The Ronettes - Walking in The Rain (1964)

The Ronettes were a 1960s girl group from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (a.k.a. Ronnie Spector); her sister, Estelle Bennett; and their cousin Nedra Talley. They reached the peak of their success after releasing Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica in 1964. Some of the group's most famous songs include "Be My Baby," "Baby, I Love You," "(The Best Part Of) Breakin' Up", and "(Walking) In the Rain."

Sisters Estelle (1941-2009) and Veronica Bennett (born 1943), and their cousin Nedra Talley (born 1946), began singing together as teenagers in Washington Heights, Manhattan. The sisters grew up listening to rock and pop; Ronnie especially liked Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, while Nedra enjoyed Rosemary Clooney. At a young age, their grandmother encouraged them to harmonize; they became proficient in songs such as Goodnight Sweetheart and Red Red Robin. Their grandmother entered them into a talent show at the Apollo Theater in 1959 as The Darling Sisters, which they subsequently won. Phillip Halikus, who was to become their manager, saw their potential and promoted the group's early appearances at hops and charity shows.

The Ronettes first appeared in 1961 during the Twist era. They started off as dancers at Joey Dees Peppermint Lounge on 45th Street in New York City. One night while waiting in line to perform, the manager mistook them for a singing trio that had not arrived and they were ushered on stage. After performing Ray Charless "What'd I Say", they became wildly popular and were signed to appear regularly for $10 a night. The Ronettes, then still The Darling Sisters, were also booked at the Miami Peppermint Lounge, where they were spotted by disc jockey Murray the K who hired them as Murray the K's dancing girls for his Brooklyn Fox Shows. They also were hired for Clay Cole's "Twist-o-rama" tour during this period. Halikus was able to secure a record deal with Colpix through Stu Phillips. The group's first four singles had little success. They released their first single, "I Want A Boy", during the summer of 1961, under their new Colpix given name, Ronnie and the Relatives. Their next single with Colpix had the girls listed as The Ronettes and was titled "I'm on a Wagon" but was never released. The same year, they released a song called "Good Girls" arranged by Bert Keyes, which showed their developing sound and growing maturity. They also worked as backup singers for Bobby Rydell, Del Shannon, and Joey Dee.

In 1963 they came to the attention of producer Phil Spector, who was looking for a new girl group to assume The Crystals' mantle. He was taken with Ronnie's voice and style, and signed The Ronettes to his Philles label. Spector initially wanted to sign Ronnie Bennett as a solo artist, but when the three girls refused to be broken up, Spector signed them all. The Ronettes started off as backup singers to other artists in Spector's stable, such as Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and Darlene Love. As Spector's new protégées, they assumed the image of the first bad girls of rock and roll, with beehive hairdos, heavy eyeliner, and tight skirts. Their songs were addressed directly to their subjects, giving them a more seductive manner, using lyrics such as I love you instead of I love him.

Their first Philles single was "Be My Baby," co-written by Spector with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, and arranged and produced by Spector. Phil Spector produced Be My Baby integrating castanets, maracas, and Hal Blaine drum work into his "Wall of Sound" technique. It became a worldwide hit, reaching #2 on the U.S. pop chart, #4 on the R&B chart, and #4 on the UK chart and sold over 2 million copies]. Brian Wilson, leader and songwriter of the Beach Boys, claims that Be My Baby is my all-time favorite song. . . . . It blew my mind,] and wrote Dont Worry Baby for the Ronettes as a tribute. Phil Spector rejected the offering, so the Beach Boys recorded it, and the song charted #24 on the US hot 100 In 1964 Spector began managing as well as producing the group. After "Be My Baby," none of The Ronettes other singles ever made it into the top 20 in the US, but from September 1963 through December 1964, they placed five singles in the Top 40.

Artist - The Ronettes
Song - Walking in The Rain
(Lyrics)
www.lyrics007.com/Ronettes%20Lyrics/Walking%20In%20The%20Rain%20Lyrics.html -

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The
• Ronettes
• Walking
• in
• Rain
• 1964

[MrTaurusBill]

Wow, bring back THE music

[joshwelljonesfirst]

Best Version, Grand stuff, thanks Joe

[CTOL1]

I've always LOVED the Phil Spector's "wall of sound",and fairly quickly understood the reason why the name Ronettes (Ronnie Spector ) But what blows my mind is the remote relationship behind the then popular Ronette Phono Cartridge and the fact that it was a CRYSTAL type of cartridge... The Crystals, another chart busting group that featured the magic of Phil... Heck I do not know but there IS some synchronicity there LOL

THANK YOU for this video and more importantly this audio

Cheers

[raneydayart]

as a kid in the early sixties I listened to this on my transistor radio==blissfully happy==wow==great time!

[holden190]

Awesome!

[Lucyzhere]

Well done Bacmaster!

[Countrygent100]

yeah.... you rock, Bacmaster. Thanks so much. I always had a such a crush on Ronnie...!

[retired2020]

Great video. Thanks for posting.

[cynthia6637]

BEAUTIFUL VIDEO!!!

Love the Ronettes!!

But now this Video is GREAT!!

Thanks for all is work Joe!!

Cynthia

[isuckaman]

I was very young when the Ronnettes were popular. I didn't realize then just how good they were. I do now.