Ronnie Spector

Veronica Yvette Greenfield (née Bennett; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022), known professionally as Ronnie Spector, was an American singer. Regarded as the "bad girl of rock and roll", she achieved international fame for founding and fronting the girl group the Ronettes.

Spector formed the singing group the Ronettes with her older sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin, Nedra Talley, in the late 1950s. They were signed to Phil Spector's Philles label in 1963 and he produced the majority of their recording output. The Ronettes had a string of hits in the 1960s, including "Be My Baby" (1963), "Baby, I Love You" (1963), "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" (1964), "Do I Love You?" (1964), and "Walking in the Rain" (1964). She married Phil Spector in 1968 and soon stopped performing publicly. She then left the home they shared in 1972 and filed for divorce in 1974. Afterwards she re-formed the Ronettes and began performing again.

In 1980, Spector released her debut solo album Siren. Her career revived when she was featured on Eddie Money's song and video "Take Me Home Tonight" in 1986, a Billboard top five single. She went on to release the albums Unfinished Business (1987), Something's Gonna Happen (2003), Last of the Rock Stars (2006) and English Heart (2016). She also recorded one extended play, She Talks to Rainbows (1999).

In 1990, Spector published a memoir, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Ronettes in 2007. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked her at number 70 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Ronnie was born Veronica Yvette Bennett in East Harlem, New York City, and grew up in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. She was the daughter of Beatrice and Louis Bennett, a subway worker. Her parents were both described as African American, although Veronica claimed that their father was white and of Irish American ancestry and that their mother was of African American and Cherokee ancestry. Veronica and her sister Estelle Bennett (1941–2009) were encouraged to sing by their large family, as was their cousin Nedra Talley (1946–2026). The trio formed the Darling Sisters, known later as the Ronettes. They performed locally while attending George Washington High School in Washington Heights. Their look was fashioned by Estelle, who had a job at Macy's on the cosmetics counter. They sang at school events, and had a residency at the Peppermint Lounge, a nightspot in Manhattan, the birthplace of the Twist and go-go dancing.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.