Biography
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Born
10 August 1943
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Born In
East Harlem, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
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Died
12 January 2022 (aged 78)
Ronnie Spector (born Veronica Yvette Bennett in New York City on 10 August 1943; died 12 January 2022) was the lead singer of the 1960's girl group The Ronettes, who most famously sang Be My Baby. She was the ex-wife of producer Phil Spector.
Kept a near prisoner by Phil Spector throughout her teens and 20s, she eventually left the abusive relationship to raise her son, and re-establish her languishing singing career. Many attempts fell flat; even 1976's Say Goodbye to Hollywood, written by Billy Joel and with backing from Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band, didn't take to the charts. Her 1980 album Siren, produced by Genya Ravan, featured a Ramones cover but was not a hit. In 1986 she was featured by Eddie Money on the hit single Take Me Home Tonight, singing the line "Be my baby" as part of the chorus.
Her 2006 album Last of the Rock Stars features work with Keith Richards, Patti Smith, the Raveonettes and others, including a cover of a Johnny Thunders song. Her previous EP She Talks to Rainbows was produced by and included a duet with Joey Ramone. In 2003, she released through her website Something's Gonna Happen, a five-song EP of Marshall Crenshaw songs recorded in 1989. Her 2006 European summer tour was postponed when her husband, Jonathan Greenfield, became ill.
In 2011, after the death of Amy Winehouse, Ronnie Spector released her version of Winehouse's 2006 single "Back to Black".
In 2016, she released, through 429 Records, English Heart, her first album of new material in a decade.
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