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Nedra Talley Ross, the last surviving member of the 1960s bee-hived pop band the Ronettes, who sang the enduring hits Be My Baby, Baby I Love You and Walking in the Rain alongside her cousins, has died. She was 80.
Ross died at home on Sunday, according to the singer’s daughter, Nedra K. Ross, and the Ronettes’ official Instagram account.
“Nedra’s voice, style and spirit helped define a sound that would change music. Her contribution to the group’s story and their defining influence will live forever,” a statement read.
The Ronettes’ sexy look and powerful voices — plus songwriting and production help from Phil Spector — turned them into one of the premier acts of the girl-group era, as they toured England with the Rolling Stones and befriended the Beatles.
“Show business is a thing that can be great, but it can be bad, too,” Ross said during her acceptance speech to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. “For us, we had a family that gave us a core to help stabilize us in a very difficult, crazy world. It was a fun time. I thank God truly for it.”
History of Ronettes
Born and raised in New York City, Ross, together with sisters Veronica “Ronnie” and Estelle Bennett, released their debut album, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes, Featuring Veronica, in 1964. Five of its 12 tracks made it to the U.S. Billboard charts, and it was listed in Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time. It was the trio’s only studio album.
They also did a memorable version of Sleigh Ride that appeared on Spector’s A Christmas Gift for You album and was recently highlighted in the Roofman soundtrack and on The Bear. But their string of hits had tailed off by the time they split around 1967.
Their musical journey started in March 1963, when Estelle Bennett managed to arrange an audition in front of Phil Spector, known for his big, brass-and-drum style dubbed the “wall of sound.” After being signed to Philles Records in 1963, they sang backup for other acts until Spector had the group record Be My Baby and Baby I Love You.
Martin Scorsese used Be My Baby to open his 1973 film Mean Streets, and the song appears in the title sequence of Dirty Dancing and the closing credits of Baby Mama. It also appeared on TV in everything from Moonlighting and The Wonder Years to How I Met Your Mother and Money Heist.
When the Ronettes were inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones remembered opening for the trio in England in the mid-1960s. “They could sing all their way right through a wall of sound,” Richards said. “They didn’t need anything. They touched my heart right there and then, and they touch it still.”
After the Ronettes disbanded, Ross turned to Christian music, including the album Full Circle in 1978. Ross was married to DJ and television personality Scott Ross from 1967 until his death in 2023.
For nearly 15 years, the women waged a lengthy, and ultimately unsuccessful, court battle with Spector over royalties. A judge ordered Spector to pay $2.6 million US ($3.5 million Cdn) in past royalties and interest, but New York State’s highest court threw out that ruling on appeal in 2002.
Ronnie Spector died at 78 in 2022. Bennett died at 67 in 2009. Ross is survived by four children.
