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Tribute to Ronnie and Her Relatives, aka the Ronettes

1/25/2022

The Ronettes in 1966: Nedra Talley, Veronica Bennett (Ronnie Spector) and Estelle Bennett.

Sometimes, all it takes is one lucky break to make a hit record or launch an unknown singing group. Other times, it takes more than one. Case in point: the Ronettes — lead singer Ronnie, older sister Estelle, and cousin Nedra.

The trio had been singing together for over a decade at Manhattan churches and bar mitzvahs, but had yet to break out. No radio gigs or club or theater dates, and certainly no recordings, perhaps to be expected due to their rather youngish ages.

In 1961, the girls — Nedra (15), Ronnie (18), and Estelle (20) — decided to check out the Peppermint Lounge, the hottest nightclub in New York City, ground zero for the twist dance craze (based on Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist.”)

The trio waited in line to enter, even though Nedra and Ronnie were underage (still in high school). To look older, they stuffed Kleenex in their bras, dressed in the same outfits, and held cigarettes in their hands.

When the club manager came out, he spotted the group and shouted, “Girls, you’re late. Get in here.” He thought they were the dancers he hired to do the twist.

Estelle piped up, “No, wait, we’re not the — ."

Ronnie elbowed her in the ribs before she could finish, and they followed the manager inside, where he told the girls to dance behind the house band and sing. Of course, they could do both, so they sang Ray Charles’s “What’d I Say” and were hired on the spot.

In no time, the girls loved what they were doing and so did the nightclub audiences. They acquired a manager and started making records as Ronnie and the Relatives (cute name). None of the sides charted, but gigs picked up all over New York City. Still no hit records or concerts in theaters.

They would need something else to reach the next level.

The owners of the Peppermint Lounge opened another Peppermint in Miami, and the Ronettes opened there as well. Popular New York disc jockey Murray “the K” Kaufman happened to be on vacation and attended a Ronettes performance.

At the close, “the K” told them, “I wish I had some girls like you who lived in New York.”

Ronnie replied, “What, are you crazy? We live in New York.”

That’s all it took. Gigs on his radio show and stints on his rock ’n’ roll revues at the Brooklyn Fox Theater soon followed. The trio worked with popular Motown standouts the Temptations, Smokey Robinson, the Marvelettes, and Little Eva.

By 1963 the Ronettes were the only act on Murray’s shows that didn’t have a hit record. They would need another something for that.

The girls decided it was time for a new producer and label. They first thought of Phil Spector, having seen his name all over a slew of records as co-writer and producer. Plus, he had his own label, Philles, and was around their age, 21. But how could they reach him?

Ronnie and Estelle decided to cold-call him — considered a no-no in the business — at his office. Estelle had the more polished grown-up voice and convinced the secretary to put her through to Spector. She spoke to Phil for a couple of minutes, and miracle of miracles, he wanted to see them at Mirasound Studio the very next night.

A half a year later, the singing trio hit gold, real gold — Gold Star Recording Studios in Los Angeles, where they recorded “Be My Baby” for Phil Spector on his Philles label, their first hit record!

And what a hit record it was, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Pop Chart, and with the fullness of time, ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (2020 edition). How to explain all of this? Talent will out, of course, but not without a happy musical accident or two or three.[1]

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With a big hit under their collective belts, the Ronettes performed at several stateside concerts before they toured the UK in early 1964. Because their records sold so well there, they were now concert headliners and — dig this — the Rolling Stones (Mick, Keith, and the boys) opened their shows.

The trio also met and hung out with the Beatles (Paul, John, George, and Ringo) before their first American tour. Ronnie told the soon-to-be Fab Four that they had to go to the Peppermint Lounge when they visited the States.

When the Beatles arrived in America on February 7, they went directly to the Peppermint hours after their Pan Am Jet touched down. Whether they danced the Twist and sang a song for the manager is not known.[2]

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The “Be My Baby” session was primarily known for the Ronettes singing, but in some circles, it was equally known for the producer’s Wall of Sound. Spector employed 14 musicians to create a lush, echo-laden sound that was the Rosetta Stone for pioneer studio producers George Martin of the Beatles (Sgt. Pepper) and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys (Pet Sounds).

The session was also known for the irregular, infectious Latin sounding beat instituted by drummer Hal Blaine when he dropped his stick by accident on the 4 beat and just played the 2 throughout. On a usual rock and roll song, the snare drum is hit on the 2 and 4. In this case, no 4. [3]

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Sadly, Ronnie died on January 12, 2022. RIP.