Veronica \u201cRonnie\u201d<\/a> and Estelle Bennett, released their debut album in 1964, \u201cPresenting the Fabulous Ronettes, Featuring Veronica.\u201d Five of its 12 tracks had made it to the U.S. Billboard charts, and it was listed in Rolling Stone\u2019s 500 greatest albums of all time. It was the only studio album for the trio.<\/p>\nThey also did a memorable version of \u201cSleigh Ride\u201d that appeared on Spector\u2019s \u201cA Christmas Gift for You\u201d album and was recently highlighted in the \u201cRoofman\u201d soundtrack and on \u201cThe Bear.\u201d But their string of hits had tailed off by the time they split around 1967.<\/p>\n
In March 1963, Estelle Bennett managed to arrange an audition in front of Phil Spector, known for his big, brass-and-drum style dubbed the \u201cwall of sound.\u201d They were signed to Philles Records in 1963. After being signed, they sang backup for other acts until Spector had the group record \u201cBe My Baby\u201d and \u201cBaby I Love You.\u201d <\/p>\n
Martin Scorsese used \u201cBe My Baby\u201d to open his 1973 film \u201cMean Streets,\u201d and the song appears in the title sequence of \u201cDirty Dancing\u201d and the closing credits of \u201cBaby Mama.\u201d It also appeared on TV in everything from \u201cMoonlighting\u201d and \u201cThe Wonder Years\u201d to \u201cHow I Met Your Mother\u201d and \u201cMoney Heist.\u201d <\/p>\n
When the Ronettes were inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones remembered opening for the trio in England in the mid-1960s. \u201cThey could sing all their way right through a wall of sound,\u201d Richards said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t need anything. They touched my heart right there and then and they touch it still.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the Ronettes disbanded, Ross turned to Christian music, including the album \u201cFull Circle\u201d in 1978. Ross was married to DJ and television personality Scott Ross from 1967 until his death in 2023.<\/p>\n
For nearly 15 years, the women waged a lengthy, and ultimately unsuccessful, court battle with Spector over royalties. A judge ordered Spector to pay $2.6 million in past royalties and interest, but New York State\u2019s highest court threw out that ruling on appeal in 2002.<\/p>\n
Ronnie Spector died at 78 in 2022. Bennett died at 67 in 2009. Ross is survived by four children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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