Ronnie Spector

Vince Waldron

A Memoir

Be My Baby

“Do I have to tell you that Ronnie’s got one of the greatest female rock-and-roll voices of all time? She stands alone.” —Keith Richards Be My Baby is the behind-the-scenes story—newly updated, and with an especially timely message—of how the original bad girl of rock and roll, Ronnie Spector, survived marriage to a monster and carved out a space for herself amid the chaos of the 1960s music scene and beyond. Ronnie’s first collaboration with producer Phil Spector, “Be My Baby,” shot Ronnie and the Ronettes to stardom. No one sounded like Ronnie, with her alluring blend of innocence and knowing, but her voice would soon be silenced as Spector sequestered her behind electric gates, guard dogs, and barbed wire. It took everything Ronnie had to escape her prisonlike marriage and wrest back control of her life, her music, and her legacy. And as shown in this edition, which includes a 2021 postscript from Ronnie, her life became proof that our challenges do not define us and there is always the potential to forge a fuller life. In Be My Baby, the incomparable Ronnie Spector offered a whirlwind account of the ever-shifting path of an iconic artist. And, more than anything else, she gave us an inspiring tale of triumph.

The leader of the 1960s singing group The Ronettes describes the early days of rock 'n' roll, her affairs with such stars as John Lennon, and her nightmarish marriage to producer Phil Spector, which almost ended her career

How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette

Ronnie and the Ronnettes defined the 1960s girl group, and Phil Spector's "wall of sound" defined a rock era. Ronnie rose from Spanish Harlem to a dream come true, until she married dangerously eccentric Phil Spector, and the nightmare began. Rock & Roll's original "bad girl" tells her shocking story. 16 pages of photographs.

How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness of My Life as a Fabulous Ronette

Pop legend Ronnie Spector reveals the story of her dreamlike rise from the streets of Harlem to the pinnacle of rock stardom as lead singer of the Ronettes, and her nightmare descent into madness as the wife of Phil Spector, the pop hitmaker who kept her a virtual prisoner behind the locked doors of his darkened Beverly Hills mansion. Ronnie's escape from that ordeal, and her subsequent struggle to reclaim her voice, her career, and her sanity, provide an emotion-packed climax to this smart, funny, and inspiring autobiography, named one of "The Top 25 Rock Memoirs of All Time" by Rolling Stone. Now available in a newly redesigned edition, Be My Baby is a fan's dream come true. Featuring 75 stunning black and white and color photographs from Ronnie's personal collection--many appearing in print for the first time--this fully indexed volume also includes a thoroughly updated discography that provides the most comprehensive overview of Ronnie's recording career ever published. Ronnie Spector became an icon at the age of 19, when she rose to fame as lead singer of the Ronettes, the influential girl group responsible for a string of hits that included "Baby I Love You," "Walking in the Rain," and "Be My Baby," which Brian Wilson has called "the greatest record ever made." The embodiment of the heart, soul, and passion of rock and roll, Ronnie Spector was inducted, with the Ronettes, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2007.

How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or My Life as a Fabulous Ronette [Deluxe Paperback with Color Photos]

Hailed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the greatest rock memoirs of all time, Be My Baby is the true story of how Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Ronnie Spector carved out a space for herself against tremendous odds amid the chaos of the 1960s music scene and beyond. With an introduction by Keith Richards and a new postscript from Ronnie Spector. Ronnie Spector’s first collaboration with producer Phil Spector, ‘Be My Baby’, stunned the world and shot girl group The Ronettes to stardom. No one could sing as clearly, as emotively as Ronnie. But her voice was soon drowned out in Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound, and lost in Ronnie and Phil’s ensuing romance and marriage. Ronnie had to fight tooth and nail to wrest back control of her life, her music and her legacy. And while she regained her footing, Ronnie found herself recording with Stevie Van Zandt, partying with David Bowie and touring with Bruce Springsteen. Smart, humorous and self-possessed, Be My Baby is a whirlwind account of the twists and turns in the life of an artist. More than anything, Be My Baby is a testament to the fact that it is possible to stand up to a powerful abuser and start on a second – or third, or fifth – act.

Margaret Byron

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