The Ronettes

1
  • Year:
    2007
  • Inducted by:
    Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones)
  • Category:
    Performers

Introduction

A classic girl group with a tough, sexy twist.

Led by Ronnie Spector’s quavering siren voice and Phil Spector’s musical genius, the Ronettes produced some of the greatest music of the century. 

Hall of Fame Essay

2007

Rob Bowman

The introduction to the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” needs to be heard only once before it is forever burned into the deepest recesses of one’s cranium.

Studio drummer Hal Blaine lays down a simple baion beat - boom-ba-boom (smash), boom-ba-boom (smash). Swathed in unprecedented levels of reverb, it has a cataclysmic effect. Over the next two bars the ante is upped as multiple pianos, guitars, a solitary bass, and an array of auxiliary percussion fill out what had come to be known as producer Phil Spector’s trademark Wall of Sound.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 2007
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2007 Inductee The Ronettes
I always said we weren’t better. We were just different.
Ronnie Spector

Photography: Getty/WireImage