Ronnie Spector died this past week, and we would be remiss if we did not remember the absolute coolest and most beautiful and talented woman to walk the planet.
She came from the 1960's, an alien planet to you Judges and readers born in the 1980s or beyond. She defined cool and hip and was supremely talented and rose above the crazy and abusive but musical genius of a husband -Phil Spector- who around Ronnie, built his "wall of sound".
This clip is from the 1960s. When teenagers gathered in places to watch music being performed and screamed in ecstasy because, unlike these days, there was very little outlet back then for the pure joy and ecstasy a totally different musical sound can inspire.
From 1966 performing on The Big TNT Show, its Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes:
Great songs. Great performances. And not one cell phone in the audience. đŸ˜‰
ReplyDeleteShe's great but how old are you ? You must be in your seventies.
ReplyDeleteShe WAS bad ass. " She coulda been a contender but married a psychotic Svengali". After she hooked up with that SOB her life was hell.
ReplyDeleteNope. Older.
ReplyDeleteIt's been said that when Brian Wilson heard Be My Baby on the radio he despaired that he could not equal the Spector production. He need not have worried.
ReplyDeleteBut Ronnie was an incredible talent herself. Thankfully, us old geezers can remember and enjoy.
Phil Spector definitely had a "type." Take a pretty, petite black woman with an incredible voice--Ronnie, Darlene Love, Tina Turner--and put them in a recording studio with the Wrecking Crew--"The Wall of Sound"--and dare them to sing so loud that they could overpower the music. Ronnie was his favorite though (or maybe he was too scared of Ike Turner to ever make a move on Tina), and, like 8:16 points out, she paid the price. "Be My Baby" was one of the first rock songs I ever heard and is still embedded in my brain.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in New York in the 60’s, I heard the Ronettes on WABC and WMCA all the time and Ronnie was on all the local teen TV shows. Every teenage boy had a crush on her
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