Estelle Bennett - A "RONETTES" Original....Enters Transition!

[Ronn Nichols]

Spinner.com -- Estelle Bennett, whose voice helped the Ronettes climb the charts on such hits as 'Be My Baby' and 'Baby, I Love You,' has died at 67. Her trio, working with producer Phil Spector, helped crystallize the famed "wall of sound" production that became part of pop music history. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame welcomed the Ronettes in 2007, with voting members calling the trio "the premier act of the girl group era." The Beatles and the Rolling Stones considered themselves fans; their exotic hairstyles and makeup are aped by Amy Winehouse. Greenfield is the manager and husband of Bennett's sister, Ronettes lead singer Ronnie Spector, who married producer Spector in 1968 but divorced him six years later.Baby I LOVE YOU! Do I Love You The Ronettes - sisters Veronica "Ronnie" and Estelle Bennett and their cousin Nedra Talley - signed with Spector's Philles Records in 1963. Their recording of the iconic hit single "Be My Baby" hit No. 2 on Billboard magazine's pop music chart that year. "Baby I Love You" followed in 1964. They also did a memorable version of "Sleigh Ride" that appeared on Spector's "A Christmas Gift for You" album. Their last Philles single was "I Can Hear Music" in 1966. The songs feature Spector's elaborate arrangements that blend many instruments into a smooth, pulsating "wall."
"They could sing all their way right through a wall of sound," Keith Richards of the Stones said as the Ronettes were inducted into the rock hall. "They didn't need anything. They touched my heart right there and then and they touch it still."

But their string of hits had tailed off by the time they split around 1967.
Crying In The Rain

[Edie Antoinette]

Sole is in love with The Ronnettes! I bought a karaoke track and sang Be My Baby and it traumatized him!!! LOLOL!!!!!!!!!

Bet I won't do 'that' again!!!! Bwaaaa ha ah ha ha haaaa..in all fairness though, he didn't know it was me. I guess since it didn't sound like his beloved...Ronnie, he talked about me like I had stole somethin'!!! ROFLMBO. Great post dear!!!

[KnightD12]

Edie, if you still have that track, let us all hear it. lol

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

Lawd i was not only embarassed, but i felt soooooooooooo terrible afterwards....LOL. Brother Ronn, you already know how i feel about Ronnie, i know Estelle had been sick for sometime, but her death is still shocking, may she R.I.P

[Ronn Nichols]

Traumatized him.......................FUNNY!. LOL Hey Brother you know Ms Edie......she gonna get you if she can....Thats too funny. I didn't know she had been sick. Was Ronnie the younges? Wat is she doing now, Edie???

[Ronn Nichols]

I am STILL LAUGHING...........Edie you are too MUCH! MUAH!

[KnightD12]

The Ronnettes were one of my favorite girl groups back in da day. They were a pleasure to look at as well as listen to. Phil Specter was crazy as a bedbug but I always loved his "Wall Of Sound" concept. It made for a very lush sound. Did I just say lush? Now thats a word I don`t use everyday. :)

[Ronn Nichols]

Yeah.......you just datd BOTH of US...Gene, But I don't care..........I remember DADDY-O! LOL

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

Brother Gene, Lush is a great way to describe their sound, Ronnie singing Walking In The Rain, mmm mmm mmm, man that was something else....

Brother Ronn...Sisters Estelle (1941-2009) and Veronica Bennett (born 1943), and their cousin Nedra Talley (born 1947)

In 2007, when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she refused to perform with them, and spoke only a brief two sentences during her acceptance speech, "I would just like to say, thank you very much for giving us this award. I'm Estelle of the Ronettes, thank you."

She died at her home in Englewood, New Jersey aged 67. According to her sister Ronnie's site, Bennett died of colon cancer on February 11. A week after her death it was revealed, in an article in The New York Times, that Bennett had suffered from mental illness in the years after the Ronettes break up and that later on she had been homeless. Fellow Ronette Nedra Talley Ross and Bennett's daughter were interviewed for the article, though Bennett's sister Ronnie chose not to be interviewed

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME...2007


It was believed that Phil Spector, in his capacity as a member of the Board of Governors, deliberately prevented the Ronettes (and Darlene Love) from being nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, although they had been eligible for a considerable period. The alleged reasons included the acrimonious divorce of Ronnie and Spector, in addition to the group having (unsuccessfully) sued Spector for back royalties. While Spector was awaiting trial on a murder charge and out on $1 million bail, the Ronettes were finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the March 12, 2007, induction ceremony held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Keith Richards, a self-confessed longtime fan, inducted the trio. Ronnie Bennett (Spector) and Nedra Talley performed "Baby I Love You," "(Walking) In the Rain" and "Be My Baby." Estelle Bennett was present to accept her award but did not perform.

[Ronn Nichols]

I played the video "Soul" It was very sad.............Thank you! I think I felt every emotion there was to feel. We as consumers never really know the story of the lives of our icons.May she rest in peace. Thanks everybody for all your additions to Estelles "Homegoing"

[KnightD12]

I never did know their ancestry. Where were they from ? Peurto Rico?

[Shelley "SoleMann" King]

Brother Gene...The Bennetts' mother was African-American and Native American; their father was Irish.