#494: The Ronettes, ‘Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes, featuring Veronica’

Philles, 1964

I love this album so much. Every song is so good. And every song deserves to be in either the opening or end credits of every Netflix-produced documentary about anything. And don’t try to change my mind. It can’t be done.

Something equal parts both cute and stressful (some people love me and I think I’m cool) is that whenever I am walking away from a flirty moment or when I’ve realized I have a big fat crush on someone, the song, “Be My Baby” is first on the queue. It is perfect. I live my life trying to create a soundtrack out of everything and yes, this quirk can overbearing at times.

Ronnie. Take a deep dive into that Wikipedia page. She married Phil Spector and her memoir of

that time is horrific. The contrast between her personal life and the songs on this album is so extreme. It’s like a Quentin Tarantino movie -- all the blood and guts but to the background of really groovy rock & roll.

Her voice is epic. It is perfect and immediately transports me to a nostalgia that definitely does not belong to me. I love Ronnie Spector. I want a framed picture of her in my house. She just sings. There’s no act nor ego in her voice.

Good news: She is very much alive and doing well which is nice to know.

The other members of the Ronettes -- Estelle Bennett (Veronica’s sister) and Nedra Talley (their cousin) -- were also completely fascinating characters! Estelle dated Mick Jagger and George Harrison. Her struggles with schizophrenia and other mental health problems played a huge part in her bouts of homelessness and illness. She died in 2009 of colon cancer.

Nedra Talley is still alive and thriving. She became a born-again Christian and devoted her life to Christian music alongside her Christian DJ husband.

Top songs: All.Of.Them.