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Ronnie Spector, the cat-eyed rock ‘n’ roll singer behind the 1960s group The Ronettes, whose hits defined a generation e they included the classic ‘Be My Baby’, He died on Wednesday at the age of 78.
“Our beloved angel on earth, Ronnie, left this world in peace today after a brief battle with cancer,” the family said in a statement. “Ronnie lived his life with a twinkle in his eyes, a brave demeanor, a twisted sense of humor and a smile on his face,” the statement added.
Born Veronica Greenfield in New York’s Hispanic Harlem on August 10, 1943, Spector was the daughter of an African-American-Cherokee mother and an Irish-American father.
He formed the musical group later known as The Ronettes with her sister Estelle Bennett and her cousin Nedra Talley, gaining traction in the New York area with her soulful youth love songs, before signing in 1963 with then-legendary producer Phil Spector, whom she later married.
With their vampiric eyes and heavy lids, towering hairstyles, and skirts cut above the knee, the Ronettes delivered a string of hits during their heyday in the early 1960s, including ‘Baby, I Love You’ and ‘(The Best Part of) Breakin ‘Up’, along with the beloved ‘Be My Baby’ song that in 1999 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Along with the Supremes, the Ronettes were among the main groups of the time and the only girl group to tour with the Beatles, opening for them on their 1966 tour.
Upon inducting the trio into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones recalled opening for the Ronettes in the 1960s. “They didn’t need anything. They touched my heart right there and still do, ”said Richards.
The Ronettes parted ways in 1967 after a concert tour of Europe. In 1968, Ronnie married Phil Spector, once the king of rock’n roll producers, who in 2009 was jailed for murder.
The couple divorced in 1974, and in her autobiography the singer recounted years of terribly abusive behavior perpetrated by her ex. After the breakup of the Ronettes, Spector continued a solo career, which included a series of collaborations with artists such as Eddie Money and Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.
In 2006 he released ‘Last of the Rock Stars’, an album that included collaborations by Richards and Patti Smith. “I was full of love and gratitude”, reads the statement from his family. “Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her.”
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