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Veronica Yvette Greenfield (, formerly Spector; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022) was an American singer who co-founded and fronted the girl group the Ronettes. She is sometimes referred to as the original "bad girl of rock and roll".
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 Records 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). Ronnie married Phil in 1968. Following the couple's divorce in 1974, Ronnie 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, Ronnie Spector published a memoir, . She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Ronettes in 2007. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Spector at number 70 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
In 1965, the Ronettes were voted the third-top Vocal group in England behind the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. They opened for the Beatles on their 1966 US tour without their lead singer. Phil had forbidden Bennett to tour with the Beatles, so her cousin Elaine stood in as a third member. The group's last charting single, "I Can Hear Music", was produced by Jeff Barry and reached No. 100 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966.
The Ronettes broke up in early 1967, following a European concert tour. After Bennett married Phil in 1968, she began to use the name Ronnie Spector, but she withdrew from the spotlight because Phil prohibited her from performing and limited her recordings. In 1969, Phil signed a production deal with A&M Records and he released her record "You Came, You Saw, You Conquered", credited as "The Ronettes Featuring the Voice of Veronica", with "Oh I Love You", an old Ronettes B-side, as the flip. Her vocals were used for the lead and backing vocals. Phil kept many of the group's unreleased songs in a vault for years.
After separating from Phil in 1972, she reformed the Ronettes (as Ronnie Spector and the Ronettes) with two new members (Chip Fields Hurd, the mother of actress Kim Fields, and Diane Linton) in 1973. They released a few singles on Buddah Records, but the records failed to chart.
In 1973, Spector provided backing-vocals with Liza Minnelli for Alice Cooper's song "Teenage Lament '74" from the album Muscle of Love (1973). By 1975, Spector was recording as a solo act. She released the single "You'd Be Good For Me" on Tom Cat Records in 1975.
In 1976, she sang a duet with Southside Johnny on the recording "You Mean So Much To Me", penned by Southside's longtime friend Bruce Springsteen. This was the final track on the Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes' debut album I Don't Want to Go Home. She also made appearances with the E Street Band the following year, including a cover version of Billy Joel's 1976 track "Say Goodbye to Hollywood".
In her book, Spector recounted several abortive attempts to recapture mainstream success throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, during which time she was perceived as an oldies act. She recorded her first solo album in 1980, Siren, produced by Genya Ravan.
In 1988, she began performing at the Ronnie Spector's Christmas Party, a seasonal staple at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City. In 1999, she released the EP, She Talks to Rainbows, which featured a few covers of older songs. Joey Ramone acted as producer.
In 1988, she and the other members of the Ronettes sued Phil Spector for nonpayment of royalties and for unpaid income he made from licensing of Ronettes’ music. In 2001, a New York court announced a verdict in favor of the Ronettes, ordering him to pay $2.6 million in back royalties. The judgment was overturned by a Court of Appeals in 2002 and remanded back to the New York State Supreme Court. The judges found that their contract gave Phil unconditional rights to the recordings. It was ruled that Ronnie was entitled to her share of the royalties, which she had forfeited in her divorce settlement, but they reversed a lower court's ruling that the group were entitled to the music industry's standard 50 percent royalty rate. In the outcome, Phil paid in excess of $1 million to Ronnie Spector. In December 1998, having just signed to the Creation Records label, she appeared on the BBC's Later... with Jools Holland.
Spector provided guest vocals on the track "Ode to LA", on The Raveonettes' album Pretty in Black (2005). Her album, Last of the Rock Stars (2006), was released by High Coin and featured contributions from members of The Raconteurs, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Raveonettes, Patti Smith, and Keith Richards. Spector herself co-produced two of the songs. Despite objections from Phil Spector, who was awaiting trial for murder, the Ronettes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.
A Christmas EP, Ronnie Spector's Best Christmas Ever, was released on Bad Girl Sounds in November 2010, featuring five new Christmas songs. In 2011, after the death of Amy Winehouse, Spector released her version of Winehouse's single "Back to Black" (2006) as a tribute and for the benefit of the Daytop Village addiction treatment centers. She also performed this song as part of her live act, including in 2015 during a UK tour. She appeared on the 2014 New Year's Eve edition of the Jools' Annual Hootenanny.
In 2016, she released, through 429 Records, English Heart, her first album of new material in a decade. The album features her versions of songs of the British Invasion by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the The Yardbirds, the Bee Gees, and others, produced by Scott Jacoby. English Heart peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. On August 9, 2017, People premiered a new single, "Love Power" by Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes, produced by Narada Michael Walden, making it the first Ronettes single in decades.
In 2018, Spector appeared in the music documentary (2018), based on Winehouse and her final studio album Back to Black. The album was inspired by 1960s girl groups Winehouse gathered inspiration from listening to, such as The Ronettes. It contained new interviews as well as archival footage. Spector was a great inspiration for Winehouse, who emulated her hair, as well as vocal style. In return, Ronnie Spector covered "Back to Black", the Winehouse's signature song. She recalls that Winehouse turned up at a concert looking just like her while she sang her song. Spector recalled seeing "a tear out of her (Winehouse) eye and it made me cry".
In September 2020, Deadline reported that actress Zendaya would portray Spector in a biopic adapted from her memoir Be My Baby. In December 2021, the Ronettes returned to the Top 10 for the first time in 58 years with their 1963 recording of "Sleigh Ride". Following her death in January 2022, the BBC broadcast the compilation tribute Ronnie Spector at the BBC.
Ronnie alleged in her 1990 memoir that following their marriage, Phil subjected her to years of psychological torment and sabotaged her career by forbidding her to perform. She said he surrounded their house with barbed wire and guard dogs, and confiscated her shoes to prevent her from leaving; on the rare occasions he allowed her out alone, she had to drive with a life-size dummy of Phil. She stated that Phil installed a gold coffin with a glass top in the basement, promising that he would kill her and display her corpse if she ever left him. She began drinking and attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings to escape the house.
In 1972, Ronnie fled their mansion barefoot and without any belongings, with the help of her mother. "I knew that if I didn't leave I was going to die there," she said. In their 1974 divorce settlement, Ronnie forfeited all future record earnings, alleging that Phil had threatened to have a Contract killing kill her. She received $25,000, a used car, and monthly alimony of $2,500 for five years. She later testified that Phil had frequently pulled a gun on her during their marriage and threatened to kill her unless she surrendered custody of their children.
She tried to rebuild her career, keeping Spector's surname professionally because "I needed any way I could to get back in, I'd been kept away so long." According to her, Phil hired lawyers to prevent her singing her popular songs and denied her royalties. In 1988, the Ronettes sued Phil for $10 million in damages, rescission of the contract, the return of the masters, and recoupment of money received from the sale of Ronettes masters. It took 10 years for the case to make it to trial. After a prolonged legal battle, the court ruled that their contract gave Phil unconditional rights to the recordings but Ronnie was entitled to her share of royalties.
In 1983, she married her manager Jonathan Greenfield. They had two sons, and lived in Danbury, Connecticut.
Spector died at her home in Danbury on January 12, 2022, shortly after a cancer diagnosis, at the age of 78.
Discography
The Ronettes
Solo albums
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.
EPs
Solo singles
Publications
Citations
Works cited
Further reading
External links
Categories: Official Website, 1943 Births, 2022 Deaths, 20th-century American Memoirists, 20th-century American Women Singers, 20th-century American Singers, 21st-century American Women Singers, 21st-century American Singers, African-american Memoirists, African-american Women Memoirists, African-american Rock Musicians, African-american Women Singers, American Mezzo-sopranos, American People Who Self-identify As Being Of Cherokee Descent, American People Of Irish Descent, American Rock Singers, American Women Memoirists, American Women Record Producers, Apple Records Artists, Deaths From Cancer In Connecticut, Epic Records Artists, George Washington Educational Campus Alumni, Entertainers From Danbury, Connecticut, People From East Harlem, Musicians From Manhattan, People From Washington Heights, Manhattan, Phil Spector, Singers From New York City, The Ronettes Members, American Women Rock Singers
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