A book in which I expound on various musical things because I'm bored and it seems fun. Expect rants on underrated artists and lots of talk about my favorite music, of which there's a ton.
("She Talks to Rainbows" is the name of a Ramones song. It w...
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They were a girl group from Spanish Harlem, New York, and consisted of Veronica "Ronnie" Bennett (later Spector), her older sister Estelle, and their cousin Nedra Talley. They were managed by the legendary record producer Phil Spector and placed 9 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1964, they were the opening act for the Rolling Stones when they toured the UK, and also opened for the Beatles during their 1966 US tour. They split up in 1967, but not before they were to record the incredibly influential "Be My Baby" in 1963. Even if you've never heard of the Ronettes, chances are you've heard "Be My Baby" at some point.
But onto the main thing.
Ronnie Spector has an amazing voice that was consistently the highlight of Ronettes releases, but her career spiraled following her marriage Phil Spector (often with help from him). Spector was an abusive husband and Ronnie endured a horrid 7-year marriage, eventually escaping his house barefoot with the help of her mother and filing for divorce.
After that, her career never fully recovered. She's released 7 EPS and LPS in total, I think, and on all of them her voice still shines, but she never got the same sort of material she had when working with the Ronettes and with the songwriting teams that provided them with their hits.
As a result, her solo releases are very overlooked, and I'm going to make a case for two of them.
She Talks to Rainbows is her 1999 EP. In my humble opinion, the songs on this EP are actually quite strong. They're all covers (except for the last track, a very late Ronettes release), but there's that Ronnie Spector voice that makes it so powerful. Plus, one of the songs is a duet with Joey Ramone.
Something's Gonna Happen is another EP. This one is covers of five Marshall Crenshaw tracks. Perhaps I'm a little biased because I love Marshall Crenshaw, but the songs are so fun and her voice lends itself so well that I find the album a delight.
Real quick: The Last of the Rock Stars (2006) is also a good album, and notable for some pointed "bye, b*tch" sort of stuff she throws at her ex-husband.
In conclusion, Ronnie Spector's work after the Ronettes is underappreciated, and it shouldn't be (ok, I admit it's not all very high quality, but I've made such a fuss now I'm just gonna stick with it).
And this is all I have to say.
If you're still reading, I sincerely applaud you and much thanks for your patience. 👏 👏 👏
