July 29, 1963: The Ronettes Record "Be My Baby"

Left to right: Estelle Bennett, Ronnie Spector, Nedra Talley

July 29, 1963: The Ronettes record "Be My Baby" at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. It was as close to a perfect rock and roll recording as the technology would then allow.

Veronica Bennett, her sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley grew up in Spanish Harlem, Manhattan. "Ronnie" later told of an argument she'd overheard among kids in their neighborhood after "Be My Baby" became a hit: A black kid saying, "The Ronettes is black!" and a Puerto Rican kid saying, "No, the Ronettes is Spanish!" In fact, they were both.

After a failed run at Colpix Records as Ronnie & the Relatives, they became backup dancers for Joey Dee & the Starliters, the house band at the Peppermint Lounge in Midtown Manhattan, which fed the Twist craze. But they wanted more. Estelle called Phil Spector, already one of the top rock and roll producers in the country.

He already had Ronnie as his goal, and not just as a singer. He wanted to sign her as a solo act, but, since all 3 were still under age 21, Ronnie and Estelle's mother said it would have to be all three of them, or none of them. Phil signed all of them.

Their 1st hit was "Be My Baby," written by the husband & wife team of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, who wrote several hits, including for Spector acts. The backing musicians were a group that Spector called "The Wrecking Crew." The nickname wasn't widely known outside the music industry until 1990, when Hal Blaine, the usual drummer, used it in his memoir, saying that older musicians, who had recorded pop and jazz, were saying that these younger musicians, playing rock and roll, were going to wreck the music industry.

They were wrong: Spector built what he called "The Wall of Sound," combining orchestras with rock and roll. Acts such as The Ronettes, The Crystals, The Blossoms (with lead singer Darlene  Love), and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans recorded over this "wall." All would be featured on A Christmas Gift for You, the album that Spector, though Jewish, had recorded, releasing it on November 22, 1963. Unfortunately, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated that day, and the album didn't sell well, getting "rediscovered" in the 1970s.

Starting in 1964, the male duo The Righteous Brothers would be added to the Spector stable, recording songs by Barry & Greenwich, and by another husband & wife team, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil. By that point, The Ronettes had several more hits, including "Baby, I Love You" (later covered by Andy Kim), "Walking In the Rain" (later covered by Jay & The Americans) and "I Can Hear Music" (later covered by The Beach Boys).

Phil and Ronnie married in 1966. It seemed like a modern fairy tale. It wasn't: Their relationship was similar to that between Ike and Tina Turner. I'll spare you the details, but it was every bit as bad, and Ronnie's escape in 1972 was every bit as dramatic as Tina's in 1976.

(Their paths did intersect: Spector signed Ike & Tina to Philles Records, the label he'd founded with Lester Sill: Phil & Les. Their 1st single for the label was "River Deep -- Mountain High," written by Barry, Greenwich & Spector. Ike & Tina both had their names on the record, but only Tina appeared on it: Phil invited Ike, an accomplished guitarist, to appear on the song, but he didn't show up for the session.)

Ronnie divorced Phil in 1974, but lost custody of the 3 children she and Phil had adopted. She remarried, had 2 children, and became a fixture on the oldies circuit. Petty as ever, Phil used his influence to keep The Ronettes out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until 2007, when he was on trial, eventually convicted, for a murder charge, and was no longer able to keep them out. Although Estelle was able to attend the induction ceremony, she was too ill to perform, but Ronnie and Nedra sang with Nedra's daughter.

Estelle died in 2009. So did Ellie Greenwich. Phil died in prison in 2021. Ronnie died on January 12, 2022. As of July 29, 2022, Jeff Barry and Nedra Talley-Ross are still alive.

As for "The Wrecking Crew": There are 8 surviving members: Dick Nash (95, trombone), Plas Johnson (91, saxophone), Nino Tempo (88, trumpet and saxophone, 92), Carol Kaye (88, bass guitar), Don Randi (86, piano), Jim Horn (82, aptly-named because he played saxophone), Michel Rubini (80, piano), and Chuck Findley (75, trumpet).

UPDATE: Nino Tempo died in 2025.

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July 29, 1963 was a Monday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Kansas City Athletics, 5-0 at Yankee Stadium. Dave Wickersham pitched an 8-hit shutout, outpitching Al Downing. Tom Tresh had 3 of those hits, Elston Howard 2. Mickey Mantle was injured, and did not play. Wayne Causey and former Yankee Norm Siebern hit home runs for the A's.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-5 at Fenway Park in Boston. Carl Yastrzemski and Harmon Killebrew both went 0-for-4.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-1 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. An aging but still effective Robin Roberts outpitched a young Mickey Lolich. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-3. Al Kaline went 0-for-4.

* The Washington Senators beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-1 at District of Columbia Stadium in Washington (later Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium).

* The Los Angeles Angels beat the Cleveland Indians, 11-0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Dean Chance pitched a 2-hit shutout.

* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-2 at Milwaukee County Stadium. Warren Spahn was the winning pitcher. Hank Aaron and Lee Maye hit home runs for the Braves. Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson hit home runs for the Reds. Rookie Pete Rose went 1-for-4.

* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-2 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Sandy Koufax went the distance for the win.

* The San Francisco Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit a home run. Roberto Clemente went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs.

* And the New York Mets, the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Colt .45s (the Astros starting in 1965) were not scheduled.