The Ronettes began under Murray as eye candy, dancing in the background and serving as the straight women for Murray’s snappy patter between sets, but their talent and hustle were undeniable quickly, they worked their way into singing backup for groups without backing singers (or whose backing singers weren’t very good). The girls had already made a few singles for the Colpix label, but it wasn’t until a gig opening the Peppermint Lounge’s outpost in Miami that they met influential disc jockey Murray “Murray the K” Kaufman, who curated epic packages of rock and roll, soul, and R&B groups into all-day extravaganzas at the Brooklyn Fox. Ronnie wanted to be a star and the girls jumped on every possible opportunity to get there, be it performing at bar mitzvahs, talking their way into a slot at amateur night at the Apollo Theater, or dressing up and going to the Peppermint Lounge, where they were mistaken for go-go dancers, and peppermint-twisting their way into an official gig at the famous rock-and-roll nightclub. What was originally a gimmick the girls developed to help them get noticed became a defining, definitive image that would be lovingly emulated and borrowed from throughout the decades to follow.īorn Veronica Bennett on 151st Street in Spanish Harlem, Ronnie’s distinctive vocal style, hallmarked by her instrument’s clarity and range combined with her ability to imbue each note with a tangible emotion, surfaced as early as 4 or 5 years old soon, she was climbing on the coffee table in her living room - along with her older sister Estelle and cousin Nedra Talley - to perform for her extended family. With hair teased up to the heavens, dramatic black eyeliner, and skintight outfits, the Ronettes - the name the family act stuck with after stints as the Darling Sisters and then Ronnie and the Relatives - transcended the art of hitmaking. The first time Ronnie Spector, who passed away this week at age 78 after a short bout with cancer, altered the course of music history it was as the central voice of the essential 1960s girl group the Ronettes.
Her work, both with and without Phil, remains a vital resource.
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