The downside of an enchanting revelry comes at waking to realize it was all a dream. This was the feeling on learning Nedra Talley, the final nightingale of that inimitable trio, The Ronettes, had emitted her last sigh.
What is a dream if not a string of unlikely occurrences? Two sisters, Estelle and Veronica Bennett, and a cousin, Nedra Yvonne Talley. Raised in a vibrant and talented family in Spanish Harlem—and as with any chimera, love—but not of the romantic kind. Two cousins, united by a passion for music, performance and fashion. As recounted by Ronnie Spector (Veronica Bennett), in her memoir, Be My Baby, it was the cousins, she and Nedra, who were mutually besotted. “Even though she was two years younger, we were inseparable. We even climbed up on the toilet and peed together–that’s how close we were. We must have shared a spirit of adventure because we were always getting in trouble together at Grandma‘s house.”
Their hyacinth bean gestation gave the group’s harmonies a kindred sweetness, while their beauty seemed wrought by a funhouse trick—the stunning vision of the same gorgeous girl in triplicate.
Swiftly transcending living room performances for the famed Apollo stage, “The Darling Sisters,” scored Amateur Night gold circa ‘57. Ultimately streamlined to three, (a boy cousin banished after freezing on stage), the clunky handle, “Ronnie and The Relatives,” was thankfully short-lived. By 1963 they settled on “The Ronettes.” Legendary, (later infamous) producer Phil Spector entered the picture, and by August “Be My Baby” hit number 2 on the US and Canadian charts, and number 4 in the UK. The Ronettes would go on to be the only female act to open for The Beatles on their US tour in ‘66, while the Rolling Stones had opened for the girls in the UK in ‘64.
Supreme Supreme, Diana Ross, ruled a legendary solo career, from the unforgettable concert in Central Park, to films like Lady Sings The Blues, The Wiz, and Mahogony, snagging Academy Award noms along the way. Similarly, the lead singer of Philly outfit Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, would enjoy great success with Labelle in the 70’s, and much later, as the soul food companion to Dolly Parton’s homestyle hostess, with the soul stirrer and country legend both launching successful Walmart brands.
In the post-Ronette era, Nedra Talley became a born again Christian, recording biblical tracks from her new home in Virginia. In 1978, Talley made Full Circle, her solo Christian Contemporary debut. Estelle Bennet settled into marriage and motherhood with the band’s road manager, while Ronnie Spector put out several solo projects, legendarily assisted by rock n’ roll comrades Patti Smith, Keith Richards, Joey Ramone and others. Ronnie also headlined a marvelous Christmas show, reminiscing about early influences like Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers, and paying tribute to Amy Winehouse.
“Success” has many metrics. Yet, compared to the visibility of Ross and Labelle, for example, the spotlight on The Ronettes dimmed considerably with time. A retreat that serves as a diffuser, casting the trinity in another haze—the skip bleach glimmer of eternal youth and beauty; the rosy halation of teased hair and muddied eyelids, creating a skyline pink imprimatur of a simpler, more innocent time—and with progress, a more limited one as well. Around a corner yet to be seen, the “me” generation of the 70’s insisted on a “no rules” fashion ethos, far more relaxed and natural than the demands of sleeping on massive rollers only to coif and tease while ingesting copies amounts of Aqua Net in order to fluff your “wig” just right. Were it not for those stunning, indelible images, who would believe women ever swanned out into the streets looking so glamourous, dreamy, (and confined)?
The Ronettes would not have made it out the gate without boundless talent, street smarts, and poise. Or that infectious, era defining sound and bold lyrical posturing. The legendary look they embodied thus becomes an archrival reference to a moment—the ultimate season in perhaps a century with such extreme strictures on how a fashionable woman was expected to appear. Like anything faded in youth, every snapshot of those empresses now wears an eternally misty overlay; the crumbling edges of the tableau creating a beautifully melancholic visage of an impossible, twinkling pulse in time.
As we bid adieu to the last enchantress of those immortal Graces, Nedra Yvonne Talley, here are three examples of how the dream of The Ronettes lives on.
DON’T WORRY BABY
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys wrote “Don’t Worry Baby” in 1964 in response to “Be My Baby,” reportedly, one of his favorite songs of all time. He talked up the idea of the Ronettes recording it, but Phil Spector refused. This gesture, a band of brothers from the land of eternal summer, looking eastward to another familial ensemble; roses bloomed from the grit of Spanish Harlem, is more than a nod of admiration. It’s a poem of reverence and hope—insisting then and now, on the transformative truth of music, and the similitude of American youth, of every kind, mirroring joy and transcendence across coasts; new friendships beginning with the groove of a great song.
GIRL 4
A teenage Cher sang backup on the final recording of “Be My Baby,” permanently weaving her into the fabric of the song and intwined within the legacy of the group. (She also wrote the forward to Ronnie’s memoir). As she’d later recount on a TV appearance, “One night Darlene [Love] didn’t show up (another bonkers fact!). Phil Spector was not one to be kept waiting. ‘Look I just need noise – get out there!’ I started as noise, and that was ‘Be My Baby’.”
BOUFANNT BOP
With abbreviated songs, crescendoing quickly to emotional heights and slamming shut just as fast, matched with an impudent, doll-gang swagger, The Ronettes are foundational to punk. While benign by today’s standards, forward declarations of “Baby, I Love You” were a rebellious departure from The Shirelles’ “Mama Said.” The Ronettes were famously adored and influential to The Ramones, with Joey Ramone modeling his vocal presentation on Ronnie Spector’s, and the band including “Baby, I Love You” on its End of the Century album. Enthralled by Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” productions, the group are also cited as an influence on Blondie, Patti Smith, The New York Dolls, and others.
“The Greek word for “return” is nostos. Algos means “suffering.” So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return.” ― Milan Kundera, Ignorance
Camille A. Collins is a contributor to the Black Punk Now anthology published by Soft Skull Press in the fall of 2023. She has been the recipient of the Short Fiction Prize from the South Carolina Arts Commission. Her novel The Exene Chronicles debuted in 2018 with Brain Mill Press. She likes writing about music and has contributed artist features and reviews to BUST, Afropunk, The New York Amsterdam News and other publications.
Image by General Artists Corporation-GAC (management)-photographer-James Kriegsmann, New York. – This image has been extracted from another file, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93006180