Beatles.” The Ronettes were inspiring the groups who supported them including The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds, and the band were supported by Richard Pryor at their final live gig, The Beatles personally requested that The Ronettes joined their final US tour in 1966.

Difficulties in her personal life

It’s hard to talk about Ronnie Spector’s accomplishments without acknowledging all of the difficulties she overcame in achieving them. It’s well-documented that Ronnie endured a terrifying marriage to the producer Phil Spector, however it’s only in recent years that the internalised misogyny is being properly addressed in how we tell the couple’s story.

Ronnie had spoken about these awful years detailing the abuse Phil Spector inflicted, and her subsequent escape fleeing their home. She underwent years of legal battles against him in order to receive the song royalties that were rightfully owed to her, and even following Phil Spector’s death in 2021, (while he was in prison for murder) his obituaries largely centred around his ‘genius’ rather than his violent and murderous actions.

Ronnie was a strong advocate for women’s rights, speaking openly in recent years about her life. In an interview with The Guardian in 2019, she explained:

“When I was making records 50 years ago, you didn’t have a voice of any kind. What the man wanted was what you did. You made his records, with his lyrics and men producers, everybody was a man back then. All women have power, we just couldn’t show it… that’s why I love #MeToo and Time’s Up – because men’s time is up.

When I was making my hit records, my ex was always ‘the genius’ and you felt like: ‘Well, who am I?’ You felt that small. I’m so glad I’m still on Earth to see women saying: ‘You can be fabulous like me, you can do anything.’”

Accolades and awards

Ronnie Spector worked consistently as a musician, taking a break in 1990 to write her autobiography Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, which was an international bestseller. Throughout the 1990s to the present day, Spector enjoyed notable success through her work.

• In 1999, “Be My Baby” was added to The Grammy Hall of Fame.
• In June 2000, after a fifteen-year legal battle, Ronnie Spector won a landmark decision in the New York State courts. The ruling eased the way for veteran artists of the Fifties and Sixties to collect past-due royalties on their old recordings.
• In 2004 Ronnie was recognized for her contribution to American popular music when she was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame.
• In 2006, Be My Baby was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, preserved as a work of historical and cultural significance.
• Ronnie’s CD, The Last of the Rock Stars, released 2009, marked the first time she was ever in full control of her material, arrangements, and production. The supporting cast includes Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), members of The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather, Patti Smith, and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones.
• Her latest holiday CD, Ronnie Spector’s Best Christmas Ever, released 2010 complements her classic Christmas songs Sleigh Ride, Frosty The Snowman, and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Sleigh Ride (#3) and Frosty The Snowman (#17) are among ASCAP’s Top 20 most–played holiday radio hits of the past decade.
• 2011 was a significant year for Ronnie with her cover of Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black being named “Single of the Month” in Britain’s influential MOJO Magazine. In May she appeared with Lou Reed, Macy Gray, Dr. John and Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen in a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America at Harlem’s hallowed Apollo Theater – where Ronnie made her performing debut at age eleven, then headlined with the Ronettes in1965!
• In the summer of 2012, Ronnie debuted her biographical one-woman multi–media show Beyond the Beehive in New York City to star-studded audiences and standing ovations. Following several more sold-out Gotham shows, Ronnie took Beyond the Beehive to London for its premier UK performance at Queen Elizabeth Hall on March 9, 2014. “Ronnie Spector’s Beyond The Beehive shines like a polished diamond!” declared The Independent (UK) in their five-star review.
• In November of 2015, Sony Music released The Very Best of Ronnie Spector, the first cross–label collection of her career. This nineteen–track CD includes hits by the Ronettes and by Ronnie as a solo artist including So Young (as Veronica), Say Goodbye To Hollywood (with the E Street Band), and You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory (from Last of the Rock Stars).
• Ronnie celebrated her 55th year in the recording industry with the release of her British Invasion inspired collection of covers English Heart, and followed it up with a performance at the venerable Glastonbury Festival that garnered a five–star review in The Telegraph (UK) in 2016.
• In 2017, “Be My Baby” was named by Billboard Magazine as the #1 Greatest Girl Group Song of All Time, and Spector was presented with the Legend Award by The Woman’s International Music Networkat their “She Rocks Award” Also in 2017, Ronnie released “LOVE POWER,” her first single recorded with The Ronettes in decades.
• During the 2019 Holiday season, Ronnie Spector released a new Christmas single with Elle King, Under the Mistletoe, which was exclusively premiered by People Magazine, covered by Billboard, embraced by critics and fans alike, and featured on multiple Spotify playlists.
• On January 1, 2022, Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes hit the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart for the first time since Be My Baby in 1963, a record return to the Top Ten following a 58-year, two-month gap.

Tributes

An official statement on ronniespector.com announcing Ronnie’s untimely passing read:

Family Statement on the Passing of Ronnie Spector:

Our beloved earth angel, Ronnie, peacefully left this world today after a brief battle with cancer. She was with family and in the arms of her husband, Jonathan.

Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humor and a smile on her face.  She was filled with love and gratitude.

Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her.

In lieu of flowers, Ronnie requested that donations be made to your local women’s shelter or to the American Indian College Fund.

A celebration of Ronnie’s life and music will be announced in the future.

The family respectfully asks for privacy at this time.

Tributes have flooded in from peers from the music industry and fans alike. Joan Jett tweeted her condolences, noting Spector’s sweetness and impact on rock and roll:

Our dear friend Ronnie Spector, has passed. She was the sweetest person you could ever know. And her mark on rock and roll is indelible.
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.#RonnieSpector @RonnieSpectorGS pic.twitter.com/9ozv0Yqk9j

— Joan Jett (@joanjett) January 12, 2022

The Beach Boys Brian Wilson tweeted his respects and a throwback video to happier times of the pair together:

I just heard the news about Ronnie Spector and I don’t know what to say. I loved her voice so much and she was a very special person and a dear friend. This just breaks my heart. Ronnie’s music and spirit will live forever.
Love & Mercy, Brianhttps://t.co/dXZKTMWv8a

— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) January 12, 2022

While collaborator and E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt expressed his sadness:

RIP Ronnie Spector. It was an honor to Produce her and encourage her to get back on stage where she remained for the next 45 years. Her record with the E Street Band helped sustain us at a very precarious time (thanks to Steve Popovich). Condolences to her husband and family.

— Stevie Van Zandt (@StevieVanZandt) January 12, 2022

The style, look, and sound of Ronnie Spector continue to serve as an inspiration and role model for generations. She will be missed.

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