A Tribute to Ronnie Spector
I remember the first time I ever saw Ronnie Spector.
I was in my high school rock n’ roll class and we were discussing Phil Spector and his “Wall of Sound.” My teacher showed us a video and on it, there was this beautiful, exotic looking woman with cat eye makeup, a giant beehive hairdo wearing a knee high skirt pleading to the TV audience, “Be My Baby,” while her sister, Estelle, and cousin, Nedra, backed her up. I was fixated on her style and her voice. It wasn’t your typical generic bubble gum voice, but a rough around the edges voice that was wise beyond its years.
I went home and told my mom I had to get a Ronettes “Greatest Hits” CD and found one at a local music store. I tore off the wrapper, opened the case and popped it in my Discman soaking up all the lyrics about love lost, love found, yearning, wanting.
“Walking In The Rain,” is an instant masterpiece complete with thunder and rain, while Ronnie’s voice goes through emotions as she tells the listener about her guy and the things they like do. “Baby, I Love You” is such a rollicking catchy pop song that you can’t sit still when you hear it and have to join in singing. “I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine,” while a bit muddled with over instrumentation, has Ronnie lamenting her lost love in such a way that you feel her pain. These songs dealt with grown up feelings and resonated not just with kids, but with adults alike. They’re timeless classics that are captured forever for future generations, like myself, to discover and fall in love with.
After the Ronettes, Ronnie recorded a few singles and albums, but they never put her back at the top where she was in the 60’s. As years went on Ronnie relied heavily on live shows and touring. Her “Ronnie Spector’s Christmas Party” concerts were popular in New York where she’d perform them annually, eventually spreading the Christmas cheer across the States and overseas. She’d perform her hits along with her classic holiday songs. It was at one of these shows that I got to see her live for the first time.
It was in Sellersville, PA at the Sellersville Theater and I was so excited to get to finally see THE Ronnie Spector live in concert. From the moment she set foot on stage, I was entranced. With her signature voice, big hair and passion for performing, she had the audience in the palm of her hand. Mixing in many of her Ronettes hits along with solo cuts and her signature Christmas songs, it was a great show and setlist. After that night, I was lucky enough to see Ronnie quite a few more times and each time, she had that energy, passion and voice that just captivated me. When she performs on stage and you’re sitting right there in front of her, she makes it feel like she’s singing to you. The eye contact, the smiles, the hand reaching out. So many times I felt like it was my own private concert. When you would sit there and see her perform, you could tell she lived many of the lyrics she sang even though she didn’t write them. One of the highlights when I’d go see her was “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory.” There’s something about that particular song that was just so well suited for her. It was always a standout.
She would tell stories about her career, the highs and lows. Ronnie went through a lot during her life-addiction, abuse, loss-but she always came out on the other side. I was thrilled beyond belief when she, Nedra, and Estelle as The Ronettes, were finally inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To see the 3 women standing on stage for the first time since the 60’s and knowing this wouldn’t happen again, it was such a special moment captured in time.
When Covid happened and the world shut down, it marked the end for some of music’s older artists. Without the constant touring and having such a long lull, it seemed a few retired and others we lost. Ronnie was performing up until 2019 and in clips I’d see of her, she was out there having a great time on stage as always. That’s why it was a shock to me when I was scrolling on Facebook January 12, 2022 and saw that Ronnie had passed away, at the age of 78, after a private battle with cancer. It brought up a flood of emotions and memories for me. While I never got to meet Ronnie sadly, I had felt a connection to her and her music. When an artist dies, sometimes people don’t understand why it’s such a big deal to their fans when they didn’t know them personally. Their music though becomes a part of you and is connected forever to your memories.
I sat down and looked back, reflected over those times I got to see her on stage happy, joyful, full of life and energy. A real-life survivor who had gone through so much and always came back. I thought about how I would go and see her with my mom, making memories as we’d go to her Christmas shows when she’d come to the area. Sitting at the foot of the stage with my friend Whitney from high school in Philadelphia and introducing her to the magic that is Ronnie. Thinking about the last time I saw Ronnie at a show in Maryland with my then partner and how broke up later that year. Lots of memories and moments in my life tied into the life and music of a rock icon.
Most of all though, I thought back to my teenage self, sitting there in rock n’ roll class, seeing Ronnie for the first time, hearing “Be My Baby” and knowing I had come across something magical.
Ronnie Spector
August 10, 1943-January 12, 2022
(Also includes my 3 albums signed by Ms. Spector)
*Side Note: Ronnie’s memoir, “Be My Baby,” was reissued a few months after her death with a new forward by Keith Richards and features a new chapter by Ronnie that she wrote before she passed away. It was released in paperback this year.
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